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The state of origin of waste NSW vs Qld Mike Ritchie, Director, MRA Consulting Group
Vo l u n t a r y a c t i o n by eve r y individual helps to grow recycling rates. Whether it’s an extra milk bottle in the recycling bin or installing a home composting system, it all contributes. Australia leads the world in household recycling rates.
I
n the business sector, most
businesses limit their recycling to cardboard,
of the economically viable
plastic and metal, which are revenue raisers
streams are already being
or at least cost neutral.
recycled. Cardboard, paper,
There is now enough data to show that
metals and plastic streams
when landfill prices rise (notably via levies
have sufficient commodity
but not exclusively), there is an increase in
value to justify collection and reprocessing.
resource recovery rates. Higher landfill prices
But for many waste streams, the inherent
provide the economic impetus for waste ser-
commodity value is just too low to justify the
vice providers (WSPs) to invest in resource
costs of recovery. In these cases, the price
recovery equipment, for governments to initiate
differential to landfill is the key driver of pri-
infrastructure grants and consumer education
vate sector investment and council decisions
programs, and for businesses to prioritise
to increase resource recovery.
recycling over landfill.
Landfill price and levies
Australia and the ACT all have landfill levies
As a country of 23 million people, we produce
($133, $58, $57, $55 and estimated $60/t
over 53 million tonnes of waste annually. 52%
respectively for metro putrescible waste) and
is recycled. Most state governments aspire to
grants schemes supported by the levies (to
do better and achieve 80% recovery or higher.
varying degrees). All are growing their recy-
Governments really only have three levers
cling rates and have generally set ambitious
for waste reform: regulatory (eg, enforcement,
targets for recycling of 70–80% by 2020 or
bans, producer responsibility, etc), pricing (eg,
thereabouts.
NSW, Victoria, South Australia, Western
16 Sustainability Matters - Feb/Mar 2016
levies and grants) and education. However,
Tasmania has a voluntary levy of $2.50 and
education’s effectiveness is limited when it
is now considering a state-based levy of $10/t.
runs counter to market price signals.
The ACT has a levy imbedded (in the Mugga
Not many companies will recycle when it
Lane landfill gate fee) of an estimated $60/t.
is cheaper to landfill, no matter how much
Only Queensland and the Northern Territory
we try to ‘educate’ them. That is why most
have no levy (the Northern Territory only has
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