Recycling

Our current economic model is pretty much a linear one: take (extract) - make (stuff) - waste (landfill). It treats resources as infinite and assumes the environment can absorb the waste. It is therefore unsustainable in the long run.

People often ask “Is MRA doing any Circular Economy work?”. The answer is “Plenty”.

Which comes first, composting capacity or the commitment by Council to supply FOGO material?

Australia generates 316,000 tonnes of HDPE plastic per year. Most is landfilled. If every MGB in Australia was required to be black, that alone would absorb 258,000 t of HDPE by adding 10.4kg of recycled content to every MGB at every home.

As our cities become bigger we are living more in units and flats (MUDs or multi-unit dwellings) rather than houses (SUDs or single unit dwellings).

Kerbside FOGO collection and processing to compost is gaining steam around Australia. So, what is the optimal bin configuration?

A response to Sam Bateman’s “Is landfill part of the circular economy?”

Federal Environment Minister Susan Ley supports standardised waste collection systems, including a common bin lid colour across Australia. We propose to also standardise the colour of the bin's body to maximise recycled plastic use.

More and more councils now collect FOGO at the kerbside. Will three bins become the new standard?

The single biggest greenhouse gas emissions decision you will make as Mayor, is “Are we still sending organic waste to landfill?”

In the days before CDS, containers made up half of the volume of most Australian kerbside bins. Post-CDS, yellow top bins are not as full anymore. That creates opportunities for new products to go into the yellow bin system. Mike Ritchie discusses our options for increasing recycling.

Through the Bin Trim program, MRA and Modern Shoes were able to divert close to 30 tonnes of waste from landfill, saving the business $21,600 per year.