Staff Writer

Landfills, Opinion, Plastic

Why landfilling plastic waste will be here for a while

By Ross Headifen Ph.D It is becoming clear that our management of plastic waste is woefully underperforming. We have set targets many years in advance for recyclability, being recycled and recycled content in new products. However, as we approach these target dates, report after report tells us that we will not only miss the targets but miss them by significant amounts. So much so that recycling of plastics waste has changed little since the targets were set six years ago. Read More
Circular Economy, Features, Landfills

Accelerating recyclables away from landfill

By Helen Millicer
With two years under its belt the Albanese government has only one year to go until the election. As the Prime Minister has flagged, the nation stands at a crucial crossroad for its economic and environmental prospects. The government already has a full agenda of committed reforms, including establishing a national EPA and cutting emissions. Having conducted many reviews, it also has a full dance card of additional potential reforms. The question is how many of these reviews will result in meaningful reforms before the election? What are the priorities? And is there sufficient support for these reforms to be widely accepted for Australia to achieve circularity, low emissions, and a higher productivity future? Australia is among the worst performing nations on high consumption, high emissions and high waste to landfill. Read More
ACOR, Circular Economy, Features, Product Stewardship

ACOR: Making product stewardship work for Australia

By Suzanne Toumbourou The recycling sector is growing and is an important part of Australia’s economy; contributing almost $19 billion a year in economic value and supporting over 94,000 jobs, while helping to meet Australia’s waste reduction and resource recovery targets. The Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR) is an industry forum for resource recovery, recycling and remanufacturing. Read More
Energy from Waste, Energy from waste, Ewaste, Opinion, Waste collection

A global review of the waste to energy sector

By Amal Jugdeo The need for sustainable waste disposal solutions is becoming more critical as the quantity of waste generated increases yearly. This is evident in all countries, including countries that have the most efficient waste separation and recycling programs. Switzerland, for example, has one of the most stringent waste management regulations and policies in Europe and is often recognised as the ‘world champion of recycling’. Read More
News

Why transforming the product value chain is important

By John Gertsakis and Rose Read
A comprehensive product stewardship approach is lifecycle-oriented and seeks to transform the value chain through diverse interventions from design and production through to post consumption and how we can better manage end-of-life outcomes. Read More
Carbon emissions
 News

Carbon emissions of Australian plastics to 2050

By Yong Lin, Kyle O’Farrell
and Joe Pickin Since the 1950s, plastic use has grown dramatically, generating innumerable improvements in packaging, medicine, engineering, consumer goods and many other products. However, our global reliance on a group of synthetic materials that are not part of natural systems is also responsible for significant impacts on human health, plants and animals, and the environment more widely in the form of carbon emissions. Read More