Why There Should Be Container Deposit Legislation in Australia

Why There Should Be Container Deposit Legislation in Australia

As it would be observed, waste management has become a major challenge for many developed countries in the world. Today, nations have to deal with increased tonnes of waste every year as a result of economic growth and increased urban developments, among other factors. Even though many countries have tried to come up with integrated systems of managing wastes, they have continued to face a lot of challenges when it comes to sustainable management of waste in their regions. For the purpose of this subject matter, this paper examines the issue of waste management in Australia. In fact, Australia is one of the many countries that have to deal with huge quantities of solid waste every year. Australia may have adopted a number of effective initiatives and policies towards a clean environment, but there is still more that needs to be done to ensure that there is sustainable management of waste in the country. For example, the country should consider putting container deposit legislation in place as one way of addressing the problem of waste disposal.

As one of the most developed and industrialised countries in the world, Australia is prone to many factors that would contribute to large quantities of waste production (Choe & Fraser 1998). Over the time, the country has been producing millions of solid waste per capita. These levels are observed to have increased tremendously in recent times, coming to unprecedented levels in almost every sector of the economy. The use of landfill sites has been a common practice in the country for many years (Cohen 2006). The main reason why this has remained the most preferred option when it comes to waste disposal in the country is because they deal with the widest range of waste materials and are the cheapest option financially (Ximenes & Gardner 2008). However, recent studies focused on problems associated with various ways used to manage waste disposal in the country have identified a number of long-term environmental problems that can arise from landfills. Some of these problems would include things such as soil contamination, fire risks in the waste matter, contamination of ground water, serious health effects, and emission of greenhouse gasses that immensely contribute to the issue of global warming (Xu & Rudolph 1999).

Among other concerns, these factors have attracted the attention of the National Waste Policy forcing it to come up with new ways that would help to address the issue of waste disposal more appropriately. One of the ways by which these approaches have been applied is through the role of companies that offer waste management services, especially the ones that are within the private sector (Dobbs 1991). The main reason why firms in the private sector would be a better option here is because they are well equipped to guarantee quality waste management services at a considerable price.

One of the main objectives of the Australian National Waste Policy is to advocate for less waste in the country (Barlaz 2006). To ensure that this goal is achieved, the policy has launched a comprehensive mission program on waste management across several key areas that include taking full responsibility, pursuing sustainability, inventing solutions, providing evidence, improving the market, and minimising hazard (Goddard 1995). There is no doubt that this program sets the pace for a coherent approach to the management of waste in the country. However, it may take many years before the dream of making Australia a better and clean environment is finally realised, and in that case, there is a need to think of more effective interventions that can be used to facilitate sustainable waste management programs in the country. One of these approaches is the container deposit scheme which has continued to receive much support from majority of Australian organisations who are committed to zero waste in the country.

Benefits of the Container Deposit Scheme

The container deposit legislation will bring a lot of benefits to the Australians as far the issue of waste management is concerned (Troschinetz & Mihelcic 2009). It is estimated that about 13 billion containers are used in Australia every year. However, most of these containers come from beverages, which are said to represent about 48 percent of the reported rubbish in the country. If left to litter carelessly, these containers will not only be a bad sight, but they can also bring serious harm on animals (Kijak & Moy 2004). Wildlife and domestic animals

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