Abstract
This article considers regulatory strategies that promote more efficient use of material inputs within the Australian economy, with particular focus on recycling and recovery of metals, drawing upon the concept of a “circular economy”. It briefly reviews the nature of regulation and trends in regulatory strategies within changing policy contexts, and then examines the regulatory framework applicable to the various phases in the life cycle of metals, ranging from extraction of minerals to processing and assimilation of metals into finished products, through to eventual disposal of products as waste. Discussion focuses upon the regulatory strategies applied in each phase and the changing roles of government and business operators within global distribution networks. It is concluded that the prevailing political agenda favoring deregulation and reduced taxation may be a major barrier to development of new styles of regulation and more effective use of taxation powers that is needed to support a more circular economy in metals. The implication for future research is the need to substantiate the outcomes of reflexive regulatory strategies with well-designed empirical studies.
Highlights
The availability of the widely used base metals appears assured for the immediate future, but the same cannot be said for by-product metals, which are increasingly used for important renewable energy technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines [1].When projections of global population growth and future production and consumption patterns are taken into account it is clear that, in the longer term, security of supply for all metals may be problematic [2]
This paper has reviewed the general framework of regulation applicable the various phases of the metal life cycle in Australia
Traditional prescriptive regulatory schemes in Australia have failed to provide an effective economic framework to support a circular economy in metal recycling
Summary
The availability of the widely used base metals appears assured for the immediate future, but the same cannot be said for by-product metals (known as daughter or companion metals), which are increasingly used for important renewable energy technologies such as solar panels and wind turbines [1]. A recent United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) report has noted that metal recycling has become increasingly difficult due to the growing complexity of products and complex interactions within recycling systems [3]. This paper firstly considers the general purpose and nature of regulation and changing policy contexts. It reviews the current regulatory framework applicable to the various phases in the life cycle of metals in Australia, ranging from extraction of minerals to processing and assimilation of metals into finished products, through to eventual disposal of products as waste. One limitation of this paper is that the range of relevant laws is potentially vast, including international agreements, Australian. The paper does not purport to cover all Australian jurisdictions; it uses the laws of the State of Victoria to illustrate the general nature of laws in other States and Territories
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