Plastic

The 2021 national plastics plan in a nutshell
Circular Economy
1 July 2022

The 2021 national plastics plan in a nutshell

Australia’s National Plastics Plan 2021 was released a year ago. Sadly, it looks like most of its targets will be missed. Nevertheless, the Plan provides a strong foundation for tackling plastic waste in Australia.

Sydney is drowning in microplastic
litter
14 June 2022

Sydney is drowning in microplastic

By: Mike Ritchie, MRA Consulting Group Lily soon found the Australian Microplastics Assessment Project (AUSMAP), a nationwide citizen science initiative run by Dr Michelle Blewitt from Total Environment Centre along with Dr Scott Wilson from Macquarie University. Their methodologies aligned well. Basically, you lay out a frame and collect a depth of sand from the beach, then spend […]

Prioritising design in a Circular Economy
Circular Economy
23 May 2022

Prioritising design in a Circular Economy

Would the maniac who designed the first plastic fruit sticker please stand up!

What should we do with plastics?
EfW
5 April 2022

What should we do with plastics?

Australia generates 2.4 million tonnes of plastic every year. It comes in all shapes and polymers. Car parts, sofas, drink containers, medical equipment, pallet wrap and single use packaging. You name a product in the economy and sure enough it will have plastic in it or in its supply chain.

Key points on COAG export bans
Circular Economy
29 September 2020

Key points on COAG export bans

One of the most interesting Coffs Waste sessions this year was the COAG panel discussion addressing the forthcoming export bans on glass, plastics, paper and tyres where Minister Trevor Evans made a number of interesting key points.

National Waste Action Plan 2019
Circular Economy
27 July 2020

National Waste Action Plan 2019

The National Waste Action Plan 2019 was agreed by Federal, State and Local governments setting national targets and actions for reducing waste to landfill. To achieve this, industry, waste generators and local government need the right market signals and regulations to drive the necessary investment.

Let’s fix coffee cups so we can start to focus on food waste
Landfill
22 November 2019

Let’s fix coffee cups so we can start to focus on food waste

One billion single use coffee cups are sent to landfill every year. Sounds like a lot but this represents less than 0.0004% of the waste generated in Australia per year. So, what can we do to deal with coffee cups so that we can focus on significant streams like organics (particularly food), which represent around 50% of all waste to landfill in Australia?

Let’s fix plastic bags so we can start to fix organics
Policy
27 February 2017

Let’s fix plastic bags so we can start to fix organics

By Mike Ritchie, MRA Consulting Group Australians use an estimated 5 billion single use plastic bags (supb’s) per year. Sounds like a lot but this represents only about 20,000 tonnes of plastic or 0.04% of the waste generated in Australia per year. If all of these plastic bags go to landfill they represent just 0.1% […]

What’s the solution to marine plastic pollution?
Event
11 November 2016

What’s the solution to marine plastic pollution?

By MRA Consulting Group MRA Consulting knew Leslie Mallinson was a champion in the fight against Marine Debris when she joined us last year. Her experience working with the Education team at ReefHQ Aquarium in Townsville led her to see firsthand the impacts marine debris can have on our wildlife, as sea turtles that ingested […]

Plastic pollution – a call to action
Recycling
30 May 2016

Plastic pollution – a call to action

By Mike Ritchie – Director, MRA Consulting Group Plastic pollution of waterways and oceans is a real problem. We need to fix it. Plastic was only invented 100 years ago and now is ubiquitous in our economies and lifestyles. It is also ubiquitous in our pollution. From microbeads to plastic bottles and fish nets plastic […]

Bags not! Finding the solution for Australia’s plastic bags
Policy
29 March 2016

Bags not! Finding the solution for Australia’s plastic bags

The recent Ministerial Roundtable on plastics could not agree whether to ban, price or leave Single Use Plastic Bags (SUPBs) for another day. We use approximately 6 billion SUPBs each year, of which 2 percent are recycled[i]. SUPBs are being, or have been, banned in South Australia, Tasmania, the ACT, the Northern Territory and in […]

NSW Grants Summary – applications now open
Grants
16 June 2015

NSW Grants Summary – applications now open

The NSW EPA has released four new grant programs under the $465.7 million NSW Government Waste Less Recycle More program. The new grants provide a one off opportunity to a range of eligible applicants within NSW, including local governments, businesses, industry and the community. The new grant rounds are summarised below. Grant Streams Maximum funding […]

Sign up for all our latest articles

Subscribe to our blog and receive notifications of new articles by email

Blog categories

Nabers Accredited Assessor
Local Government Procurement Approved Contractor
Awards