00:03This factory in Melbourne's outer south-east appears to be full of soft plastics, but...
00:09We want more plastic. Thank you.
00:12The facility takes truckloads of clean plastic waste from things like pallet wrap.
00:17Then it's sorted, cleaned, sorted again, and turned into plastic pellets
00:23that are sold to create new plastic things. It's a costly process.
00:27You need a lot of fixed costs, a lot of infrastructure, a lot of years of IP.
00:32To make it work, they want about 800 tonnes of plastic a month.
00:36We could only get 200 tonnes for December. We had to put five people off.
00:42This shouldn't be a problem.
00:44In 2021, the government banned the export of all waste products,
00:48including paper, tyres and all plastics.
00:51But it granted dozens of exemptions, while local recycling industries could build up.
00:56Now, the industry wants that plastic.
00:59Too much material is going offshore, denying the capability of those who are able to process it here.
01:05The ABC can reveal those legal exemptions are now being wound back.
01:10But there's concern not enough's being done to stop waste being illegally exported.
01:16We're not seeing those rules enforced by a federal government,
01:19which means that when you invest in recycling in Australia,
01:23you're being undercut by those who skirt the rules.
01:25In a statement, the Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt said
01:29preventing unlawful exports of waste plastics is a priority.
01:33Through monitoring, intelligence sharing and enforcement,
01:36the department is actively ensuring compliance.
01:42All of this comes from industry.
01:45It's from cotton farms or it's the stuff your groceries are wrapped in on their way to the stores.
01:49Soft plastics from individual households, that stuff's not even here.
01:55That's even more expensive to recycle,
01:58so advocates say it's crucial there's a market for recycled plastic.
02:02Mandating laws that 30% of all plastic packaging in our supermarkets, for example,
02:09has to come from local recycled Australian product.
02:13The industry has a voluntary target of 20%.
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