National Waste Policy and National Waste Policy Action Plan

Published on March 6, 2023

The 2018 National Waste Policy provides a national framework for waste and resource recovery in Australia. It highlights the importance of working together and outlines the roles and responsibilities for everyone - businesses, governments, communities and individuals.

The National Waste Policy Action Plan 2019 included targets and actions to implement the 2018 National Waste Policy. These targets and actions guide Australia's investment and national efforts to 2030 and beyond.

The National Waste Policy identifies five overarching principles for waste management in a circular economy. These are: avoid waste; improve resource recovery; increase use of recycled material and build demand and markets for recycled products; better manage material flows to benefit human health, the environment and the economy; and improve information to support innovation, guide investment and enable informed consumer decisions.

The policy is implemented through the 2019 National Waste Action Plan which drives implementation of our seven ambitious targets, including: regulate waste exports; reduce total waste generated by 10% per person by 2030; recover 80% of all waste by 2030; significantly increase the use of recycled content by governments and industry; phase out problematic and unnecessary plastics by 2025; halve the amount of organic waste sent to landfill by 2030; and provide data to support better decisions.

The plan complements and supports the implementation of better waste management and circular economy plans by Australia’s state and territory governments, local government, business and industry.