Experts are worried NSW will not be able to deal with its own plastic waste after new export bans were imposed this week.
On July 1, Australia was banned from exporting mixed plastics to China and Indonesia, which means waste will have to be locally processed.
The chief executive of the National Waste and Recycling Industry Council, Rose Read, said she would rank NSW in the bottom half of the states and territories for its ability to process plastic materials for re-use.
“It has taken NSW two years to get out their 20-year waste strategy, which they’ve only just released, so their focus and priority on waste and recycling hasn’t been as high as their focus on other areas,” Ms Read said.
She said the ACT and WA governments had worked more effectively with the Commonwealth to find funds for upgrades to their recycling facilities.
“New South Wales has been slower off the mark to do that,” she said.
Without enough operational recycling centres, Ms Read said, the state would struggle to deal with mounting recyclable waste.
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