Tagged with Recycling

Why More People Should Care About Proper Waste Disposal

Most of us regard the topic of waste disposal as important but rather boring, and we often have an “out of sight, out of mind” attitude towards it. While we Australians are generally strict about sorting our rubbish compared to most countries, we now have a full-blown waste disposal crisis on our hands.

The reasons for it are quite complex and real policy changes will have to be done to solve it. In the meantime, we can further reduce the impact of the crisis by being more dutiful in our rubbish segregation and collection.

Here are just a few reasons to care more about waste disposal and removal:

1.) Much of the waste has a real dollar value

Precious metals, plastics, and compostables are often disposed of in a way that makes recovering them for recycling uneconomical, if not impossible. Unfortunately, when rubbish is not sorted correctly, much of it often ends up in facilities overseas, which causes a wide host of problems. By sorting the rubbish properly for removal, you can help the local economy by allowing local facilities to easily recycle and repurpose your refuse. Why More People Should Care About Proper Waste Disposal

2.) Overseas waste disposal creates numerous problems

One unfortunate thing about how we manage waste in Australia is the fact that the most economical way to dispose of many types of waste is to ship them off to countries in the developing world. Transporting the waste overseas puts out a lot of greenhouse gasses and also creates diplomatic friction that destroys our reputation abroad. Today, there are now many countries refusing to take in waste products, which has caused a backlog in our waste disposal capacity.

While not the sole reason for these issues, improper waste disposal at home is a major reason so much of our waste has to be sent to other countries. Not sorting and disposing of rubbish properly greatly raises the cost of recovering different materials, which often means that the most economical way to recycle unsorted rubbish tends to be shipping it overseas to a country that does have the facilities to economically process the rubbish.

3.) Improper waste disposal can wreak havoc on the environment

This is something that one would think would be ingrained in us as children, especially given Australia’s unique ecosystem. While many positive strides have been made in the way we dispose of rubbish, it is still a very real issue, with about 40% of it ending up in landfills where they will likely never be processed into anything of real value ever again.

Animals, especially birds, often make their way to landfills and piles of uncollected rubbish, which are hotbeds of disease and they can spread rubbish and diseases throughout the ecosystem.

4.) Toxic chemicals from improperly disposed waste can get into our drinking water

Contaminated water supplies are a serious issue in Australia, especially in areas that do not have much freshwater to begin with. This is often the result of improperly disposed mining, agricultural and industrial waste but has also happened as a result of domestic and commercial waste not being properly removed as well. As water is essential to our survival, we must remove dangerous waste properly to ensure that water tables are free from contamination.

5.) Our landfills are already filled to crisis levels

There are only 38 landfills in the entire continent of Australia, with nearly all of them filled beyond their designed capacity. This makes it critical that we can recycle as much rubbish as possible, which means proper disposal and removal is key.

6.) Rotting waste can destroy property values

Uncollected refuse can make it significantly harder to sell or rent out property at rates that you would prefer. Not only that, your neighbours will certainly not appreciate having piles of uncollected rubbish in their vicinity.

Visit Local Rubbish Removal to find professional rubbish removal services close to where you live. All you have to do is give your location and fill in the form to get a free quote of rubbish removal prices from services in your area.

Here’s What Happens to Our Plastic Recycling When it Goes Offshore

Last year many Australians were surprised to learn that around half of our plastic waste collected for recycling is exported, and up to 70% was going to China.

So much of the world’s plastic was being sent to China that China imposed strict conditions on further imports. The decision sent ripples around the globe, leaving most advanced economies struggling to manage vast quantities of mixed plastics and mixed paper.

By July 2018, which is when the most recent data was available, plastic waste exports from Australia to China and Hong Kong reduced by 90%. Since then Southeast Asia has become the new destination for Australia’s recycled plastics, with 80-87% going to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Other countries have also begun to accept Australia’s plastics, including the Philippines and Myanmar.

But it looks like these countries may no longer deal with Australia’s detritus.

In the middle of last year Thailand and Vietnam announced restrictions on imports. Vietnam announced it would stop issuing import licences for plastic imports, as well as paper and metals, and Thailand plans to stop all imports by 2021. Malaysia has revoked some import permits and Indonesia has begun inspecting 100% of scrap import shipments.

Why are these countries restricting plastic imports?

The reason these countries are restricting plastic imports is because of serious environmental and labour issues with the way the majority of plastics are recycled. For example, in Vietnam more than half of the plastic imported into the country is sold on to “craft villages”, where it is processed informally, mainly at a household scale.

Informal processing involves washing and melting the plastic, which uses a lot of water and energy and produces a lot of smoke. The untreated water is discharged to waterways and around 20% of the plastic is unusable so it is dumped and usually burnt, creating further litter and air quality problems. Burning plastic can produce harmful air pollutants such as dioxins, furans and polychlorinated biphenyls and the wash water contains a cocktail of chemical residues, in addition to detergents used for washing.

Working conditions at these informal processors are also hazardous, with burners operating at 260-400℃. Workers have little or no protective equipment. The discharge from a whole village of household processors concentrates the air and water pollution in the local area.

Before Vietnam’s ban on imports, craft villages such as Minh Khai, outside Hanoi, had more than 900 households recycling plastic scraps, processing 650 tonnes of plastics per day. Of this, 25-30% was discarded, and 7 million litres of wastewater from washing was discharged each day without proper treatment.

These recycling villages existed before the China ban, but during 2018 the flow of plastics increased so much that households started running their operations 24 hours a day.

The rapid increase in household-level plastic recycling has been a great concern to local authorities, due to the hazardous nature of emissions to air and water. In addition, this new industry contributes to an already significant plastic litter problem in Vietnam.

This article was originally published by The Conversation. Click here to read entire article.

DISCOVER THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABILITY

Join the discussion on the current challenges, successes and opportunities for Australia’s sustainability practices at the 2019 National Sustainability Conference this April.

Find out more here.

 

How to Use Queensland’s New Container Recycling Scheme

There are doubts within the waste industry that Queensland’s new recycling scheme can be ready for launch at the start of next month.

From November 1, Queenslanders can claim a 10-cent refund for most plastic drink containers, beer bottles and aluminium cans at one of 232 collection points from Coen to Coolangatta.

The state’s first-ever container exchange refund scheme is run by a not-for-profit company called COEX (Container Exchange) and branded as Containers for Change.

Recycling companies see future recycling business from “cleaner” recycled glass, plastics and cardboard that comes in through the collection depots.

But some large waste lobby groups, represented by the Waste Management Association of Australia, doubt the scheme will be ready in time.

Chief executive officer Gayle Sloan said the rules setting up Queensland’s collection sites kept changing and software to provide the discounts was in dispute.

“To have 230 collection points up and running in 35 days is going to be quite challenging,” she said.

Some collection centres were yet to lodge development applications with local councils to begin operating, she said.

Alby Taylor, a 30-year  corporate executive and the man “working 20 hour days” for COEX on behalf of the Queensland Government, insists it will be ready.

He is the general manager of the Australian Beverages Council and is COEX’s first chairman.

“We are contracted to provide 232 collection points from November 1 and that increases to 306 by the next year,” he said.

How will it work?

Queenslanders can use a simple mobile phone app – Containers for Change – to have the refund credited to their account.

At some counters in major cities and towns they will receive cash across the counter at a collection depot, or choose to receive a refund as a grocery shopping voucher discount.

But there will be variations across the state, which will be divided into 14 different regions.

In addition to getting cash for containers, consumers will be able to choose to donate to a charity.

Sporting groups, community groups, schools and surf lifesaving associations who contract to companies who have won tenders to operate container refund points across the 14 regions will receive the 10 cent deposit.

“They will also receive a portion of the 6 cent handling fee for each container as a fundraising vehicle,” Mr Taylor said.

“Better still, where a sporting or community groups contracts directly with COEX in their own right, they will then receive the 10 cent deposit, plus the full 6 cents from every container.”

According to COEX, more than 500 groups and associations have signed on to join this fundraising phase.

The company is exploring an option where people will be able to join specific fundraising groups using a six-digit code as a way to directly donate to their charity of choice.

This article was originally published by the Sydney Morning Herald. Click here to read entire article.

Want to share your innovative ideas on sustainability?

Abstracts are now open for the 2019 National Sustainability Conference, held from 1-2 April at Hotel Grand Chancellor, Brisbane.

Submit your 300 word abstract for your chance to become a presenter and place yourself before an audience of engaged industry professionals eager to hear your thoughts.

Find out more here.

Green homes give glimpse of renewable hydrogen future

Imagine a house where all the electricity is generated by rooftop solar.

Now imagine that, in addition, the stove, hot water and heating systems are all powered by the leftover energy.

It sounds like an emission-free pipedream, but the technology may be one step closer with the launch of a $3.3 million pilot project in Perth’s south.

Canadian gas giant ATCO is building a micro-grid at its Jandakot base, which will convert solar power into hydrogen fuel.

The micro-grid will use 1,100 solar panels to produce electricity, which will either power ATCO’s buildings or be diverted into battery storage.

Any leftover electricity will be used to power an electrolyser, which splits oxygen from hydrogen using water and an electric charge.

The oxygen is released, while the so-called “green” hydrogen is captured and stored.

The micro-grid will then divert the hydrogen in two ways — into a fuel cell for back-up power or into the reticulated natural gas network, to create a “greener”, lower-carbon fuel.

Blended natural gas and hydrogen fuels are already used in other countries and ATCO plans to test different blends at its operations.

‘A very local’ solution to energy storage

ATCO Australia managing director Pat Creaghan said the micro-grid offered the potential for large-scale recycling of excess solar power.

“It is a mixture of different technologies that we’re bringing together from some existing technologies to get a sense of how we operate in the future,” Mr Creaghan said.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) contributed $1.5 million in funding towards the project.

ARENA chief executive Ivor Frischknecht said blending hydrogen with natural gas could help solve the challenge of energy storage.

“If you think about having a system that runs completely on wind and solar, which I think we will within a few decades … there’s going to be a big storage requirement and we need that across a variety of different storage mechanisms,” Mr Frischknecht said.

“If you have a lot of rooftop solar, for example, the electricity network can’t deal with a lot of rooftop solar being fed into it.

“You could potentially, on a very local level, turn some of that electricity into hydrogen and store it.”

While blended natural gas and hydrogen fuels are used overseas, it remains to be seen whether Australia’s gas pipelines will be able to transport them.

“Some of the existing natural gas lines are ready for it and some need some work before they will be,” Mr Frischknecht said.

The micro-grid is expected to produce its first hydrogen by the first quarter of 2019.

Originally Published by ABC, continue reading here.

Reduce and Recycle Your Corporate Waste with These 4 Easy-to-Execute Methods

As the economies progress, global carbon emission levels are off the charts and are only expected to rise as time passes!

These ever-changing emission rates should be a cause of concern for both individuals and organisations as they can have massive environmental ramifications. To bring about the desired effect, companies and businesses will have to come together and find solutions that can contribute towards reducing corporate waste and really make an impact! For those of you looking to start a recovery and recycling drive at your workplace, here are 4 simple, easy-to-implement methods you can follow:

4. Optimize Your Planning Process

Effective planning may seem like a vague term when it comes to waste management, but this actually works across various departments. Right from raw material procurement to production and supply chain management, you must be very careful while planning each aspect of this process.

By ensuring that you are only purchasing what you need, you reduce any raw material wastage while enhancing effectiveness during production. By planning exactly how much you need to produce a product, you automatically eradicate the changes of extra waste generation.

3. Introduce a Waste Management Program

Introducing a company-wide waste management program is a great way of getting the entire team involved and committed towards a greener tomorrow! You can create a dedicated waste reduction program, put different departments in charge of different waste reduction drives, and make a competition out of it by handing out employee perks to reward them for their initiatives. The ultimate aim is to get as many people from the community involved in the global effort to reduce pollution and save planet Earth!

2. Think Long-Term Sustainability

Optimal utilization of resources is another important aspect of the planning process. While you take the time out to factor in the raw materials required to avoid wastage, you must also consider alternative uses of such materials in case of excess stock. This automatically facilitate your procurement process and will also help you reduce your overall operating costs! Just think about it – by ordering exactly how much you need, you cut down on purchasing costs, transportation costs as well as the production costs.

1. Dispose Commercial Waste Appropriately

Each industry deals with a number of different raw materials to create a variety of products, and the type of waste generated while doing so is also different from one industry to another. For example, a trading company will generate a lot of paper waste and electronic waste, whereas a shampoo manufacturer will generate plastic and chemical waste. Now in such a situation, the trading company will have to come up with different ways to dispose all the waste it generates. So, in case of paper waste, it is completely biodegradable and can simply be put through an industrial paper shredder to reduce its volume and enable easier recycling and the electronic waste, or say the chemical waste generated by the shampoo company can be sent to dedicated waste management units to ensure safe disposal.

And there you have it – four simple tips to help you start a waste management program at your workplace. When creating a new waste management plan or thinking about alternative ways of reducing the industrial waste generated at your office, always remember the three golden words of effective waste management – Reduce, reuse and recycle! If you can reduce it, reuse it and if it can’t be reused either, recycle it!

Author Bio: 

Erich Lawson is very passionate about the environment and is an advocate of effective recycling.

He writes on a wide array of topics to inform readers on how modern recycling equipment can be used by industries to reduce monthly wastage bills and increase recycling revenue.

You can learn more about environment saving techniques by visiting his blog on Compactor Management Company.

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