FAQs

Accelerating SA's transition to a circular economy: South Australia's waste strategy 2025–2030 is a 5-year statewide strategy that provides a framework of strategic objectives, goals, targets and priority actions to help the state create a sustainable economy by reducing our reliance on virgin resources, eliminating waste and pollution, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This draft strategy builds on its predecessor while taking account of changing local, national and international trends, challenges, commitments and opportunities.

The strategy has been developed by Green Industries SA, who are responsible for developing a waste strategy every 5 years. Previous released strategies covered the periods 2005–2010, 2010–2015, 2015–2020, and 2020–2025.

Green Industries SA (GISA) is a South Australian government agency responsible for driving a sustainable economic, social and environmental South Australia through a circular economy. It is working to eliminate waste and maximise the value of resources, to enhance the economy and the natural environment for a sustainable future. 

GISA is a leader in the circular economy, supporting efforts to value our resources and reduce pollution and waste. Its vision is to create a sustainable future, focusing on the value of materials in a circular economy and providing economic, social and environmental benefits. GISA has a statutory responsibility to develop a state waste strategy at least once every 5 years.

Its objectives, under the Green Industries SA Act 2004, are to:

• promote waste management practices that, as far as possible, eliminate waste or its consignment to landfill
• promote innovation and business activity in the waste management, resource recovery and green industry sectors, recognising these areas present valuable opportunities to contribute to the state’s economic growth.

In doing this, GISA is to have regard to the guiding principles set out in the Act, these being:

• the circular economy
• the waste management hierarchy
• ecologically sustainable development
• best-practice methods and standards in waste management and efficient use of resources.

South Australia has a long and proud history of leadership in resource recovery and waste avoidance. Despite our achievements, our current patterns of production and consumption are unsustainable and globally we have gone beyond planetary boundaries, causing environmental impacts such as climate change and biodiversity loss. While resource recovery and recycling are an essential part of our transition away from the ‘take-make-dispose’ approach of a linear economy, it’s not enough to ensure a sustainable future.

A circular economy is an economic model designed to prioritise sustainability, resource efficiency, and waste reduction. It aims to move away from the traditional linear economic model and instead seeks to create a closed loop system where products and materials are kept in use for as long as possible, with their value preserved and waste minimised. This requires a transformation in our ways of producing and consuming, to gradually de-couple economic activity from the consumption of finite resources.

Transitioning to a circular economy is essential to reducing our reliance on virgin resources, eliminating waste and pollution, tackling biodiversity loss, and achieving net zero emissions while supporting the needs of current and future generations of South Australians.

Development of the 2025–2030 strategy has been informed and driven by 5 key factors:

1. Green Industries SA’s guiding principles:
   • circular economy
   • waste management hierarchy
   • ecologically sustainable development
   • best-practice methods and standards in waste management and efficient use of resources.
2. Global environmental imperatives that require urgent action, and related global and domestic policy trends and attitudes.
3. An appraisal of the South Australian landscape – our achievements to date, ongoing and emerging challenges, the opportunities of a circular economy, and SA’s ongoing leadership in these areas.
4. Alignment with Australia’s international commitments and national priorities, goals and targets.
5. The broader priorities and goals for the state’s future.

The strategy has also been informed by engagement with key stakeholders about issues, opportunities and key priorities. Actions listed in the strategy have been developed in collaboration with those identified as action leads (that is, those responsible for delivery of the particular actions).

Vision 

To create a sustainable future, focusing on the value of materials in a circular economy and providing economic, social and environmental benefits.

Objectives*

• Continue South Australia’s leadership in waste management, resource recovery and accelerate our transition to a circular economy
• Use our natural resources more efficiently, focusing on sectors that use the most resources and where potential for circularity is high
• Support business sustainability, and grow circular economy businesses and jobs
• Reduce waste and pollution, and regenerate natural systems
• Create a circular economy culture and enable sustainable consumption choices

* Additional objectives are listed under each focus area of the draft strategy.

The strategy has identified 9 focus areas that provide the best opportunities to make the biggest impact. These are:

1. Avoid waste
2. Reduce food waste
3. Reduce material loss and preserve value
4. Address emerging and problematic wastes
5. Develop and support circular markets and businesses
6. Build a circular built environment
7. Develop circular economy knowledge and skills
8. Measure our transition to a circular economy
9. Contribute to net zero emissions