Resource recovery

Karinne Taylor critically reviews the House Committee on Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources report “From Rubbish to Resources: Building a Circular Economy”.

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.

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.

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?

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.