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Waste management in Australia

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The waste management in Australia is regulated at both federal and state level.[1][2][3]

The Commonwealth's Department of the Environment and Energy is responsible for the legislative framework on which the states adapt their own regulations.[1][2] International agreements also have a role and are managed by the federal government.[2] Other functions of the organ comprise the coordination of reports and statistical analysis collection, and co-operating with the industrial sector in product stewardship projects.[2] The main policies produced by the Department are the "National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development" (1992), which supported a long-term gains approach framework,[2][4] and the current "National Waste Policy: Less Waste, More Resources" (2018), in use until 2030.[2][5]

Australia used to heavily rely on Asian markets, especially on China, for waste treatment and disposal.[6][7][8] Since the Chinese "National Sword" policy came into effect in 2018, the waste management industry entered a crisis:[5][9][10][11] of the 1,248,000 tonnes (30% of the entire amount produced) of recyclable materials sent to China only in 2016-2017, 99% had been affected.[9][12][6] As an interim solution, exports have since shifted to, and enlarged, alternative markets, such as those in Vietnam and Indonesia.[13][14][15] An increasing number of Asian Countries is also planning to limit import rates.[16][17][18][19] The inadequacy of the management structure prior to 2018, mainly due by the limited role of the federal government (with consequent effects on the cooperation between the states),[7][20] by the general lack of reliable data,[21][22][23] and by the little domestic demand for the recycling industry inputs,[7][15] has hampered the Australian response to the issue.[15]

Since 2018 new strategies have been implemented by all governmental levels[7], and new principles related to circular economy had been introduced.[5][11][7][21] The current framework nationally adopted is that of "the 3 R's plus 1: reduce, reuse, recycle and recover energy"[21], in accordance to the conventions of the waste hierarchy[21] (introduced on a national basis in 1992),[4][7] with the objective of reducing the reliance on overseas markets and generate a solid domestic industry.[7] It represents a crucial conversion from the strong reliance that Australia used to have towards landfill disposal,[8][7] even though it focuses more on the processing of waste than on its reduction a priori.[7][24]

Every year 67 million tonnes of waste are generated in Australia.[5]

Human and consumer behaviour and has been identified as an important factor in waste management activities[8][25], and a number of surveys, as well as campaigns, have involved either governmental or private organizations.[18][26][27][28]

Historical development

Pre-European settlement

Aboriginal middens are arrangements of bones, shells, ashes and other waste materials which in some cases are defined as relics[29] of cultural significance.[1] Size can vary and they can even occupy entire coastlines for hundreds of metres.[29] Middens may be considered, perhaps in a simplistic way, as the first forms of dumping sites in Australia.[1][30] Aborigines conducted a nomadic way of life: they were those who moved, not their "refuses",[31] and some of this sites may had originated from continuous human presence over hundreds or thousands of years.[29] Presumably, Middens were used to organise resources, not to damage the landscape.[1] The low density population, its ecological footprint and the traits of the Australian environment led to an harmonisedd system in which waste was not contemplated as, and did not represent, an issue.[31]

1788-1900

Sydney Cove became the place of the first permanent, European settlement in Australia on 26 January 1788.[32] As admitted by a study, that is also considered the date in which the Country's waste disposal started to represent a problem.[33] According to the study, the period spanning from 1788 to 1850 was likely characterised by an out-of-sight, out-of-mind mentality towards garbage and waste.[33] The concept had been supported by the idea that the geography of Australia, and in particularly its vastness, would had allowed for an infinite time the exploitation of its areas as dumping sites.[33] In most of the cases, residents were asked to independently dispose of their own waste (which was mostly organic) and the general lack of regulations resulted in very low hygienic conditions.[1][33] These ultimately led to soil and water contamination, conditions that had consequences during the urban expansion in later years.[1][33] The absence of an industry that could had provided enough resources and materials for the colonies forced high rates of recycling.[33][1] Household and other early forms of waste that could not be recycled or otherwise reused were simply left in the streets, dumped in rivers, or collected in the backyard, where acid was used to accelerate decomposition and diminish the smell.[1] Diaries and journals from travelers and residents in the first decades of Sydney’s life reported a "shameful situation", which saw what at that time was a town of 50,000 people covered by various types of waste, flies and mosquitoes, along with the Sydney Harbour being the major dumping site.[33] Getting rid of waste in the sea (sea waste burial) was also a common practice,[33] and beaches were often covered by residuals brought by tides.[1]

The Gadigal clan, one of the original Sydney local communities, once used a river to collect freshwater.[1] At the time of Captain Arthur Phillip looking for the ideal settlement site, in 1788, a crucial requirement was that of a sufficient freshwater supply,[34] and that river constituted a crucial discriminant in the choice of Sydney.[34] Yet after the arrival of the colonists the stream became so polluted that in about a hundred of years it was ordered to being covered with sandstone.[1] The "Tank Stream", as it is now known, still flows beneath Sydney.[1][35]

By the end of the XIX century recycling rates had already reduced, with just some sectors of the population inclined in pursuing these practices -namely, the low-income classes-[1], and Melbourne was considered the world's dirtiest city.[33]

1900-1960

Dr Erwin Chadwick,  with his publication “Treatise on Fever” (1830),  was capable of impressive changes in the British health system.[36] In Australia, proper hygienic practices, including waste management, only started in the late years of the XIX century.[33] This shift was presumably due to a change in the administration nature of the colonies, which eventually resulted in a more democratic and representative system.[33] However, the major inputs are considered to have been caused by the widespread of the Bubonic Plague, which affected Sydney at the beginning of the XX century.[1][37][38] The newly gained awareness towards public health allowed urban reorganization and improvements in waste managing.[33] There were still rat catchers and scavengers, sanitary professions established during the previous century.[33] In 1901 Australia gained the independence from the United Kingdom.[39]The federation has not been considered to had had an immediate impact on how waste was managed, for its powers were strongly limited due to the lack of a centralised power, that instead was executed locally, by councils.[33] Landfills were the primary disposal sites, but the technological advances in the incinerator systems allowed an additional commercial value to be attributed to them.[33] In 1889, the incinerators expensive nature led the Sydney council to decline the installation of such a plant, but the plague which later spread in the area had the effect to reform priorities and justify the expenses.[33] The first decade of the century had seen a rising demand of incinerators.[1][33] A second wave of demand had place in the second decade[1] and it was largely due to the production of an Australian model,[33] the Reverberatory Incinerator.[40] In the same decade, paper recycling started in Melbourne.[1] WWII, technological advances and the clean air debate from overseas eventually imposed back landfill disposal over waste burning.[33][41] During the Second World War the resources demand necessitated a strong recycling strategy, but by the end of the conflict priorities changed and it was discarded in favor of landfill disposal.[1] Landfills also benefited from the technological advances acquired from the United States, and more sophisticated plants were build.[1] Hazardous and industrial waste were not known, or either ignored threats, and all wastes formed a general, unique stream that would have eventually ended up in landfill.[33] Since the Fifties the industrial refuses received a slightly different attention and their disposal requirements improved.[1] However leachate, the contaminated liquid which percolates through landfill material, was not prevented and resulted in environmental damages.[1]

1960-1990

The waste chemical and hazardous traits started to be determinant in the way in which it was disposed of since the Sixties,[1][33] with the Commonwealth taking a role influencing and regulating disposal practices.[33] Standard landfills did not accept anymore certain types of waste, but in many cases these measures did not take into account the escalation of illegal practices (such as clandestine dumping), which arose as a response.[1][33]

The increase in population boosted land reclamation, and landfill siting begun to be more challenging.[1]

The paper and newspaper recycling sector reached a 30% recycling rate.[1] Drink containers recycling started a decade later, but deposit refunds were shut down.[1] Public interest towards recycling and environmental protection arose greatly,[1][42] yet the process of collecting recyclables was finite to specific geographic areas.[42] The Canterbury Council was the first in differentiating the waste sorting into recyclables and household waste, in 1975.[1] Efforts were made especially for reducing visual pollution and, with it, litter.[1] More people started to recognise the issue and the government proposed the deposit refund back and the taxation of non recyclable products, unsuccessfully.[1] South Australia represented the only exception.[1]

1990-2000

The inappropriateness of the waste management strategies started to be evident in the last decade of the XX century, with the cities undergoing a process of rapid population growth and the states being unable of contrasting unregulated landfills.[1] Landfills were still the preferred alternative, although incinerators and recycling proposal begun to be pondered again.[1] Paper and glass were separately collected by various councils, and waste levies, recyclables sales and agreements with various industry sectors allowed the creation of new means of introit.[1] The main constraints were represented by the residents, which were usually non sensitise enough in the matter.[1] In 1992 Australia agreed to United Nations' "Agenda 21",[43] and ameliorated recycling strategies were implemented by the end of the decade (reaching a 60/50% rate task by 2000).[1]

2000-present

Federal government is still limited in the legislative matter about waste management, giving ample autonomy to the single states; however, an increasing amount of frameworks and policies has been issued by the Commonwealth.[1][2] The result is a miscellanea of laws, independent projects and objectives produced by each state still characterizing the current waste management system.[1] The augmented consumer demand, the strategies adopted by lower chain links in the production industry (ie. retailers), as well as a general disbelief towards the actual positive effects of reusing and recycling, have increased the amount of waste generated.[1][44] Recycling has become a commonplace almost everywhere in Australia, but researches show that households are still confused on the matter.[1][45] Australia is now considered to be one of the greatest consumers of carbon and resources within the Countries that relate to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.[44] According to various sources, more advances, including in waste management, are needed in order to comply with the Paris emissions goals.[44][46][47]

Classification of waste

The final objective of classifying waste is that of preserving the healthiness of both humans and environment by appropriately characterizing its properties.[48] Different classifications had been produced by multiple sources over the years, leading ultimately to a range of systems and definitions which had sensibly differentiated from each other.[49][48][50] For example, each state had implemented its own systems with specific terminologies.[49][48][50][45] In the case of surveys and reports been provided by industries and businesses, additional classifications could had applied.[49] The same materials might had been treated differently, in respect of whether they were defined as "waste" or "resource", and the regulatory structures from the different jurisdictions differed accordingly to these categorizations.[48][50]

The National Waste Classification System was developed as a sub-project of the Australian Waste Database (AWD, 1990), but it was not widely implemented.[48][14][50] Its benefits -for policymakers, local manufacturers and communities-, had been highlighted by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO),[23] and yet a 2011 study disclosed that only Tasmania and the Northern Territory were fully aligned with it, and only two states, namely NSW and WA, partly did so.[50] In that occasion the Department of the Environment and Energy also expressed its commitment to submitting a definitive, harmonisedd system.[50] Advances towards a system standardization are recent and correlated to legislative modifications occurred in the last fifteen years.[51]

One of the definitions provided for "waste" has been that of the Victorian “Environment Protection Act 1970”, which described it as “any matter, whether solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive, which is discharged, emitted or deposited in the environment in such volume, constituency or manner as to cause an alteration of the environment”.[52] The 2018 National Waste Report defined waste as "materials or products that are unwanted or have been discarded, rejected or abandoned."[14] That classification included recyclables and waste-to-energy materials within the waste category, and excluded those that were not subjected to reprocessing prior to being reused.[14]

In general, three waste streams are identified in Australia:[45][48][50]

  1. Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
  2. Commercial and  Industrial (C&I)
  3. Construction and Demolition (C&D)

Kerbside and hard waste collection are usually considered within the first category. Soft plastics, paper and organics are key components.[45][21] Timber, plastic and metals characterise the second category. They are considered to represent an optimal and valuable source of recycling materials.[45][21] C&D waste products are usually inert, such as concrete, steel and earth that has been excavated.[45][21]

Databases

Australian waste management had to comply over the years with a general scarcity of data from both businesses and institutions.[21][22][23] Statistical analyses, when provided, had been of varying usefulness to the governmental organs.[21][22] Main issues have been attributed to the lack of consistency, methodology, field-related expertise and legislation effectiveness.[53][51][54] In particular, the different systems, classifications and even technical language adopted by each jurisdiction -required by the diverse stakeholders range and nature-[55], increased complexity in both the data collection and wrangling processes.[45][50][14] Even where similarities were present, data could had overlapped.[48] An inquiry made by a governmental office in 2006 reported the data to be inconsistent, incomplete and subjected to biases.[49] The data level of confidence had underpinned the ability of producing resonant policies, and in particular those regarding a sustainable management of resources.[48][23][53]

There had been attempts to create an harmonisedd system, however the success of such projects had been hampered by the management costs associated with reforming the legislation already in use.[14][49] The absence of a clear, unique documentation which could have assisted statistical analyses was reported in 2018 by Blue Environment Pty Ltd in the National Waste Report.[14]

Currently, Validation and Testing methodology are implemented by some researches in analysis in order to reduce biases and minimise errors occurrence.[56]

Current management system

Principles

The framework onto which the legislation is currently working is what has been named "the 3 R's plus 1: reduce, reuse, recycle and recover energy", in a way that approaches towards circular economy principles.[21][7] The system has received critics from researchers (who are not convinced of the actual circularity of the proposed economy)[10][24], as well as from institutions that urge the concrete application of the principles thereof.[7]

Apparently, the main reason for criticizing the current system is that that a true circular economy should prefer the avoidance of waste over its reuse and recycle (in alignment with the waste hierarchy principles), while not clear actions have been made towards the former goal.[10][24]

Waste hierarchy

The waste hierarchy describes the priorities linked to the waste management via a preferential order, on the basis of the efficiency of each of its strategies towards the production, use and disposal of a product.[57] It is often represented as an inverse pyramid, grading from the top “most preferable” to the bottom “least preferable” solutions.[57] The waste hierarchy sets efficiency as an aim and over-consumption as an avoidable, unnecessary occurrence that can be diverted by appropriate changes in the consumer behaviour.[57] Its implementation in Australia as a guide for national policies has been widely spread since the last decade of the XX century, and it is often central to the "National Waste Minimization and Recycling Strategy".[21] Each state manages waste in a different way. Because of this, the various waste hierarchies, although almost identical in functions and structures, have been enshrined in different, official acts, and at different times. Queensland describes it in the “Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011”[58]; in Victoria is part of the foundations of the “Environment Protection Act 1970”;[52] in NSW is mirrored by the “Waste Avoidance and Recovery Act 2001”.[59] The disposal of waste serves, theoretically, as the worst case scenario; in practice, the usage of landfills is widely adopted.[21] This happens because this hierarchy is not suitable in every circumstances and the evaluation of costs-benefits needs to be implemented in its consultation.[21][60]

Policies and regulations

Federal waste-related legislation is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Environment and Energy.[2][3]

  • (1992) National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development

The strategy was endorsed in 1992 and represented an action towards the Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD).[4] ESD was defined in 1990 by the Commonwealth Government as "using, conserving and enhancing the community's resources so that ecological processes, on which life depends, are maintained, and the total quality of life, now and in the future, can be increased"[61] and the same definition had been used in the strategy.[4] The National Waste Minimization and Management Strategy developed as a corollary.[4]

  • National Waste Minimization and Management Strategy

The strategy was developed under the “National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development” in order to serve as a framework with which improvements and effective measures could be coordinated.[4] In particular, it focused on hazardous waste and waste disposal.[4]

  • (2017) National Food Waste Strategy. Halving Australia's Food Waste by 2030

The document represents a guidance for Australian institutions, outlining the actions needed to be pursued in order to reduce food waste by 2030.[62] It is inspired by the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 12: "Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns",[63][64] and by the Country's commitment towards the reduction of gas emissions (heavily produced by organic compounds in landfills)[65].[62] The latter aligns with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.[62]

  • (2018) National Waste Policy: Less Waste, More Resources

The text succeed the National Waste Policy of 2009,[5] and it represents the foundations on which governments can relate in their legislative activities, while also stating their responsibilities.[66] A total of sixteen waste strategies are exposed.[66] It will be in use until 2030 and, while setting the guidelines for governments, local and regional circumstances considerations for businesses and communities across the Country can still be pondered and implemented [5]

The document presents itself as with a circular economy footprint, as it has been drawn up with 5 principles which include waste avoidance and recycling implementation.[5]

  • Product Stewardship Act 2011

The act states the voluntary, co-regulatory and mandatory product stewardship and it implements the guidelines with which products must be thought of in terms of environment, health and safety.[67][68] The first scheme developed under the act was "The National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme", in which both governments and industries were considered responsible of the management of electronic media products.[69][66] The last products introduced in its regulations include batteries, plastic microbeads and photovoltaic systems.[70]

  • (2018) Threat Abatement Plan for the impacts of marine debris on the vertebrate wildlife of Australia’s coasts and oceans

Marine debris were considered and listed as a major threat to wildlife in "Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act" (EPBC) in 2003.[71] Plastic is a prominent source of such debris and it was on this basis that the plan was established.[72] In particular, it focuses on the actions needed in the research and in the understanding of the impacts of plastic and micro-plastic on marine environments, and on the actions needed to minimise their effects.[72]

Product Stewardship

Product stewardship refers to the regulations that set a product management strategy which ensure that each sector involved in the lifecycle of a product (including production and disposal), shares a responsibility towards its environmental and human impacts.[73] In Australia its regulation on a national basis has started in 2011 with the "Product Stewardship Act".[70]

Production

Diverse factors are involved in the production of waste, namely economy, demography and geography.[21][74]

Australia produces lots of waste;[75] according to various studies, this is due to an economy based on an intensive use of materials,[21] to population growth (as of September 2018, Australia has more than 25 millions people)[76],[74] population demographic and urban sprawl, and Gross Domestic Product GDP.[77][21] In 2018, Australian GDP grew by 2.3% , and every year in Australia about 67 million tonnes of wasted are generated (~2.7tn per person).[5]

Littering

Further information: Litter in Australia
FIG 1. An example of cigarette butts littering in a smoke-free area. Image captured in an university campus.

Littering is a major issue in Australia, with $180 millions per year spent in NSW only;[27] however, a decrease in its occurrence has been registered, although Victoria and West Australia have recorded an inverse trend.[78] The former records 14,560 tonnes of litter generated per year, ¾ of which it’s constituted by cigarette butts (Fig 1) and packaging;[78][79] in NSW the number increases up to 25,000.[27] The state spent over $180 million (AUD) in 2016 on littering management.[8]

In Australia members of the public can report littering practices to the local Environment Protection Authority (EPA) agencies, as declared by documents such as the Local Nuisance and Litter Control Act 2016 (SA).[79] In Victoria, 20,000 reports are generated annually.[79]

Single use plastics

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), 95% of the plastic packaging is discarded after a single use.[80] In March 2019 the organisation published “Solving Plastic pollution through accountability”, a report issued on an international basis and which urged governments to stop accepting projects contemplating the use of virgin materials.[81] Additionally, it supported a global ban to single use plastics and requested the producers to be considered responsible for how their products are ultimately disposed of, and recycled.[82] The single use plastics have been already banned in Europe,[83][84] and, in the same month of the WWF publication, Hobart became the first capital in Australia to do so,[85] although not without criticisms by the local businesses.[86] The Tasmanian Small Business Council demanded a coordinate action between government and local businesses -businesses which, in his opinion, would have been damaged by a sudden and costly ban.[86] Other states are pondering the ban, such as SA[87] and ACT,[88] while in the meantime there are several cases of bans on plastic bags, like those in Queensland,[89] Western Australia,[90] Victoria[91] and Darwin[92]. Yet, SA banned them in 2009 already.[93] In July 2018, Coles banned plastic bags from its retail shops.[94] The decision was followed by a consistent flux of critics from its shoppers and indecision by the company.[95] In NSW the decision of Coles and Woolworths to ban single-use plastic bags set off many controversies.[96] NSW is also the only state that has not yet formally took action against the use of single-use plastics, in what has been named the “ban on bans”.[97][98] Advances in the reduction of single-use plastics are progressing on a nationwide view: companies and institutions as McDonald’s, Starbucks and the Sydney Opera House are banning the use of straws; the number of reusable cups sold and responsible cafes registered have fluctuated in 2018; and councils are repeatedly been asked questions by residents regarding the disposal of recycling, showing an increased interest in the subject matter.[99]

Collection

Labeling

Uncoordinated label systems have impacted the sorting, and thus the household waste collection dynamics.[100] A harmonisedd action has been taken by Planet Ark, PREP Design and the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, producing the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) as a result.[100] The system has been already implemented in the major market streams and some of its supporters include Nestlé, Unilever and Woolworths.[100]

Waste bins

Fig 2.Standard color-labeled waste bins in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. The yellow bin represents the recycling, the green bin the garden waste and the red one the household garbage[101].

In most of the councils, bins are labelled in the following manner (Fig 2):

  • Household residual: red lid. Waste that is usually accepted includes: broken ceramics and glass; wrapped nappies and pads; polystyrene, where council do not collect it.[101]
  • Recycling bin: yellow lid. Waste that is usually accepted includes: paper and cardboard, and clean pizza boxes; aerosol cans; plastic; aluminium items; glass; metals.[101]
  • Garden waste: green lid. Waste that is usually accepted includes: grass and weeds; leaves; small branches.[101]

The adoption of the yellow lid bin for a wide range of recyclables may cause contamination problems,[1][45] but it has the advantageous effect of diminishing the number of trucks (and consequently air pollution), required for the collection process.[45]

Transport

The collection of solid and recyclables materials from households, industries and other places usually leads to the transport towards Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), transfer stations or landfill sites.[21]

Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)

Vid 1. Waste sorting and aggregation within a materials recovery facility.

Materials Recovery Facilities, or Materials Reclamation Facilities, or multi re-use facilities, receive the commingled materials from the collection truck with the function of sorting and aggregate recyclables.[102] MRF are generally similar in structure and require both manual and automatic procedures (Vid 1.). The former are especially useful when the materials received are particularly contaminated and/or do not respect the requirements for being sorted.[102]

Recovery and Waste diversion

Of all the Australian jurisdictions, Queensland is one of those with the worst recovery rates.[103] It also appears to have low standards on an international basis.[103]

In the years spanning from 2007 to 2016, the state performances in the sector did almost not change at all.[103] The estimates made by the Queensland's Department of Environment and Science revealed a recovery rate of less than 45% in the financial year 2016-2017.[103] They represents a huge gap from those of the current leader, South Australia,[103] which in the same year diverted from landfill more than 80% of its generated waste.[103][104]

The figures for SA show that the geographical origin of waste, as well as its typology, strongly affect the diversion percentages.[104] For example, C&D recorded a 89% recovery rate in the metropolitan area, and of 65% in the regional.[104] However the commercial and industrial category performed better in regional SA (93%), rather than in the surroundings of Adelaide (82%). Municipal solid waste diversion scored the lower percentages, reaching only 39% in the regional area.[104]

The national recovered waste average floats around 61%.[103] Queensland would need to divert almost 40% more than its current performance in order to reach it (Fig 3).[103]

Fig 3. Resource recovery targets in Australia until up to the year 2025. Overall Queensland has the lowest targets, while ACT plans the most ambitious recovery rate for MSW.[105]
Recycling
Further information: Recycling in Australia

Recycling aim is that of re-producing new or raw materials.[21] The industry involves multiple sectors of waste management, and requires specific collection and sorting practices which precede the sale of recyclables.[21] Contamination of the materials collected is a major issue and can divert conspicuous amounts of recyclables to landfills.[21] Another major problem is that of the little domestic demand for the industry inputs, especially in rural areas where population density is limited.[7][15] The recycling industry in Australia is crucial in the realizations of the National Waste Policy: Less waste, more resources objectives.[106] Technological advances in the sector either meant additional waste streams entering the recycling chain, or more sophisticated sorting procedures that ameliorated the rate of products actually recycled.[42] In the decade from 1995 to 2005, about ~22% more newspapers have been recycled each year. In the same years, more than half a billion cans have been added to the recycling chain.[42] A research conducted by Pollinate and Planet Ark in 2018 revealed that the most requested recycling services regard, in order of prominence: organics; soft plastics; and e-waste.[99] Victoria is currently recycling 67%[107] of its gross waste and has invested several millions dollars in grants for new infrastructures.[108]

It has been estimated that in the financial year 2009-10, the recycling sector was worth $4.5 billion (AUD), with an additional $5 billion if the entire waste management industry is considered.[109] In South Australia, which is currently the leader in the sector,[103][104] resource recovery activities employ almost 5000 people and contribute more than half a billion Australian dollars to the SA Gross State Product (GSP).[13]

Plastics

Plastic materials can be reprocessed in a number of ways, with the result of being reconverted in a various range of new products, such as bottles and bins.[7][18] Almost half of the plastics sorted in Australia is processed locally, while the rest is exported to Asian markets.[6] Soft plastics are only processed by RED Group in Melbourne and may be reused for flooring, roads and more.[7][18]

Paper and cardboard

Paper and cardboard materials can also be reprocessed in diverse ways and examples of end products might be recycled office paper and card boxes.[7][18] These processes are 55% done locally and China represents the primary importer.[6]

Glass

Roads, sands and glass bottles are all possible end products of glass recycling.[18] As for the previous categories, glass can be processed in different ways, yet differently from them, plant facilities are all on Australian soil. O-I Asia is the major company involved.[7]

Metal

Metals can be converted in a number of ways dependently on their characteristics.[18] Aluminium can be reused for cans as well as for airplanes, and the processing phase can occur in diverse ways.[7][18] Aluminium processing facilities are mostly on Australian soil, but they are also exported. Vietnam represents the major importer (8% of the total collected).[6] Cans receive similar treatments, but can be either reconverted in cans ex-novo, or being adapted into construction materials.[7][18]

C&D

C&D materials are mostly exported in South-Eastern Asia, but some are processed locally.[6] Sorting practices involve manual labor, magnets and trommels.[18]

E-waste

Applications of e-waste treated recyclables include the production of coins, screens and jewelry. E-waste such as mobile phones are source of glass, plastic, gold, copper and other valuable materials,[6][18] while computers and TVs necessitate two processing stages and can be reused as construction materials or as batteries.[18] Other wasted components of this garbage category can be elements with deleterious effects on the environment.[107] In Victoria, all the e-waste will be diverted from landfills and recycled from the 1 July 2019.[107] The state is investing millions of dollars for new infrastructures and facilities.[7][110]

Printer cartridges

End products from printer cartridges may be applied in recycled inks and in road surfaces. Some manufactures receive used cartridges for reuse.[6][18]

Coffee pods

Coffee pods can be recycled and some companies have organised collection points and campaigns to help reduce their disposal issues.[18][111] Coffee residuals are used as compost and aluminium can be used in diverse ways.[18]

Food waste

In the world, as in Australia, one-third of the groceries are wasted every year.[112][113] Food waste impacts the community on various sectors and its implications have started to be considered more often in the last ten years.[26] It is considered a waste of resources and opportunities, but it also is a major source of atmospheric emissions.[65] In Victoria, almost half of the typical MSW composition is represented by food waste,[114] 65% of which is considered as "avoidable waste".[107] More than one million tonnes of organics are gathered and treated by the kerbside organic collection, which has been introduced in most of the state's councils.[107]

Refuse-derived fuel (RDF)

Any fuel sourced from residual waste can be defined as refuse-derived fuel, although the denomination usually refers to low-quality types.[115] RDFs can either be integrated into treatment processes (ie, incinerators), or used for other industrial practices.[115] Their production and usage have been standardised in various levels by EPAs.[116] RDFs can be provided by all the tree waste streams.[117] If the fuel is sourced from biological waste (such as fibres and paper), it can be adopted in the renewable energy industry.[117] However, organics need an additional processing before being used as fuel.[116] In 2018, the second, largest facility that converts waste into fuel opened in Wetherill Park, Sydney.[118][119]

Treatment

Incinerators, pyrolysis and gasification are some of the thermal treatments into which waste can be diverted.[21] They might be accompanied by energy recover.[21]

Incinerator

In Australia, the waste-to-energy approach is becoming by the time more favored by both councils and industries.[120] The major environmental pros of these practices consist of the decreasing adoption of fossil fuels, whose use may potentially produce more carbon.[117] Incinerators plants had sensibly developed over the years and now advanced pollution control devices enhance their environmental standards.[21] The most advanced waste-to-use plants ameliorate their ecological performances by capturing CO2 emissions produced by the combustion of the fuel;[117] carbon dioxide could then be diverted and used into other processes.[117] In general, emission can broadly be managed, but australians are skeptic and concerned about them.[117] Other critics relate to the idea that waste used as fuel could weaken the recycling industry.[21][117] There are studies which oppose the adoption of incinerators, showing that living in the proximity of a energy-from-waste facility can lead to epigenetic modifications associated to heavy metals.[121] Heavy metals have been reported to occur within a certain radius from the incinerators.[122][123] Other toxic pollutants, including dioxins, have been documented to be produced by the combustion processes.[124] Instead, the fact that landfills generate methane, a greenhouse gas naturally produced, has been considered by some as an advantage for them,[45] while others considered the absence of methane emissions as a point in favor of incinerators.[117] Some sources described the preference of incinerators over landfill as socially and politically advantageous.[45] They observed that, while the latter have an end-of-life (filling) and require the administrations to find new sites, the former, although sharing the characteristic of not being wanted by the nearby households,[124] do not need to move over time and will mainly affect only a relatively small area.[45] Queensland and Victoria tends to incinerate more than other states.[45] Western Australia started a project in 2018,[125] while in NSW, in the same year, the construction of a waste-to-energy plant in West Sydney had been refused.[126][127]

Disposal

Landfill

Fig 4. Waste management facilities in Australia as of 2017

Australia heavily depends on landfill disposal.[45] It represents a cheaper solution than others and, for this reason, it has been considered to have slowed down the advances in the recycling industry.[45] Currently, most of the landfill sites are found in the metropolitan area of the states' capitals, with a major concentration in the South-West and South-East of Australia (Fig 4).[128][56] It results in a highly clustered overview,[128][56] with three-quarters of the total amount of waste produced collected in only 38 sites.[41] The number of landfills has decreased in the last 30 years, but they have became bigger and more sophisticated.[41] NSW has the largest disposal plant in Australia.[41] Landfills are planned in order to manage the flow of leachate and gas produced by the waste. Products such as PVC, which contains phthalates, and timber, that can contain chromated copper arsenate (CCA) if it has been treated, can potentially release these components into leachate. Methane, a gas with a greenhouse effect potential at least 25 times more stronger than that of carbon dioxide (CO2),[117][129] is emitted by biodegradable carbon sources materials within the landfill.[21] Most advanced plants reuse methane emissions by combusting it in a waste-to-energy approach.[41] A more preferable solution -if considering waste hierarchy and climate change-, is that of adopting composting and special bacteria for limiting the amount of emissions produced.[41] Landfill siting must consider multiple factors such as topography, local natural habitats and distances from the urban centers.[21]

National relations

States and territories

Queensland used to have a waste levy, but in 2013 the Newman government repealed it.[130] The levy was considered at that time not effective both economically and environmentally, as it would have unnecessarily increased managing costs to businesses and promoted illegal dumping.[130] Other states, in the meantime, taxed landfill usage.[131][132] In NSW in particular, the levy was introduced in the “Protection of the Environment Operations (Waste) Regulation 2014” and in 2018-2019 the standard levy in the metropolitan area reached $141.20 per tonne ($81.30 per tonne in the regional area).[133][134] The discrepancy between the two legislation of the two states supported the introduction of waste from interstate within the QLD borders,[135] with the additional effects of pollution originated by transports.[45] These dynamics and the dominant role of the levy were confirmed in 2017 by the Supreme Court Judge who was in charge of an investigation commissioned by the QLD offices.[136] According to the report, the policy framework adopted by Queensland would had unlikely allowed a decrease in the quantity of “foreign” waste.[136] The prospect led to the recommendation of the re-introduction of the waste levy, and it was backed up by a positive response by the government.[135] The levy is now expected to begin on the 1 July 2019, and it will concern 39 out of 77 local government areas.[137] It is projected that by the end of the first four years from the commencement of the levy, 70% of the incomes perceived will be redirected to councils, startups and other projects.[137]

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

Within indigenous communities it can be more difficult to manage waste.[138] This is particularly true where these communities live in remote areas,[138] in which even machinery may be scarce.[139] Transports, collection, associated costs and the indigenous way of thinking towards garbage are some of the main aspects that have been pondered.[138] The NSW “Aboriginal Communities Waste Management Program” and “Aboriginal Land Clean Up and Prevention Program” are some of the programs developed by the government of NSW addressed to the Aboriginal communities.[140][141] Cases of illegal dumping issues have also received attention.[142]

International relations

United Nations

(1972) Environment Programme (UNEP)

The UNEP program was established in 1972 and it is widely recognised on an international basis.[143][144] It coordinates the UN's environmental projects and supports environmental-focused strategies in developing countries.[143]

Basel Convention

The Basel Convention under the UNEP was ratified by Australia in 1992.[21] Mainly focusing on international markets, in particular the international exports from richer to poorer countries, it had as main objective the control and regulation of hazardous waste disposal.[21][145] As a legally binding agreement, it was supported in Australia by the Hazardous Waste Act, for which is considered as an offence the unregulated export of hazardous waste.[146]

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)

Under the OECD[147] Australia has recently submitted its 3rd Environmental Performance Review related to the years 2017-2019.[44][148] Strategies specifically linked to the Australian case on a national perspective are to be discussed between the organization Environment Policy Committee members.[148]

China and Asian markets

Australia used to heavily rely on Asian markets, especially on China, for waste treatment and disposal.[6][7][8]

Since the Chinese "National Sword" policy came into effect in 2018, the waste management industry entered a crisis:[5][9][10][11] of the 1,248,000 tonnes (30%) of recyclable materials sent to China only in 2016-2017, 99% had been affected.[9][12][6] As an interim solution, exports have since shifted to, and enlarged, alternative markets, such as those in Vietnam and Indonesia.[13][14][15] An increasing number of Asian Countries is also planning to limit import rates,[16][17][18][19] increasing the urgency of a shift towards the circular economy and a reliable domestic industry.[11][14]

Human behaviour

Waste management practices, especially avoidance and recovery related to household materials, are strongly linked to consumer comportment.[8][25] Illegal practices as littering and dumping are also strongly linked to human behaviour.[149] Targeted education and awareness campaigns are likely to affect these practices and, consequently, the effectiveness of the management outcomes.[150][149]  Media coverage and government campaigns have positively affected the public eye towards the recycling issues.[151] Topics as single use plastics and packaging have received particular attention in the last decade.[151] Recycling practices and recyclables production particularly depend on consumer awareness for future implementations.[150] Industries, as well as communities, will be subjected to campaigns and their effectiveness is considered a challenge for local and state organizations.[152] Many cases of product-consumer dynamics are actually perceived as unsustainable by both residents and organizations,[26] but Australians are seen expecting government and industry inputs to firstly react to them.[26][45] Where these non-spontaneous initiatives are offered for free, as some developed in South Australia, the feedback has been recorded as particularly positive.[152] Items such as photovoltaic cells and e-waste, however, are not feasible to dispose and usually require private expenses by the owners.[152] In this case, the eco-prompt inspiring their discard is less apparent.[152]

Campaigns and actions

Litter and illegal dumping

Litter report is a strategic mean used nation-widely as a supplement to EPA in its investigations.[27][153][154][155][156][157] In 2015, NSW launched RIDonline, an online platform (as of 2019, still accessible), where the public can report illegal dumping practices.[158][159] One of its objectives is to help the state picturing an evidence base from which construct future management strategies.[158]

(2017) EPA statewide Tosser Blitz

Researches have shown that only about a quarter of the NSW residents actually think they can be caught for littering, and that those who realise measures can be taken against them for littering are not that numerous.[27] During the Easter time in 2017, EPA worked with other agencies, councils and companies -such as McDonald's-, on a statewide campaign against driver tossers.[27] The aim of the project was to remind people that fines and measures can be directed for littering in any place and time.[27]

Sensitization Campaigns

(1980s) Do the right thing

The campaign aimed to sensitise and educate households about themes such as littering.[1] The main media utilised was television, and it has been considered a successful campaign.[1]

(1996-present) National Recycling Week

Started in November 1996 by PlanetArk, the National Recycling Week consists of an annual media campaign, still in action, with educative roles as objective.[42] It aims to sensitise the public eye on themes such as recycling and responsible resource managing.[42] The next event National Recycling Week will take place in November 2019.[28]

Projects for people in need

Researches show that currently, in the world, there is enough to feed everyone, with about 3 billions people suffer from hunger or malnutrition.[160][161] In Australia only, figures reach 3.6 millions.[112] Projects against food wasting had developed throughout the Country, with the aim to feed people in need via edible products that would have been otherwise discarded.[107]

Reports and surveys

Waste away: a deep dive into Australia’s waste management

“Waste away: a deep dive into Australia’s waste management” was a podcast episode launched on 20 February 2019.[45] According to its participants, in NSW 72% of the people who have been surveyed would recycle more if a more reliable recycling system was offered.[45] It revealed that in Victoria the knowledge about household waste collection was generally good, but such a result was not evident on landfill and recycling topics.[45] It also showed that waste was generally accepted as an essential service, although the household responsibility was lower in the public eye compared to those of businesses, companies and government.[45]

Love Food Hate Waste

The NSW government started the Love Food Hate Waste program in 2009 and conducted a series of tracking surveys until 2017, having food waste as the key interest.[26] Covered topics ranged from meal planning and waste value to government role expectations and media influences.[45][26] In 2017 the survey was conducted online and 1389 residents participated to it.[45] The outcomes suggested that Love Food Hate Waste campaigns and the media contents had positively impacted certain population sectors.[45] It also showed how environmental concerns are seldom related to food waste.[45] More people had started to realise that they could throw away much less organics, but advances in this direction recorded in the previous study in 2015 had declined and in NSW more food was being wasted.[45] Only 61% of the residents practiced five or more waste avoidance behaviours, and packaging was still considered as the primary source of waste.[45] The 2017 study differed from the others since it added another question to the survey, related to the perception of avoidability pertinent to food wasting.[45] Up to 27% of NSW residents were shown to not consider peels and bones as waste,[45] while younger respondents considered items such as unfinished drinks as “unavoidable”.[26] Expired products and unfinished meals were the most popular reasons for wasting food, and meal planning recorded a decrease since the previous survey.[26] Older segments of the sample reported to consider portion size more often than the younger.[26] $1645.64 (AUD) was the weighted average answer when people were asked to estimate the annual waste produced. However, EPA had estimated at least $1260(AUD) more.[26] 68% of the respondents, and 82% of those from an Asian background, supported the idea that the government should implement the reduction strategies in this waste category.[26]

National report 2017-2018: National Litter Index

The National Litter Index of 2017-2018 was the 12th survey conducted by Keep Australia Beautiful.[78] Rather than answer to “why”, its descriptive objectives regarded the "where" and the "hows" of littering nationwide.[78] The index revealed that the counted amount of litter decreased of 10.3% in comparison to the previous year data, although in VIC and WA it had actually increased.[78] The takeaway packaging was the category which differentiated the most, with a decrease of almost 17%. The major reductions were observed in NT (34%), and less of half that figure was recorded in NSW and SA.[78] In terms of sites, beach littering and shopping areas registered the biggest and smaller decrease respectively (22.5%, 12.9%), and 38 litter items per 1km2 was the average estimate on a national basis, with retail strip malls as hotspots.[78]

National Recycling Week: Planet Ark research report. From Waste War to Recycling Reboot

The survey was conducted in parallel by Pollinate and Planet Ark.[18] It illustrated the recycling activities and perceptions of Australians, as well as undercover anecdotes and propose potential alternatives such as the circular economy.[18]

National Waste Report

The National Waste Report is a series of documents endorsed by the Australian Government. It started in 2010 and as of 2019 four reports have been produced (2010, 2013, 2016 and 2018[162]).[163] Their studies span one financial year each and provide statistics and commentary on several aspects of waste management by using different key focuses (for example, on a per capita basis).[14] The reports are also supported by the National Waste Data System (NWDS) and the National Waste Database.[14][164]

Issues

(1974-1998) Castlereagh Regional Liquid Waste Disposal Depot

In 1974, in Londonderry, Castlereagh, Western Sydney, what was supposed to be a temporary plant was build.[1][33] It was the response from the local government to an issue relating the disposal of liquid waste in the metropolitan area of Sydney,[1][33] which was worsening as a result of the clandestine activities and the shut down of the previous plant in Alexandria, Sydney.[33]

The disposal depot was originally supposed to operate for maximum 2 years, exclusively disposing of non-toxic waste.[1][33] De facto, operations protracted for more than 20 years under a series of legislative variations and approved extensions.[33] It was only when the local residents organised themselves under the name of "Londonderry Residents Action Group for the Environment", aka R.A.G.E., in 1989, that an effective and definitive action was requested by the administrators.[33] Inspections, that were funded by the Waste Service NSW, supported by RAGE and investigated by "Total Environment Center" (TEC), concluded that within the materials being treated a dangerously non predictable miscellany of compounds -including hazardous ones-, were introduced in the normal flow of waste in the plant.[33] In addition, defaults in the system allowed liquids to escape as leacheate, contaminating what had became in the meantime a residential area.[33] RAGE alleged that numerous, misleading documents and reports were given by the Metropolitan Waste Disposal Authority, NSW (MDWA) and by the Waste Management Authority (WMA), which in turn reported to the police that no dispersion had ever occurred.[33]

The plant was eventually closed in 1998,[1][33] probably because of political rather than environmental concerns.[33]

(2000) Sydney Olympic Games preventive clean-up

The Olympic Games held in Sydney in 2000[165] succeeded a massive cleaning of the city, where unrecorded disposal sites containing hazardous waste were discovered.[1]

Incidents

(2017, 2018) SKM Recycling Plants

On July 2017 and again in 2018, a recycling plant in Queensland, owned by SKM Recycling, took fire for several days, causing severe health, environmental and financial issues.[166][167][168] The Coolaroo plant had been receiving household recyclables from the Melbourne area, which it stockpiled as one of the consequences of China’s National Sword  -ultimately increasing the risks for fire hazard.[168] As a consequence, EPA blocked further waste flows in the facility on February 2019, causing the kerbside collections to be directed to landfills.[168] SKM Recycling have been legally prosecuted and charged with environmental offence on March 2019.[169]

See also

References

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External links

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