Coke you’ve done it again. In a bad way
Coke and Lion trashed Queensland container deposit scheme and now they want Victoria’s
Waste and recycling
Jay Gualtieri on why NABERS waste ratings are the hardest of all
Jay Gualtieri of Ausnviro says of all the NABERS ratings that can be done, waste is beyond doubt the hardest.
171 Collins Street still leads in waste and sustainability
171 Collins Street, Melbourne, shows how to do waste, two years in a row.
Rose Read: how this award winner wants to tackle the big challenges in waste and recycling
A background with MobileMuster and mentoring by Clean Up Australia co-founder Ian Kiernan are just part of the varied background that helped Rose Read of National Waste and Recycling Industry Council win an industry award recently. According to Rose Read, chief executive officer of the National Waste and Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC) who recently won […]
So now it’s a myth that plastics are filling our ocean? Say what?
Australian Council of Recycling has placed the blame for excess packaging on consumers and says plastic pollution in the ocean is “a myth with no scientific basis” and that the “proportion of plastics in the environment is less than one per cent of all the plastic that is generated and used by us as humans on an annual basis”. But this is not what the science says, nor the analysis.
Queensland’s Container Recycling Scheme comes under fire
Investigations into Queensland’s Container Recycling Scheme have revealed “serious inadequacies” and a lack of transparency at the hands of the beverage industry. Last week, Total Environment Centre released a report with information from its own investigations, public data and the Queensland Productivity Commission highlighting two main issues, and calling for greater transparency and reporting, an […]
How Australia’s looming solar panel waste crisis could actually be a big opportunity
Recycling solar panels is expected to become cheaper and more accessible with Australia’s leading recycler expanding its model to include drop-off points in all states.
NCC doesn’t cover demolition and contaminated lamps in landfill are the result
Around 85 per cent of mercury-containing fluorescent tubes and lamps still go to landfill –poisoning our land and water tables – even though it’s illegal and Australia has signed an international convention. Simple changes to the National Construction Code (NCC) are part of the solution.
Coronavirus could nudge product design in a more circular direction
It’s time for wide-open creativity as we work our way of the pandemic crisis. What about more local manufacturing and production – and a big eye on circular economy as we go? New research that just received grant funding might help lead the way.
How to avoid drowning in our waste
Earlier this year, some Beijing residents found that in order to throw away their rubbish they would have to have their faces scanned by the rubbish bin. Big Brother in a bin? Even George Orwell wouldn’t have thought of that one.
Councils combine to drive local recycling procurement
A coalition of NSW local councils have voluntarily set a target to recycle 45 million glass bottles into useful products each year in an effort to stimulate investment in the region’s recycling industry.
Michael Mobbs won’t pay his council rates for waste
Michael Mobbs is taking his own climate emergency action and will stop paying council garbage rates. It’s the least his local council can do if it’s serious about its climate emergency declaration, he says.
Responsibility for plastic pollution starts at the top
If the corporate world wants to play a meaningful role in solving our plastic pollution crisis it should stop blaming consumers and start accepting responsibility for its packaging.
Coffee brick homes and what else Australia’s circular economy is delivering
It might sound like an adult version of Hansel and Gretel, but houses made out of coffee grinds could become a reality in the future.
Coles trials zero waste to landfill… while sending a lot of waste to landfill
Every day, Coles’ Wentworth Point supermarket in western Sydney sends about six and a half shopping trolleys’ worth of rubbish to landfill but the store plans to cut that dramatically under an initiative by the grocery giant to find new ways to reduce waste in stores.
South Australian councils commit to buying back their own rubbish
Nine South Australian councils have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to prioritise the use of recycled materials in their procurement processes.
It’s about more than just rubbish: Victoria’s circular economy review ignores people
The Victorian government’s circular economy discussion paper rings alarm bells that a major opportunity to redesign our economy will be missed.
The rise of the repairers is subversive… but excellent news
In Sweden you get a tax deduction for fixing the TV instead of throwing it out and Victoria now has 25 repair cafes and there are more springing up around the country. Beware this subversive movement is sweeping Australia too, fighting waste, excess consumerism and built-in obsolescence.
JLL cracks the shopping centre waste conundrum, starting in Sydney’s inner west
The staggering amounts of waste generated by food courts and other shopping centres tenants is no longer going unnoticed. One shopping centre operator in Sydney thinks it’s now got the answer. How about a machine that weighs your waste?
UTS’s plastic free food court might just be a world first
The University of Technology Sydney’s newest food court has opened for business without a single piece of plastic on the menu.
CSIRO boosting waste-munching potential of insects
In brief: A CSIRO start-up, Goterra, plan to use insects to consume food waste. The researchers are current looking for ideal conditions that encourage flies to mate in the hopes of increasing the numbers of insects involved in compost production. The startup will next look at which native Australian insects are the best nutritional choices […]
GECA’s new Waste Collection Standard starts in Sydney
Organic Recycling Group has become the first waste service provider to be certified under GECA’s new Waste Collection Standard.
Government buy-recyclables targets could turbocharge circular economy
Targets for procurement of products with recycled content by governments could be the game-changer the Australian recycling sector desperately needs.
WA councils doing it for themselves on waste
A group of 13 councils in Western Australia’s south west have joined forces to accelerate their transitions to a circular economy.
Match-making marketplace for the circular economy to go national
There’s a new match-making service that started in Victoria that pairs up waste generators with remanufacturers, purchasers or recyclers that can repurpose the waste, and it’s got national ambitions.
What Australian policy makers can learn from South Korea on food wastage
As much as 95 per cent of food waste in South Korea is now recycled thanks to government legislation that charges citizens for the amount they throw out. Is this the sort of innovative policy we should be considering in Australia?
Jobs and economic growth star in Queensland’s new waste strategy
Queensland’s overhaul of its waste management is not overlooking the vast potential for jobs creation and economic growth in its plans.
NSW government’s Bin Trim program helps slash Sydney hotel’s waste to zero
A hotel in Sydney’s inner-city suburb Surry Hills has managed to eradicate its waste footprint altogether, diverting 53,000 tonnes of food waste each year and saving $30,240 on waste collection fees annually.
The chemical recycling technology that might unlock a plastic neutral Australia
Imagine a technology that could soon make Timor-Leste the first plastic neutral economy in the world.
Single use plastic: be gone
Better Building Partnership Sustainable Destination Partnership and CitySwitch and their allies packed into the Marconi Room at Sydney Town Hall on Tuesday morning to launch a new program to reduce single use plastics in the city’s destinations hot spots, organised by the City of Sydney.