Here we are at the end of a 6-year negotiation that began with the CPRS and NGERS and has finished with the Carbon Pricing Mechanism (CPM) and the Carbon Farming Initiative (CFI). There has been scarce communication from the Commonwealth as the issues have been free flowing, subject to ongoing negotiations at both the specialist […]

The government’s announcement of a carbon price plan might well lead to a rise in recycling rates for high embodied energy materials such as aluminium and plastics, but could also bring challenges such as increased operating costs. While the industry awaits further details from the government, industry consultant Mike Ritchie said the carbon plan is the right reform but that waste and recycling remain the […]

Every waste conference has a stream for waste education. But in the fastest growing generator – commercial and Industrial (C&I) – does it produce any results? By results I refer to real reductions in waste to landfill measured in hundreds of thousands of tonnes – the scale on which other initiatives such as landfill pricing, […]

Many of us are conscientious recyclers who use our council bins, compost waste and say no to plastic bags. However, as KAREN SHAW finds out, there’s still so much more to be done. Read more  

By Mike Ritchie – Landfill charges in Sydney are going to increase from $200 a tonne to $300 in the next four years, courtesy of the landfill levy, rising landfill costs and inflation. The same trend is happening in Victoria, Queensland and other major cities as a result of government policies, particularly levies, stricter environmental […]

By Mike Ritchie, MRA Consulting Group Global warming is the problem  Global warming, due to anthropogenic (your and my) emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), is a reality that all but a few fringe dwellers, now accept. In a natural system plants photosynthesis CO2 from the atmosphere, expire oxygen and take up soil nutrients. Plants are […]

By Mike Ritchie – The WMAA has moved to strengthen the voice of the waste industry in forming a National Carbon Committee. It is important that potential contribution from the waste industry is recognised in any scheme and is not lost in the debate about the major emitters like power stations. The waste industry has the ability to produce, at relatively […]

As levies rise throughout Australia, here are the essential tips on how to get the best waste collection service possible. Industry veteran Mike Ritchie gives the low down. Companies regularly ask for advice on the ‘best’ and most cost-effective recycling and waste management systems, particularly in a rapidly changing market with lots of innovation going […]

Efforts to “demystify” the proposed Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme dominated early discussions at the WasteQ conference in Brisbane. Delegates heard from a range of speakers, who raised almost as many questions as they answered. The take home message for councils was there remains a great deal of uncertainty surrounding carbon regulation, and they need to […]

By Angela Dorizas – The waste management industry has called for government intervention and investment in alternative waste technologies to prevent carbon pricing from crippling local communities. Speaking at the New South Wales Sustainable Development Conference in Sydney, state president of the Waste Management Association of Australia, Mike Ritchie, warned that without government intervention the increasing volume of […]

This year’s election for the top leadership positions at the Waste Management Association of Australia is shaping up as a referendum on the organisation’s future. One camp wants WMAA to step up and take a more active role leading debate. The other argues WMAA’s primary role as a place to foster best practice training and knowledge would be threatened if certain groups were alienated by controversial […]

By Katrina Vella – Liverpool is to have a cleaner future with the opening of the SITA waste treatment plant in Kemps Creek. Liverpool residents generate 70,000 tonnes of waste a year with just 16 per cent being recycled. The plant will be able to recycle 82 percent of this. The $50 million facility, which will be fully operational in July, […]