Circular Economy Risk, Consequence and Contingency Plan

The Introduction section outlines:

• the purpose and scope of the CERCC Plan 2025, including how the plan is prepared and the introduction of measures that responsible entities must take
• the importance of system resilience, defined as strategic coordination, sector-wide risk planning, increased government visibility and improved management practices
• the concept of a circular economy, focusing on reducing environmental impact and promoting economic growth through efficient resource use
• the legislative context of the CERCC Plan, including the obligations of government and industry under the CE Act
• the role of Recycling Victoria in supporting the development of the circular economy and its contribution to the global movement towards sustainable development by addressing four of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development goals.

The Context section covers:

• sector gains in relation to the management of risks, such as the introduction of Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme (CDS Vic)
• examples of sector challenges and emergencies that have affected the sector in recent years. This includes inflationary pressures, an increase in battery driven fires, the threat of serious IT disruptions and organics contamination by asbestos
• the economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal and technological risks highlighted in the World Economic Forum Global Risk Report 2024 relevant to the sector in Victoria
• national trends and emerging issues in Australia's circular economy, highlighting Australian government measures to enhance local processing and recycling capacity, and to minimise waste through packaging redesign
• issues relating to performance or supply within the Victorian circular economy market of waste management services. This includes:
  • facility fires
  • challenges obtaining materials to manufacture kerbside bins
  • securing supply of feedstock
  • an increase in administrative costs and missed opportunities due to differences between jurisdictions
  • contamination of feedstock
  • the need to increase the recovery of textiles
  • sector planning for sufficient infrastructure for all services
  • the risk of future contamination of services from hazardous materials.
• government action towards risk mitigation, such as progress on the new National Circular Economy Framework and the Victorian Government response to significant emergency management events
• responsible entity progress towards sector risk mitigation, including the engineering, administrative, technological and people related controls in place to manage the serious sector risks identified in the CERCC Plan 2024.

The section outlines the risk assessment process that Recycling Victoria used to develop the CERCC Plan. It notes that:

• Recycling Victoria completed a review of CERCC Plan 2024 to inform preparation of CERCC Plan 2025
• the CERCC Plan 2025 provides an updated sector risk profile in response to the changing circumstances impacting the sector over the previous 12 months and the insights and opportunities detailed in RERCC Plans.
• Recycling Victoria assessed the 6 serious risks identified in 2024 and identified a new risk in response to challenges affecting affordability in the sector, and a reflection of material streams that may not currently be commercially viable.

Table 2 to 8 in this section provides detailed descriptions of the 7 serious risks identified through the CERCC Plan risk assessment process. These are:

1. contamination
2. external threats
3. planning
4. social acceptance
5. internal threats
6. economic shocks and stressors
7. commercial viability in the market.

This section also includes a summary of the actions that responsible entities have proposed to take in response to risks identified in the CERCC Plan 2024.

Finally, this section lists measures that responsible entities must consider and undertake to address the serious risks identified in the CERCC Plan 2025. The measures relate to planning, external and internal threats, commercial viability in the market and contamination.

This is a new feature for CERCC Plan 2025 as it was informed by the review of the inaugural RERCC Plans which were submitted post CERCC Plan 2024 publication.

This section provides details of the consultation that Recycling Victoria conducted to inform the development of the CERCC Plan 2025.

This section also outlines Recycling Victoria’s support for responsible entities to meet their risk management obligations, and the Victorian Government’s commitment to policies and programs that will reduce the sector’s vulnerability to risks.

The appendices contain key information such as:

• waste service types prescribed as essential under the regulations (Appendix 1)
• definition of a responsible entity (Appendix 2)
• total amount of waste managed in Victoria, enabling entities to self-assess and determine their responsible entity status in relation to their share of the Victorian market (Appendix 3)
• the risk management, assessment and treatment processes used to inform the CERCC Plan 2025 (Appendix 4).