Big Business Influence Likely to Stymie Action on Recycling?

Thursday, 17 April 2008 19:09

“Industry should grow up and become part of the modern push for environmental responsibility. For many years they have avoided the issue through the failing National Packaging Covenant. It is also reprehensible that they expect local council and ratepayers to fund additional container collections at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars a year, said Jeff Angel, member of the Boomerang Alliance.

“This is the first big test for federal environment minister Peter Garrett. He should not ignore the overwhelming community support for container deposits,” said Angel.

The strategy is to ‘modify’ the South Australian push for a national ‘cash for trash’ scheme by moving away from an independent investigation into a closed shop review managed by the controversial National Packaging Covenant. The National Packaging Covenant independence was discredited earlier this week when the Recycling Rates outlined in its Annual Reports were shown to be dramatically exaggerated.

Environment groups have learnt that major beverage companies have been lobbying fiercely to stop the reviews. Confidential sources have informed the Boomerang Alliance that at least one state is listening and is proposing to try and shift the review into an internal process by the industry controlled National Packaging Covenant Council.

“Government’s need to show the public that they are serious about improving our national recycling rates” said Dave West, National Campaign Director for the Boomerang Alliance.

 “We have every confidence that our environment ministers want to do the right thing, but frankly a small minority seems to be far to close to industry and can’t seem to understand that the lobbying of Coke and Fosters has nothing to do with protecting the public interest. Its about trying to avoid their responsibility as polluters,” said West.