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

3 Findings
This chapter presents the findings of the review, which were determined through preliminary consultations with
stakeholders from the department, the Queensland Government and the waste industry. The chapter is structured
under the key themes of the review, to present the headline comment, followed by a summary of the key points
identified during the review.

3.1 Approach to developing the Strategy
1.    The industry-led approach to developing the Strategy relied on a consensus approach and resulted in a
      Strategy that did not provide the necessary clarity and implementation details

The development of the Strategy was guided by a multi-stakeholder Waste Avoidance and Resource Productivity
Strategy Steering Committee (Steering Committee) supported by five technical working groups. The large
composition and diversity of representation on the Steering Committee and technical working groups made it
difficult to reach consensus on the Strategy’s specific actions, resulting in a strategy that lacks implementation
details, concrete actions or specific commitments. Instead, the Strategy relies on these details being specified in
voluntary action plans. When these action plans were not developed (with the exception of the few that were) and
implemented as intended, the strategic framework essentially became ineffectual.

3.2 Strategic framework
2.    Key elements of the strategic framework are not aligned and require further clarity

The key elements of the strategic framework include the title, vision, key principles, objectives, priorities and
targets. The findings for each of these elements are summarised below.

(a) The title of the Strategy introduces the concept of ‘resource productivity’, which is neither defined in the
    Strategy nor linked to the other elements such as the objectives and performance indicators. This makes the
    Strategy inaccessible to all but those in the waste and resource recovery industry.
(b) The Strategy’s vision, while aspirational, introduces concepts that are difficult to measure objectively (for
    example ‘avoiding unnecessary consumption’), not underpinned by corresponding actions, and not aligned
    with the targets. For example, the Strategy envisions Queensland as a ‘national leader’, yet other Australian
    jurisdictions including South Australia, Victoria, and NSW have targets that exceed Queensland targets for
    resource recovery performance. Stakeholders also suggested that the vision should reflect the complementary
    economic, social, and environmental benefits of resource recovery and waste management.
(c) The Strategy is guided by five key principles to guide its implementation. Feedback suggested that the
    Strategy’s principles would benefit from further refinement to ensure that the Act’s principles are appropriately
    incorporated.
(d) The Strategy identifies the waste and resource management hierarchy (the hierarchy) as the important tool for
    setting the order of preference for managing waste, however it seemingly sits outside of the strategic
    framework. This could be improved, for example, by enshrining the hierarchy as one of the key principles.
(e) The Strategy’s objectives are broadly consistent with those of other jurisdictions and remain relevant for
    Queensland. However, there is scope to simplify and improve understanding of the objectives by using plain
    English (e.g. “reduce the impacts of waste” rather than “management, treatment and disposal”).
(f)   Each objective is underpinned by several priority areas for action, which are largely still relevant. However, the
      lack of implementation details around each priority is concerning, and consideration should be given to
      whether the priorities could be further streamlined.
(g) The Strategy designates seven quantitative targets and one qualitative target to be achieved by 2024. The
    quantitative targets were set lower than the existing performance of other States and will result in Queensland
    lagging behind other states (Figure 4). In making this comparison, it should be noted that resource recovery in
    the jurisdictions compared are driven by a landfill levy, which does not exist in Queensland.
(h) Targets should, in general, be ambitious but achievable. In this respect, stakeholders expressed the view that
    the targets needed to be more ambitious, while others were satisfied with the current settings, preferring to see
    a greater emphasis on implementation actions. Stakeholders were also critical of the lack of clarity and rigour
    around the process for establishment of the targets.

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