Part 1 Preliminary

1   Name of Act

This Act is the Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2001.

2   Commencement

This Act commences on a day or days to be appointed by proclamation.

3   Objects of Act

The objects of this Act are as follows:

(a)  to encourage the most efficient use of resources and to reduce environmental harm in accordance with the principles of ecologically sustainable development,

(b)  to ensure that resource management options are considered against a hierarchy of the following order:

(i)  avoidance of unnecessary resource consumption,

(ii)  resource recovery (including reuse, reprocessing, recycling and energy recovery),

(iii)  disposal,

(c)  to provide for the continual reduction in waste generation,

(d)  to minimise the consumption of natural resources and the final disposal of waste by encouraging the avoidance of waste and the reuse and recycling of waste,

(e)  to ensure that industry shares with the community the responsibility for reducing and dealing with waste,

(f)  to ensure the efficient funding of waste and resource management planning, programs and service delivery,

(g)  to achieve integrated waste and resource management planning, programs and service delivery on a State-wide basis,

(h)  to assist in the achievement of the objectives of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

4   Definitions

(1)  In this Act:

Department means the Department of Environment and Conservation.

Director-General means the Director-General of the Department.

exercise a function includes perform a duty.

function includes a power, authority or duty.

principles of ecologically sustainable development means the principles of ecologically sustainable development contained in section 6 (2) of the Protection of the Environment Administration Act 1991.

waste has the same meaning as in the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

(2)  Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act.