Waste

The National waste and resource recovery report 2026 was just published. Here's what you need to know.

On 1 Sep 2026, a DCCEEW bureaucrat wrote on an “Official” basis to packaging stakeholders that: “ The Minister (Murray Watt) has communicated that a new Commonwealth scheme for packaging will not be introduced in this term of Government ….” Mike Ritchie takes exception to that decision.

Australia has lifted recycling and recovery dramatically, but the tonnes going to landfill keep climbing.

Pictures speak a thousand words as they say. And what these pictures say, is that Greater Sydney will run out of landfill capacity sooner rather than later.

2026 is upon us. Have we achieved the national 2025 Waste Targets? Government intervention has not moved the needle yet. It is time for a mandatory EPR scheme.

To turn ambitious recycling targets into lasting circular economy results, Australia’s recycling success should depend more on regulation and government leadership and less on consumers and corporate goodwill.

FOGO is taking off across Australia. Multi-unit dwellings (townhouses and residential flat buildings) are the next frontier. James and Mike outline the key aspects of a good FOGO program tailored to MUDs and RFBs.

Waste contracts are generally the most valuable contracts that a Council signs. Mike Ritchie explains how to get them right.

Almost two years on from a landmark pledge by state and federal environment ministers to take decisive action on packaging waste, Australia is still waiting for meaningful reform.

Waste in Australia (total generation and per capita) continues to grow, driving up GHG emissions and exhausting landfill space. To decouple waste generation from economic growth, Circular Economy is the key.

Waste management in the Pacific often gets neglected in favour of other issues. Donor countries can change that.

FOGO is taking off across Australia. All the more reason to implement stricter, and uniform, compost standards.