Roger Jaensch,Minister for the Environment
The Tasmanian Liberal Government recently passed new legislation that will drive growth in the resource recovery sector, creating new businesses and jobs.
The Waste and Resource Recovery Bill 2021 establishes a state-wide levy that will encourage the diversion of materials from landfill and drive investment in alternatives to landfill, so more materials will be recovered from waste streams and turned into new and valuable products.
This is a win for the environment and for jobs, with the levy expected to support the creation of up to 130 new full-time positions in the waste and resource recovery sector once the maximum levy rate is reached.
To support the development of the infrastructure required to collect the levy, our Government is launching a grants scheme to support landfill and resource recovery operators, like local councils, to have appropriate facilities to collect data on the amount and types of waste being disposed.
This might include weighbridges, computer upgrades, traffic control or staff training.
These facilities are important as they will ensure that landfills and transfer stations are well prepared for the introduction of the landfill levy later this year.
While most landfills in Tasmania are run by local government, larger recyclers are also invited to apply for this levy readiness grant funding.
Details of the scheme are available at https://nre.tas.gov.au/environmental-management/waste-and-resource-recovery-act/waste-and-resource-recovery-regulations-2022
