Canberra Times
Friday 6/2/2009 Page: 11
Recycling must be a key element in the battle to avoid climate change.
When talk centres on combating climate change and decreasing greenhouse gas emissions, recycling household and industrial garbage often takes a back seat. But statements by the Chief Minister, Jon Stanhope, about the ACT's No Waste 2010 target have caused a stir in "waste land" and shone the light squarely back on to waste diversion from landfill and recycling.
Stanhope argues that the No Waste 2010 target was overly ambitious and would never be achieved. The Greens' Shane Rattenbury was concerned that the target not be dumped but replaced with a new goal for recycling. From an industry perspective both are right.
Then came comments on this page by Gerry Gillespie, president of Zero Waste Australia, who concluded that the Stanhope Government was heading in the opposite direction to a world moving progressively towards zero waste, and that Canberra was left to battle with climate change minus one of the fundamental platforms of public policy.
It is true that waste management and recycling must be a key part of the world's response to climate change. With the right government leadership the recycling and waste sector can reduce Australia's total emissions profile by 7%, or 35 million tonnes, equivalent to taking all cars off Australian roads. And this just by capturing emissions from current landfills, avoiding putting more organics into landfill and recovering materials for reuse.
No Waste 2010 was always an aspirational target but a very important one, setting the direction for government policy for a decade. That household recycling rates have risen from 22% 12 years ago to 73% now is testimony to the value of the target, resident action and industry investment. Jon Stanhope is right to reset a target which reflects advances in technology and the realities of the market.
New technologies can convert more than 70% of garbage bin waste to produce compost, recyclables and green energy. Taken with kerbside recycling and green waste services, households could recycle over 90% of their waste. That would be a reasonable goal based on current technology. But 100% defies the laws of diminishing returns and would cost too much. Commercial waste (from businesses and factories) can achieve similarly high rates.
The key is leadership - from government, from industry and from the community. The technology exists and can be readily implemented. More than $200 million of such infrastructure has been built in Sydney and Perth in the last year, creating hundreds of new and permanent (recession-proof) jobs.
The ACT has made great progress but there are also new opportunities. Advanced Waste Treatment options for household and commercial waste exist, organics processing solutions have been around for decades and green energy solutions are easily included. The No Waste team is well down the path of investigating these options. These technologies are available if the community is prepared to pay the premium over landfill, around $20-$50 per house per year, or less than $1 per week.
Ultimately it is our choice where we set the targets and how much we pay to achieve them. While there is a role for well managed landfills, with good methane gas capture systems, there is no question that a greater diversion of waste from landfill can only occur when recycling is more competitive. The full costs of landfilling, including the externalities - the net economic, environmental and social cost need to be taken into account, as Gillespie acknowledges.
Of the 20 million tonnes being landfilled across Australia each year, almost half is organic waste. Gillespie rightly points out that one of the regulator's main tasks in all jurisdictions should be to review the amount of degradable organic carbon disposed to landfill and to explore recycling options.
With the accent on the positive, we should explore available avenues to meet realistic new targets, such as 90% recovery of household and commercial waste by 2019. That gives its 10 years to get the systems and technologies in place.
The ACT Government's commitments to street-level recycling bins and an organic waste bin trial for high-level residential buildings in 2009-10 are great moves. But a serious look at new infrastructure to manage household organics, massively improve commercial recycling and waste-to-energy solutions must be the next priorities.
Mike Ritchie is general manager, marketing and communications, of waste management company SITA Environmental Solutions.
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