CANBERRA, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction Trevor Evans has flagged the introduction of "ambitious" recycling targets for public works.
Evans, who was assigned to the new position following May's general election, told the Guardian that he will seek to implement the new target before the end of the year.
Under the plan, all of Australia's six states and two territories will be required to spend a percentage of their procurement budgets for public projects on recycled materials.
The official did not specify what the target might be but said it had to be high enough to kickstart a domestic recycling manufacturing industry.
"I would like to see all of the states and the commonwealth agree that by X date, X percentage of their significant procurement programs will be made of recycled materials," he told The Guardian.
"We need a critical mass of demand in order to help business and innovators come up with the supply solution," he said.
"There are some significant stockpiling problems around Australia, where I think if we can create markets for demand, that would be our best possible chance of realizing the value of those stockpiles," he said.
"I am very ambitious when it comes to the targets I would like to see government adopt and I think there are some very big opportunities that will drive some big steps forward," he added.
