Waste

Waste is ‘waste’ by definition of the fact it is discarded. The generator has to pay someone to get rid of it. Ιt will only become a ‘resource’ when it is separated, sorted, cleaned-up and is available as an input to another process.

The 2020-21 budget is out and for the first time, the Commonwealth identified the waste sector as one of the 6 (yes 6 only) sectors for focussed job creation. MRA's Mike Ritchie reviewed the budget noting some important points.

MRA’s Mike Ritchie was interviewed by Kevin Warner on waste in Australia, the current landscape for energy from waste and what the road ahead looks like.

$24 million in funding has been released to support NSW local councils and the Alternative Waste Treatment (AWT) industry to transition away from MWOO following the 2018 EPA revocation of the order and exemption allowing MWOO application to land.

Following up on Virginia Brunton's well received "Where to with food waste" article, Mike Ritchie discusses FOGO in MUDs. Mike argues that collecting FOGO from MUDs is not just feasible, it is necessary. Getting food and garden waste out of all households will: - reduce #waste to #landfill by 50% or more - save up to 2.7% of Australia’s GHG emissions and - produce millions of tonnes of soil enhancing compost.

The waste and recycling industry contributes close to 3% of Australia’s direct emissions. However, recycling abates much more by capturing the embodied energy of the recovered materials. We can create a more sustainable Australia by reducing emissions, increasing recycling and growing new green jobs.

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.

The Queensland Government recently opened the Regional Recycling Transport Assistance Package (RRTAP) grants program offering up to $250,000 in funding for businesses and local government organisations to help fund the costs of transporting recyclable material from regional Queensland to facilities (within QLD or interstate), where it can be recovered or processed and turned into new products.

Green Industries SA recently opened the Recycling Infrastructure grants program offering up to $500,000 in funding for industry and local government organisations to install infrastructure and provide innovative approaches to increase the recovery of resources and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill each year.

Sustainability Victoria recently opened the Bioenergy Infrastructure Fund grants offering a total of $750,000 in funding for government organisations (including state, local and federal), community organisations, businesses and social enterprises over two streams; Infrastructure and Business case or feasibility/technical study.

Following up on his earlier Circular Economy article, Mike Ritchie reviews the European Union Circular Economy Action Plan report of 54 actions and adjusts those actions to propose an equivalent action list for Australia.

Australian landfill levies are on the move, with significant changes in Queensland and South Australia. The trouble with waste disposal, however, is that it tends to flow to the point of cheapest disposal. Just like water, waste flows downhill to the lowest point.