New planning laws to deliver recycling equipment for bottles and cans
Proposed changes to planning law will allow recycling equipment for bottles and cans to be approved quicker as part of the NSW Government’s container deposit scheme.
The Department of Planning and Environment is proposing changes to planning rules that will allow for minor and low impact recycling equipment for bottles and cans to be exempt development, meaning a planning or building approval is no longer required.
The proposed planning policy amendment will streamline the installation of recycling collection points, including reverse vending machines and mobile drop off points, for the NSW Container Deposit Scheme that will start on 1 December 2017.
Deputy Secretary Policy and Strategy, Alison Frame, said the changes mean that separate planning applications will not be required each time a reverse vending machine or other low impact recycling equipment needs to be installed.
“The changes being proposed to the planning system will make it easier and faster to deliver low impact recycling equipment,” Ms Frame said
“This amendment supports the NSW Government’s initiatives to reduce litter volume in NSW by 40 per cent by 2020. It allows low impact recycling equipment such as reverse vending machines and mobile cages to be installed in time for the scheme’s commencement this December.
“We’re removing obstacles and reducing red tape to help deliver this important recycling equipment across NSW.”
The Container Deposit Scheme is the largest litter reduction initiative in NSW and will include the roll out of recycling collection equipment for bottles and cans to help reduce the 160 million drink containers littered in NSW each year.
The scheme will allow anyone who returns an eligible drink bottle or can to an approved collection point to receive a 10-cent refund.
“We want to make it easy and accessible for consumers to return their empty drink containers whether it is through an approved recycling collection point or into their existing kerbside recycling service,” Ms Frame said.
The proposed amendments to the policy for Exempt and Complying Development will be on public exhibition until26 April 2017. People are encouraged to give their feedback in a submission.
To make a submission on the proposed amendment visit www.planning.nsw.gov.au/
More information about the NSW Container Deposit Scheme can be found on the Environment Protection Authority’s website: https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/
