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Victoria’s Metropolitan Waste Management Group (MWMG) has a new name to reflect its expanded role as part of an amendment to the Environment Protection Act, which also led to the amalgamation of regional waste groups. The amendment, effective from August 1, means that the group’s role will now cover all waste streams, adding commercial and […]

Community engagement and the waste hierarchy were the running themes of the 2014 Energy from Waste Symposium held in Lorne, Victoria last week. According to NSW EPA director waste and resource recovery strategy Steve Beaman, those who attended the Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA) event were already energy-from-waste “evangelists” who agreed with the direction […]

The Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA) has released a brief document on the intricacies of the carbon policy and how it might affect the sector. Produced by Norton Rose Fulbright, MRA Consulting Group, Transpacific Industries Group and Cleanaway and Blue Environment, the fact sheet focuses on current issues amid the policy turbulence and uncertainties […]

When it comes to pricing carbon from waste you would be excused if you find it hard to tell the truth from the erroneous. It is pretty easy to miss the big picture behind the headline-grabbing estimate or to just feel lost because you went away for a few days! With our most recent article […]

At the time of writing the Government’s CPM termination bills have passed the House of Reps and are progressing to the Senate. They will most probably see the fixed carbon price repealed and replaced by Direct Action and the Emission Reduction Fund (ERF). The ERF provides the funding and the methodologies to project proponents to […]

Where are we today, and what will be game changing in resource recovery? First, the facts. Australia generates 48 MT/year of waste (latest National Waste Data Report 2014). Despite steady increases in the rate of recovery (average 52%), the waste generated between 2002 and 2009 grew by 40%, while population increased by only 10% (SoE […]

The Australian waste industry is a rapidly changing space, with surging waste volumes and new government policies creating both opportunities and challenges. Improving the efficiency of collection, transport and recovery of waste and recyclables is critical to maximising resource recovery, a critical factor in the environmental footprint of our economy. But waste generation has been […]

In 2012, in an article published in the WME online blog, MRA wrote: “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)”. We all thought this was the end of the theoretical […]

Inside Waste readers have once again voted MRA Best Small Consultancy in Australia in the 2014 Consultants Review. Not only was MRA voted best overall, our team of dedicated professionals were recognised in the following categories: Best in data management and auditing Best in education and training Best in community consultation Best in strategy, policy and planning […]

I have serious doubts about the claims the NSW Government is losing $100 million in landfill levy money at present and that this could grow to $200 million quickly. The solution is the reintroduction of a Queensland levy. At a NSW landfill levy of $95.20/t for the NSW Government to be losing $100 million – […]

With Sydney waste transfer stations set to cross the $275 per tonne barrier for the first time, it’s time to ramp up resource recovery. The drivers The effect of the NSW landfill levy, carbon pricing and compliance obligations on landfills and transfer stations, will push up pricing from 1 July 2012 by $35/t and possibly […]

On paper the new waste strategy to be implemented in WA over the next 20 years looks good, but will it boost recovery of business waste, wonders Mike Ritchie. In its review of commercial and industrial (C&I) waste in WA released last year my company, Mike Ritchie and Associates (MRA), found the state continued to […]