Amendment to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 to allow collection infrastructure as exempt development

The NSW Government is considering feedback on the proposed amendment to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008 (the State Policy). The amendment will allow minor and low impact recycling equipment such as reverse vending machines, as exempt development without planning or building approval. This amendment will support the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s (EPA) container deposit scheme (the Scheme). The aim of the Scheme is to reduce the volume of litter in NSW by 40 per cent by 2020. These proposed changes will make it easier and faster to deliver and maintain recycling equipment for bottles and cans across the State. Under the EPA’s Scheme, from 1 December 2017 anyone can return empty eligible drink bottles or cans to an approved NSW collection depot or reverse vending machine (RVM) for a 10-cent refund. These changes are explained in the Explanation of Intended Effect for an amendment to the State Policy to allow recycling equipment for bottles and cans as exempt development. Key changes proposed include: amending the State Policy to make minor and low impact recycling equipment exempt development (no planning or building approval required) cutting red tape and streamlining the NSW planning system to deliver the EPA’s litter reduction scheme across NSW