Latest articles

By MRA Consulting Group The NSW EPA has released its fourth and final round of the Weighbridge Fund under the $465.7 million NSW Government Waste Less Recycle More initiative (WLRM). The new grants provide a one off opportunity for eligible facilities to accelerate the installation of a weighbridge in compliance with the Protection of the […]

MRA’s Mike Ritchie delivered his view on the future of Energy from Waste (EfW) in Australia at the fourth Waste Expo conference last Wednesday. “Australia’s efforts related to Energy from Waste (EfW) are considerably less advanced when compared to some developed countries. The reasons for this are to be found in a complex combination of […]

By Mike Ritchie – Managing Director, MRA Consulting Group The circular economy matters… We are hearing more and more of the circular economy, an approach to resources that keeps materials away from waste, and brings them back into the productive economy. It rejects the status quo “take-make-dispose” linear economy in favour of cycling biological and […]

By James Ellinson and Dimitris Dimoliatis, MRA Consulting Group Re-use centres are a small, yet growing industry in Australia that offer a unique opportunity to tackle more than just waste. These facilities also engage in job outreach programs for disadvantaged communities, particularly for people with disabilities. Re-use centres sell used, recycled and second hand products […]

By James Moverley, MRA Consulting Group Sustainability Victoria (SV) has released Round 2 of the Victorian Litter Innovation Fund. This $700,000 fund is a component of the Victorian Litter Plan and provides support for the Victorian community to fund innovative approaches that prevent and reduce the impact of litter and illegal dumping. Over $300,000 was […]

By Mike Ritchie – Managing Director, MRA Consulting Group The idea of waste as a resource is not a new one. It’s an idea that has been around for years, decades even, but it’s an idea that has struggled to get onto the mainstream agenda. Putting materials out for recycling is well accepted; reincorporating those […]

If you’ve ever wondered where your science and maths degree can take you, catch a number of panelists from a range of diverse organisations at the UTS Your Future in Science + Maths session. MRA’s own Rebecca Pagnucco will be speaking at the 4.25pm business panel. Where Aerial Function Centre Building 10, Level 7 University […]

By Mike Ritchie – Managing Director, MRA Consulting Group The fourth Emissions Reduction Fund (ERF) auction has recently been announced. This matters immensely for the waste and local government sectors. So many quality projects are working hard behind the scenes to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Whether that’s a third bin diverting organics out of […]

By Virginia Brunton – Principal Consultant (Organics), MRA Consulting Group Freshcare is the fresh produce industry’s own on-farm assurance program adopted by thousands of fresh produce businesses as their key food safety program. In addition to the Food Safety and Quality (FSQ) assurance code of practice (COP) to ensure safe fruit and vegetables, Freshcare also […]

By Julien Gastaldi – Business Development Manager, MRA Consulting Group Climate policy is still lagging behind … At the time of writing, it is still not known who has won the federal election. Climate change has been relatively low profile compared to previous election campaigns and – paradoxically – this is good news. It is both […]

By Mike Ritchie – Managing Director, MRA Consulting Group Since the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Waste and Resource Recovery Governance Reform in Victoria in 2013, Victoria has pushed ahead rapidly with a strategic infrastructure approach to waste infrastructure reform. The Ministerial Advisory Committee report identified the need for much more coordinated approaches to the planning […]

By Mike Ritchie – Director, MRA Consulting Group The decision to increase the levy to $103/t over 4 years will send a strong pricing signal to recyclers and waste generators in South Australia. To recyclers it is a signal to invest in new services and infrastructure and to grow jobs. To waste generators it is […]