Strategy

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 Australian Government has released its third round of National Stronger Regions Fund (NSRF) under the $1 billion Promoting Economic Development in Australia’s Regions program. The new grants provide a one off opportunity to local governments and incorporated not-for-profit organisations to fund priority infrastructure in local communities. The new grant funding is summarised below: Grant […]

Sustainability Victoria (SV) has now released funding to help eligible businesses identify opportunities for energy and materials efficiency improvements by engaging a consultant to conduct a resource assessment of their operations. The amount of funding available is summarised below: Grant  Funding Per Applicant  Closing Date  Energy Assessment  Up to $5,000 12 February 2016 Materials Assessment  […]

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, […]

Voluntary action by every individual helps to grow recycling rates; an extra milk bottle in the recycling bin; installing a home composting system, all contribute. Australia leads the world in household recycling rates. In the business sector most of the economically viable streams are already being recycled (cardboard, paper, metals and plastic) although there is […]

Plastic, in all its forms, can be a pain in the neck for waste managers. It is light, voluminous and not worth very much. But, small bits of plastic like microbeads found in common cosmetics such as face washes, exfoliants and toothpastes, have been really wreaking havoc on waterways and soil systems across the world. […]

South Australia’s suggested waste management reforms as set out in ‘Reforming waste management – Creating certainty for an industry to grow’ discusses the concept of ‘Pay as you throw’ or ‘Save as you throw’ variable rate pricing for waste services. The basics are to provide variable pricing based on the volume of the bin or […]

In our recent article ‘Is it time for a landfill ban on polystyrene?’, we referenced New York City’s decision to ban single-use polystyrene foam containers and packaging. The decision meant the end of polystyrene throw away coffee cups. Unexpectedly, on 22 September, Justice Margaret Chan, of the New York Supreme Court overturned the ban citing […]

You’ve seen it in nearly every movie set in a New York winter – the movie’s main character bundled in a coat, clutching a cup of hot “kwa-fee” – in a polystyrene foam cup. However, as of July 1st 2015, a ban on single-use polystyrene foam food and beverage containers (take away containers, food trays, […]

MRA announces its expansion into the Victorian market with the appointment of David Cocks as Victorian Manager. David joins MRA from Sustainability Victoria (SV) where he managed SV’s Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Team. David brings to MRA a detailed understanding of Victoria’s waste policy and infrastructure landscape. Given the expansion of processing facilities already underway and in development, David’s experience, developing and evaluating business cases for the State government will […]

The NSW Government announced in February 2015 that it had a preference to introduce a container deposit scheme (CDS). That announcement was endorsed by the opposition. So what is the State of Play beyond NSW? The QLD government has said it will model its system on the NSW model; NT has now introduced its own […]

Inside Waste (April 2013) published an article by MRA on Weight Based Charging (WBC) titled ‘Wake the Sleeping Giant on C&I’. It argued Weight Based Charging for commercial waste, would likely assist in achieving Australia’s C&I resource recovery targets. WBC provides waste generators with a direct price signal, equating waste generation to costs. At present […]