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At the recent Waste 2022 Conference in Coffs Harbour, unlicensed landfills were the topic of one of the talks. Given by Jason Scarborough, who is the principal consultant for JSRS, he made a case for how they could be used in relation to the circular economy. While some within the industry might be surprised that …
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Despite setting targets for 70 per cent of plastic packaging to be recycled or composted by 2025, and phasing out unnecessary single-use plastic packaging, a report by the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) recently estimated that the country will only be able to recycle 36 per cent of plastics annually by 2025. Of the 1.1m tonnes of plastic …
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Over one billion disposable coffee cups are used by Australians every year. They fill up our bins, overflow into the streets and parkways, and blow into our waterways and beaches. They also create great recycling confusion. They are primarily made from paper, right? So why can’t they go in the recycling bin? The circular economy …
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There have been a few pieces in Inside Waste in the last year, which continue the rent seeking tradition of the alternatives to landfill in Australia. Mike Ritchie’s critique on the basis of carbon storage is typical. Of course, landfill remains as the only waste disposal option that actually stores carbon, but what about the …
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Harry Wilson is the accidental waste expert. When he first started in the waste industry more than 50 years ago, it wasn’t by design. He was an accountant. A number cruncher. Somebody who knew the different sides of an accounting ledger, not the differences between PVC, PET and HDPE. Fast forward 50-plus years and Wilson …
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Soft plastics are the bane of the waste industry. Hard to collect, a noxious and hazardous substance to the environment, and an item that can take up a lot of time in Material Recovery Facilities when being recycled. Like politics and religion, everybody has an opinion on what should be done about them. But industry sectors …
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Over two days in April the Litter Congress covered several seminars on litter and its legacy on our land, inner waterways and surrounding oceans. We look at some of the highlights and work being done by many organisations to lessen litter’s impact in Australia. Cigarette buttsLara Barclay is the managing director of Adaptation Environmental Support. …
Online Subscription, Queensland
Queensland’s Respecting Country, A Sustainable Waste Strategy for First Nations Communities, provides a framework for 17 First Nations councils to transition to improved waste practices. The Queensland Government is the first and only state in Australia to develop a specific waste strategy for First Nations councils and communities, acknowledging that existing state strategies continue to …
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Not a week goes by without a prosecution of an operator in the waste industry in one of our environmental courts, either for unlawfully carrying out activities without a licence, or breaching licence conditions. State environmental regulators are vigilant in enforcing licences and breaches against the waste industry, with some recent prosecutions serving as a …
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Packaging is one of the banes of the waste industry – is it recyclable? Is it compostable? Can it be reused? Who should be repurposing it? What parts are recyclable and which parts have to be shunted to landfill? Is it biodegradable? Do consumers understand where a soft plastic stops and a hard plastic begins? …
