Landfill

By MRA Consulting Group The Western Australian Waste Authority has recently announced its Community and Industry Engagement funding program, providing funds from the landfill levy to support waste diversion. This program is essentially open to all comers, and will provide funding for projects and events. A total of $600,000 is allocated for projects delivered by […]

By Mike Ritchie – Managing Director, MRA Consulting Group The problem of illegal dumping We all hear the horror stories of illegal landfill operations, cowboy waste operators dumping waste on land, the covert filling of gullies by unscrupulous transporters wanting to avoid landfill fees. These practices undermine the whole intent of our waste regulatory structure […]

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 […]

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 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 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 […]

By Ron Wainberg – Technical Director, MRA Consulting Group Energy from Waste (EfW) is very well established overseas, but in Australia it has yet to get off the ground. The reasons for this are to be found in a complex combination of different historical factors: adequate landfill capacity, poor financial incentives, unfavourable public perceptions and lack […]

Over the last few months the national debate around a ban on microbeads has picked up. Last November, MRA argued the need for a national ban on microbeads. We said they were pernicious and a pollutant that should never have been permitted in the first place. It is nice to know US President Obama reads […]

Published by Sustainability Matters What do you see as the single biggest challenge facing your industry in the year ahead, and why? The biggest challenge for recyclers is the mixed government market price signals around recycling, waste management and carbon. Some States are pushing ahead with strategic approaches to waste management by setting targets, establishing […]

The Source Separated Organic Waste Method has been approved and is available for use. There is still time to register a project for the next auction under this method and claim credits for your abatement effort. The next ERF auction is to be held on the 27 and 28 April 2016. To be eligible to […]

Last November, MRA argued the need for a national ban on microbeads. We said they were pernicious and a pollutant that should never have been permitted in the first place. It is nice to know US President Obama reads The Tipping Point. He has just announced a federal ban on microbeads across all American States, […]

As you are no doubt aware, Australia, along with the global community, has finally committed to limit anthropogenic global warming to less than a 2 degree increase (with a 1.5 degree increase as an aspirational target). Australia has a chequered history in respect of climate change policy and it is a brave person who would […]