Circular Economy
27 May 2020
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.
Carbon
26 May 2020
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.
Carbon
26 November 2019
The naturally deficient in carbon, Australian soils are being depleted further through agriculture. Adding organic matter helps replenish nutrients and improve soil structure.
When carbon is added through compost, it is good for the environment, the soil and for farmers who can now earn ACCUs and cash through the the Emissions Reduction Fund.
Policy
18 September 2019
The Australian Commonwealth has achieved a first. A Minister for Waste (and Environmental Management) was announced by the Morrison Government. In the 200 years since colonial settlement we have not had a Minister with Waste in their title. I hope that ushers in a period of attention and reform.
Policy
16 September 2019
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.
Policy
18 August 2019
A circular economy is necessary to minimise landfill, increase resources recovery and protect our natural environment. A strong local reprocessing sector will also generate new jobs, support the economy and safeguard Australia from international developments such as China's National Sword. Mike Ritchie outlines the key drivers for a strong Circular Economy in Australia.
Carbon
18 March 2019
FOGO diversion from landfill is one of the cheapest global warming abatement options. It is also relatively easy to do and should be prioritised by Government.
Carbon
19 February 2019
After combining and analysing data from five distinct global meteorological and marine observation datasets, the UN warns that we might see temperature increases 3-5°C by 2100.
Climate Change
21 August 2018
All political commentary on the National Energy Guarantee (NEG), coal and climate change should come with a warning and a declaration on whether the author is a climate change sceptic or not.
Compost
11 July 2018
At a recent meeting with Local Government Mayors and CEO’s, a claim was made that transporting organics by truck to a distant compost facility (in this case 150km away) would emit more greenhouse gases than landfilling it locally. Thinking that the carbon forcing factor of methane from landfill (25 times CO2) would render that claim incorrect, I thought I should go back and check the maths.