Seminar – Recycling Crisis: Impacts, Issues and Solutions, 10 April 2018, Sydney

Waste Recycling is under threat from many directions and urgently requires practical and cost-effective solutions. Actions are underway to better manage this international issue, but there are many local challenges.

This seminar will address:

• Impact of China’s National Sword – what actions are the Government and others taking?
• NSW EPA’s C&D and Scrap minimum standards and Waste Regulation changes
• Solutions to avoid drops in recycling levels, short and long term approaches

Following the enforcement of China’s National Sword, recycling has had its end market considerably reduced. A cooperative process is essential to solve this crisis, involving all players and stakeholders in the recycling system including generators and purchasers of recycled products. Australia now faces expensive options for redesigning recycling systems to meet higher export standards and/or developing larger internal recycling and reuse systems. To avoid sending kerbside recyclables to landfill, alternatives are required such as improved separation at source and at recycling facilities and new markets. But who will pay for these changes? Calls for additional Extended Producer Responsibility, increase use of Product Stewardship legislation and bans on single use plastics are also gaining pace.

Recent NSW EPA regulatory changes, such as the Waste regulatory changes and minimum standards for scrap metal collectors and C&D recyclers,  impose further control on waste and recycling and potentially increase costs and business uncertainty.

The agenda includes:

Waste Section EPA
NSW Government’s set of measures to assist with National Sword’s impact and an update on other current waste matters

Ron Wainberg – Technical Director, MRA consulting
National Sword: where has it come from, was it foreseeable and what do we do?

Anne Prince – CEO, A. Prince Consulting
The glass recycling crisis – what lessons have we learnt

Luke Schepen – Head of Communications & Corporate Affairs, SUEZ
A waste recycling business’ perspective – Issues facing revamping the recycling sector, solutions, issues and problem areas

Daniel Waddington – CEO Australian Bale Press
A MRF’s designer and operator’s views on current issues and the need for investment in processing to generate higher quality recycled products

Luke Parker – Director, Sell and Parker
The metal recycling sector and the impacts of the proposed policy, standards and regulations – obstacles issues and solutions

Gavin Shapiro – Senior Associate, Norton Rose Fulbright
A legal perspective on the impacts on recycling contracts and legal liabilities faced by Local Government and recyclers

Miles Mason – BDM, New Energy
Energy from Waste – what role can it play in reducing reliance on landfills

Andrew Doig – CEO, ASBG
A business perspective on issues and a framework solution to revamping and re-engineering Australia’s recycling system

Companies that are brand owners, councils, waste contractors, businesses that recycle wastes, waste equipment suppliers will be affected in various ways in the short and long term.

This seminar is sponsored by Norton Rose Fulbright and supported by MRA Consulting Group and Sustainable Business Australia.

For full details please visit the event website or refer to the full event agenda.

Date
10 April 2018

Time
9.00am-4.40pm

Venue
NRF, L10, Martin Place, Sydney

Price (full day)
Members, including ASBG, SBA, members and NRF and MRA clients – $395
Non members – $495