Inside Waste Weekly - Enviro 2010: Garrett does the rounds

Friday, 3 September 2010

General:

Enviro 2010: Garrett does the rounds

Tuesday, 27 July 2010

Environment Minister Peter Garrett was busy on the first morning of Enviro 2010, kicking off the National Waste Policy (NWP) workshop, unveiling a take-back scheme for compact fluorescent lamps and launching the 6th edition of the ‘Biohazard Waste Industry’s Code of Practice’.

More than 90 people attended the NWP workshop on day one of the peak industry event. The goal was to discuss and decided on a consensus waste and recycling industry view to inform the National Waste Policy.

While difficult to cover all the territory, they touched on each of the six key NWP themes: taking responsibility; improving the market; pursuing sustainability; reducing hazard and risk; tailoring solutions; and providing the evidence.

Participants agreed 15 key actions they hope to see implemented over the next five years. The most popular ones were:

to develop an affordable life cycle analysis tool for government procurement officers (to be developed by the EPHC);
to establish organics standards for the procurement process and also provide a $30 dollar rebate to growers that utilise compost; and
develop a priority list of materials and products for stewardship schemes.

Garrett, despite the election, insisted a product stewardship bill will be passed in the next session of Parliament and there will be an e-waste take-back scheme up and running by 2011.

He also launched FluoroCycle, a voluntary scheme to remove mercury-containing CFLs from the waste stream. Administered by the Lighting Council of Australia and backed by a $600,000 commitment over three years from the Federal Government, it will work with industry to develop recycling programs suited to their business models.

The initial focus will be on those sectors that account for the largest consumption of the lamps, namely the commercial and public lighting sectors, which account for 90% of the lighting waste in Australia. Households may be embraced down the track.

It includes a promotional and recognition strategy to highlight the commitments and achievements of organisations that commit to recycling their waste lamps; and an outreach program targeting industry associations and individual companies.

Other key partners are industry associations spanning property, facilities management, local government and recycling.

Rounding out the morning, Garrett released the latest edition of the biohazard code, which has been the result of extensive industry consultation over the last 18 months with the Department of Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA).

The new biohazard code is supported by the Biohazard Waste Industry division (BWI) of Waste Management Association of Australia. BWI chairman Lincoln Falconer welcomed the launch.

“The Waste Management Association of Australia is delighted with this result. This is a positive outcome for the industry and will help standardise definitions with regard to biohazardous waste, thus reducing risk, duplication and cost to the broader clinical waste industry in Australia and New Zealand,” he said.

Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia’s environmental authorities have adopted the code. The BWI is working with all levels of government and industry towards its adoption in other jurisdictions.

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