The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association (WMRR) welcomes the report of the NSW Select Committee on PFAS Contamination in Waterways and Drinking Water Supplies.
The inquiry has made clear what the WARR industry and WMRR has long known: the waste industry cannot resolve PFAS contamination at the end of the pipe. The only genuinely effective path forward is preventing PFAS from entering water systems in the first place.
During hearings, witnesses—including water utilities, the waste industry and local councils—consistently emphasised the “urgent need to stop PFAS chemicals at the source.”
Importantly, at section 3.144 of its report, the Committee explicitly recognised that while environmental protection licences could include discharge limits, evidence from industry highlighted the practical impossibility of this approach. PFAS is ubiquitous across industrial, commercial, and consumer products. For end-of-pipe receivers—whether waste facilities or treatment plants—policing PFAS load limits is extraordinarily difficult, and treatment is prohibitively costly. The Committee agreed that the focus must shift upstream to source control.
“This report validates what our members have been saying for years: PFAS is not a problem that can be solved at the end of the pipe,” said Ms Gayle Sloan, CEO, WMRR.
“Waste facilities and treatment plants cannot—and should not—be expected to police PFAS contamination across society. The Committee is right—the only effective solution is source control. Australia needs urgent national leadership to phase out non-essential PFAS by 2030 and ensure consistent regulations across jurisdictions.”
PFAS compounds are found in everyday items, from non-stick cookware, sunscreen, and cosmetics to pizza boxes, packaging, and dental floss. Once they enter the environment, they are persistent, mobile, and costly to remove. Attempting to “clean up” PFAS after it reaches drains or waterways is a herculean and unsustainable burden for utilities, councils, and industry.
WMRR strongly supports the Committee’s recommendation that the NSW Government work with state and federal counterparts to phase out all non-essential PFAS uses by 2030. This is consistent with international moves to restrict PFAS, including bans on the most harmful compounds – PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS.
Crucially, WMRR also welcomes the Committee’s recommendation for mandatory consumer labelling of PFAS-containing products. This would enable households, businesses, and councils to make informed choices and reduce PFAS inputs at the source. Labelling is a practical and transparent step to help communities understand where PFAS is present and play their part in minimising its release into the environment.
WMRR remains committed to working with governments, industry, and communities to ensure that PFAS is addressed where it begins, not where it ends.
ABOUT WMRR
The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) is the national peak body representing Australia’s $21 billion waste and resource recovery (WARR) industry. With more than 2,300 members from over 400 entities nationwide, we represent the breadth and depth of the sector, including representation from business organisations, the three (3) tiers of government, universities, and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs), including research bodies.
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