South Australia's Waste Strategy 2015-2020

South Australia’s Waste Strategy 2015–2020, under the custodianship of Green Industries SA, will form part of the framework of policies, strategies and plans intended to meet South Australia’s priorities for economic prosperity and community well-being. Green Industries SA - South Australia is facing economic challenges that need new responses. These must be built on economic diversity and capitalise on opportunities within the newly expanding markets in our region1. Waste management and better use of resources is also a part of every government department’s responsibility and every local council authority and the community. Green Industries SA will be responsible for many functions previously undertaken by Zero Waste SA and some new areas of endeavour (see Appendix 2). As Zero Waste SA transitions to the new agency it is working in the area of green innovation in the waste, recycling and resource recovery sectors. It is also delivering on reduced waste to landfill and increasing the State’s capacity for recycling. Building on the success of Zero Waste SA, Green Industries SA will increase South Australia’s capabilities and leadership in green industries. It will oversee implementation of South Australia’s Waste Strategy, recognising the important economic contribution and role of the waste management and resource recovery industry (the waste sector).  The industry is a significant sector of the economy in South Australia. The waste sector has an annual turnover of approximately $1 billion, contributes $500 million to Gross State Product (directly and indirectly) and employs approximately 4,800 people. Nationally it was recently estimated that the waste sector was worth $14.2 billion per year2.  Through investing more than $80 million from waste levy funds into the industry during the past decade, Zero Waste SA has built capacity, improved markets and assisted the development of new products and skills. Benefit cost ratios for funded projects that improve industry competitiveness achieve ratios of 6.7, and for infrastructure investment, between 1.4 and 11.5.  The South Australian State Government sees the opportunity to build upon these achievements, creating green jobs and developing new green business opportunities. These are areas of new industries and jobs which the member states of the European Union (EU) are actively developing3 in response to the loss of manufacturing jobs, the move to services industries and the financial challenges in the EU.  It is expected that Green Industries SA will be funded from the Solid Waste Levy. Currently 50% of the levy is transferred to the Waste to Resources Fund. Zero Waste SA uses a proportion of that fund as provided for in the Zero Waste SA Act 2004. Additional funds are allocated through the State Government’s budget process.