2018-06-27 SM - Attachment 1 to Item 2 - Directions Paper Transforming Queensland's Recycling & Waste Industry

       Queensland will develop a best practice
       performance monitoring system underpinned
       by a comprehensive waste database
       Accurate data provides a strong foundation for business and policy decisions
       about waste management and helps to educate and inform the behaviour and
       choices within our communities. Quality data also helps local government
       and the waste and resource recovery industry identify material flows and
       commercial opportunities to manage waste in new and innovative ways.

       The primary methods for measuring and monitoring the performance of
       the strategy are the annual report on waste disposal and recycling, and the
       triennial statutory review period for the waste management strategy required
       under the Act.

       Compiled by the department, the annual report and statutory review provide
       analyses and insights into waste disposal, recycling and resource recovery.
       Information is provided by a number of entities, including local government,
       landfill and incinerator operators, recyclers, organic processors and
       waste handlers. Solid baseline data has been collected since the Act was
       implemented in 2011 to enable accurate point-in-time and trend analyses to
       be undertaken.

       In addition, Queensland’s waste and resource recovery data contributes
       to Queensland’s State of the Environment report, the Commonwealth
       Government’s national waste and national greenhouse gas emissions
       reporting, as well as reports for relevant international agreements.
       Maintaining consistency with other states and territories and the Australian
       Government in the way data is defined and collected will remain a priority to
       ensure the reliability, repeatability and comparability of Queensland’s waste
       and resource recovery performance.

       The web-based Queensland Waste Data System is the primary tool used by
       the department to collect the data for the annual report.

       The use of this web-based tool will continue and technological advances,
       stakeholder feedback and industry changes will be incorporated to monitor
       and confirm the performance of the waste and resource recovery industry.

       In addition, waste characterisation, litter and illegal dumping, waste infrastructure
       and other issue-specific surveys are also undertaken to gather objective,
       attitudinal and behavioural change information that informs policy development.

       Recognising the intrinsic economic drivers in waste management, there
       are opportunities to identify and incorporate new indicators related to
       employment and the economic value of the waste and resource recovery
       sector. Exploring these could be a focus of future work programs.




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