MRF

2 years since Asia stopped taking our recycling. Where do we stand?
Circular Economy
10 June 2020

2 years since Asia stopped taking our recycling. Where do we stand?

It is more than two years since China National Sword and the limitations on export to Asian recycling nations, kicked in. Recycling has not collapsed but it has taken some pretty big hits. So where are we up to now?

NSW Fast Track Planning Approvals
NSW
1 May 2020

NSW Fast Track Planning Approvals

Getting a planning approval for a waste facility is a long and excruciating process, especially in NSW. Now, the NSW Government is trying to combat the economic downturn brought about by COVID-19 by cutting down red-tape to speed up the planning process and stimulate the construction industry.

2 years to get an approval – tell him he’s dreaming!
NSW
16 April 2020

2 years to get an approval – tell him he’s dreaming!

Everyone working in waste and recycling knows that getting a planning approval for a waste facility is a long and excruciating process, especially in NSW. Mike Ritchie looks at why this is the case and puts forward 3 ideas for NSW to get its mojo back.

Saving kerbside recycling
Recycling
6 February 2019

Saving kerbside recycling

It has now been over a year since China introduced its National Sword policy to restrict the importation of kerbside recyclable materials from the rest of the world. The purpose of the policy was to increase the recovery of domestically generated recyclables within China and further boost its own manufacturing. The new rule is a 0.5% contamination rate in Australian exported material. Few Australian Materials Recovery Facilities (MRF) were built for that level of purity.

The status of C&I sorting in Australia
Recycling
10 December 2018

The status of C&I sorting in Australia

With landfill levies in NSW at $140.20/t you would think that sorting of commercial waste would be more common than it is. Less than 5% of the Commercial and Industrial (C&I) waste in NSW is put through a processing plant to recover the valuable materials. In other words, less than 120,000t of the 5.5 MT that is generated is put through a processing plant. There are no dedicated C&I sorting facilities in other States (and landfill levies are lower).

Bingo acquisition of DADI may open up C&I sorting capacity in Australia
Recycling
26 September 2018

Bingo acquisition of DADI may open up C&I sorting capacity in Australia

According to the 2016 National Waste Report, Commercial and Industrial waste (C&I) represents 20 MT of the 53 MT of waste generated in Australia (or 40% of generation). It also represents 34% of all waste sent to landfill (or 7.2MT out of 21MT) and achieves a 64% recovery rate compared to C&D (64%) and MSW (51%). Not bad in the scheme of things.

2018 looks like a lot of pain for MRFs and councils
Recycling
16 February 2018

2018 looks like a lot of pain for MRFs and councils

If you haven’t heard it already, the household recycling industry is in all sorts of trouble. 2018 is going to be a troubled year for most MRFs (Materials Recovery Facilities) and therefore their council clients. The Chinese National Sword policy has bitten and bitten hard. National Sword is the Chinese government’s mechanism to restrict import licences for recycled product and limit contamination rates of those recyclables to less than 0.5%.

Mandatory waste management group membership slated for Perth
State Strategy
14 January 2015

Mandatory waste management group membership slated for Perth

A review of WA’s Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Act 2007 (WARR Act) is set to create an opportunity for new recovery infrastructure in Perth. The WARR Act is the principal legislation for waste management in Western Australia. It is subject to a statutory review within five years of its commencement. Starting in July 2008, […]

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