Vic Victoria’s recycling crisis

[Frank Bunn]

The problem has been growing since January 2018, when China stopped taking most of Australia’s recycled material.

Recyclers used to pay councils up to $60 per tonne for recycled material but now they are being paid to collect it. However, the companies are not recycling the material. They are letting it build up so that it comprises a fire risk, or sending it to landfill. Whittlesea is dumping 65 tonnes of recycling material a day in landfill. Darebin 270 tonnes each week. Melbourne City Council about 190 tonnes this week. Kingston 240 tonnes over four days.

Currently if you live in one of these municipalities it does not matter whether you separate your rubbish and recyclables - it all ends up in landfill.

Boroondara, Brimbank, Cardinia, Colac Otway, Darebin, Golden Plains, Greater Geelong, Hobsons Bay, Hume, Kingston, Port Phillip, Queenscliffe, Surf Coast, Whittlesea, Wyndham.​

What's the solution? What are other states doing?

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/...ing-crisis-councils-urge-20190222-p50zos.html

 

[Upgrayedd]

Something similar happening over here in WA. Where some of the councils were refusing to re-negotiate rates for the garbage companies, with the companies just threatening to stop services alltogether because they were losing money

 

[The Dice Man]

Im not sure of the sorting machines they have in Australia but in some counties such as France and the US cleaning or rinsing your recyclables can help a lot.

This is a good podcast explaining a few things..

/www.stuffyoushouldknow.com/podcasts/recycling-update-hows-it-going.htm

 

[Darkyprotector]

Society exists when it suits on user pays

Who generates this problem
Maccas
Hungry jacks
Coles
Woolworths
Coca cola


SURELY THEY SHOULD BUILD A RECYCLE PLANT

PAY LIKE OTHERS 10c a bottle
SLUG THEM 4 c each

 

[Frank Bunn]

Strange that there's little interest in this but everyone lost their s**t because a few plastic bags were finding their way to landfill.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Strange that there's little interest in this but everyone lost their s**t because a few plastic bags were finding their way to landfill.

1) combined waste

back when you had one container for glass, one for paper, and one for plastics, contamination rates were very low. with everything thrown into a single bin now, people have also started chucking in normal waste too, and the job of sorting has gone through the roof

councils love single bins because its cheaper to collect

recyclers hate it because they get stuck with more genuine waste that they have to get rid of, it costs a lot more to sort and separate, and they have to upgrade training and protections because staff are dealing with potentially harmful waste (rotten food full of micro)

2) newspaper
recyclers hate this. its the main paper people recycle, but its worthless to them. they want heavier grades of paper (like office copier paper), so most "recycled" newspaper has been dumped regardless over the years.

3) price
if oil prices are low, its cheaper to use new plastic inputs (this has been as issue esp in the usa over recent years). If wood chip prices are low, new paper is cheaper

4) china
chinas booming middle class has meant its now generating plenty of its own recycled waste itself. while officially the import ban is about (1), I was told by someone reality is its more about forcing recyclers to use local inputs to minimize the growing waste burden in china. imports were easier, you get the stuff in nice transportable lots (although the contamination issue was a genuine one and a growing cost for china too). china being new didn't have the culture of separating waste or the costly infrastructure of kerbside collections, so this forces it to be done


if you want waste to be recycled in australia, we need to find a way to cost effectively either separate it and clean it up better for export, or increase demand for paper (very unlikely with newspapers dying, our publishing industry dead, and most copy paper imported - we mostly do packaging) and increased demand for plastics (extremely unlikely for obvious reasons)

 

[Benny78]

Won't another country like Indonesia happily take it or something?

 

[Hawk Dork]

Won't another country like Indonesia happily take it or something?

They have enough of their own.
We need to deal with it,it needs to be profitable to take it and turn it into stuff,if that needs a recycle tax so be it.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Won't another country like Indonesia happily take it or something?

Nowhere near the volume China was taking in.

The USA and EU are also struggling with this chinese ban, so it's not just an au issue

 

[Frank Bunn]

1) combined waste

back when you had one container for glass, one for paper, and one for plastics, contamination rates were very low. with everything thrown into a single bin now, people have also started chucking in normal waste too, and the job of sorting has gone through the roof

councils love single bins because its cheaper to collect

recyclers hate it because they get stuck with more genuine waste that they have to get rid of, it costs a lot more to sort and separate, and they have to upgrade training and protections because staff are dealing with potentially harmful waste (rotten food full of micro)

2) newspaper
recyclers hate this. its the main paper people recycle, but its worthless to them. they want heavier grades of paper (like office copier paper), so most "recycled" newspaper has been dumped regardless over the years.

3) price
if oil prices are low, its cheaper to use new plastic inputs (this has been as issue esp in the usa over recent years). If wood chip prices are low, new paper is cheaper

4) china
chinas booming middle class has meant its now generating plenty of its own recycled waste itself. while officially the import ban is about (1), I was told by someone reality is its more about forcing recyclers to use local inputs to minimize the growing waste burden in china. imports were easier, you get the stuff in nice transportable lots (although the contamination issue was a genuine one and a growing cost for china too). china being new didn't have the culture of separating waste or the costly infrastructure of kerbside collections, so this forces it to be done


if you want waste to be recycled in australia, we need to find a way to cost effectively either separate it and clean it up better for export, or increase demand for paper (very unlikely with newspapers dying, our publishing industry dead, and most copy paper imported - we mostly do packaging) and increased demand for plastics (extremely unlikely for obvious reasons)

Thanks for the detailed post.

If the China situation continues there needs to be an honest reevaluation of recycling. There's the feel good factor about doing something to help the environment. But is increased landfill a problem in Australia? And what are the costs of recycling if it's all carried out here?

Maybe something for the Productivity Commision to look at?

 

[Scotland]

Strange that there's little interest in this but everyone lost their s**t because a few plastic bags were finding their way to landfill.

It's lower in the hierarchy.

Refuse. Reduce. Re-use. Recycle.

Not using plastic products in the first place is better than using then recycling them. You are right though plastic bags are just one aspect of the waste problem in this country. Plastic bags are a menace to the ocean and river systems but a small percentage of total landfill.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Thanks for the detailed post.

If the China situation continues there needs to be an honest reevaluation of recycling. There's the feel good factor about doing something to help the environment. But is increased landfill a problem in Australia? And what are the costs of recycling if it's all carried out here?

Maybe something for the Productivity Commision to look at?

It's not just the cost of recycling, it's the cost of waste disposal. We are running out of cheap easy access tips in the major cities, and recycling when done right does reduce landfill.

Need to return to split bins imo. I forget the stat, but it's something like 90% is recycled in split bins, but it falls to 50-60% in the combo bins (because of contamination)

Also we need to look at "pull" activities, like prioritising purchases for things with recycled content where it makes sense for other resource usage (like it's being done in roads and pavements)

Status quo of focusing on newspapers won't do s**t

 

[Frank Bunn]

It's not just the cost of recycling, it's the cost of waste disposal. We are running out of cheap easy access tips in the major cities, and recycling when done right does reduce landfill.

Need to return to split bins imo. I forget the stat, but it's something like 90% is recycled in split bins, but it falls to 50-60% in the combo bins (because of contamination)

Also we need to look at "pull" activities, like prioritising purchases for things with recycled content where it makes sense for other resource usage (like it's being done in roads and pavements)

Status quo of focusing on newspapers won't do s**t

Has recycling onshore versus landfill been properly quantified and costed post the China situation?

 

[Fat Yak]

Land fill isn't all bad.
https://www.cleanaway.com.au/about-us/sustainable-future/landfill-gas-power/

 

[Scotland]

I'd love to see a breakdown of recycling costs and how much is attributed to logistics and handling.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Has recycling onshore versus landfill been properly quantified and costed post the China situation?

Doubt it, it's still new, and the existing contracts would still be in place. When councils, collectors, recyclers start negotiating the next contracts, that's when I reckon we will see what the new world looks like

I'm expecting a lot of councils to be only offered general waste pick up and that's it

 

[Kram]

if you want waste to be recycled in australia, we need to find a way to cost effectively either separate it and clean it up better for export, or increase demand for paper (very unlikely with newspapers dying, our publishing industry dead, and most copy paper imported - we mostly do packaging) and increased demand for plastics (extremely unlikely for obvious reasons)

 

[swingdog]

Interesting approach here in the Netherlands:

https://www.thefifthestate.com.au/c...and-incineration-surprises-in-the-netherland/

Households don't get general waste bins. They have to dispose of that themselves in public bins. All supplemented by energy to waste facilities.

 

[Kwality]

The problem has been growing since January 2018, when China stopped taking most of Australia’s recycled material.

Recyclers used to pay councils up to $60 per tonne for recycled material but now they are being paid to collect it. However, the companies are not recycling the material. They are letting it build up so that it comprises a fire risk, or sending it to landfill. Whittlesea is dumping 65 tonnes of recycling material a day in landfill. Darebin 270 tonnes each week. Melbourne City Council about 190 tonnes this week. Kingston 240 tonnes over four days.

Currently if you live in one of these municipalities it does not matter whether you separate your rubbish and recyclables - it all ends up in landfill.

Boroondara, Brimbank, Cardinia, Colac Otway, Darebin, Golden Plains, Greater Geelong, Hobsons Bay, Hume, Kingston, Port Phillip, Queenscliffe, Surf Coast, Whittlesea, Wyndham.​

What's the solution? What are other states doing?

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/...ing-crisis-councils-urge-20190222-p50zos.html

Putting something in a recycling bin does not make it recycling.
When are the Councils/the State Govt going to call the householders that have turned the recycling siream into rubbish, its rubbish, the Chinese called it rubbish & said no thanks ...... only the Councils have the power to do anything about it but they are too weak to call the residents.

The MRFs (recycling facilities) are being used as transfer stations for the rubbish thrown into the recycling bins & they are drowning in it.

For years here in Vic we have had Govt types patting themselves on the back for recycling participation rates, it was hollow then its rubbish now, where are these people now, looking for someonre to blame.

 

[Kwality]

I'd love to see a breakdown of recycling costs and how much is attributed to logistics and handling.

No good sorting anything that there is no market for, regardless of the cost of recycling it.

 

[Kwality]

It's not just the cost of recycling, it's the cost of waste disposal. We are running out of cheap easy access tips in the major cities, and recycling when done right does reduce landfill.

Need to return to split bins imo. I forget the stat, but it's something like 90% is recycled in split bins, but it falls to 50-60% in the combo bins (because of contamination)

Also we need to look at "pull" activities, like prioritising purchases for things with recycled content where it makes sense for other resource usage (like it's being done in roads and pavements)

Status quo of focusing on newspapers won't do s**t

90%, a claim, absolute nonsense.

The cost of landfill per tonne has more Govt charges on it than a litre of petrol.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

90%, a claim, absolute nonsense.

The cost of landfill per tonne has more Govt charges on it than a litre of petrol.

It's 90% utilisation of what's received. Remember this was primarily paper and glass, which were easily segregated

The combo bins have seen people throwing general waste in with everything, also combining stuff (glass in a tied plastic bag isn't opened - it's rejected to landfill)

 

[Kwality]

Society exists when it suits on user pays

Who generates this problem
Maccas
Hungry jacks
Coles
Woolworths
Coca cola


SURELY THEY SHOULD BUILD A RECYCLE PLANT

PAY LIKE OTHERS 10c a bottle
SLUG THEM 4 c each

Yep, dont put the onus on the person handling the material, Maccas dont put the stuff in the wrong bin or throw it on the ground or in an overloaded - MAN UP, its not that hard to do the wrong thing.

 

[Hawk Dork]

Yep, dont put the onus on the person handling the material, Maccas dont put the stuff in the wrong bin or throw it on the ground or in an overloaded - MAN UP, its not that hard to do the wrong thing.

They are the source

 

[Kwality]

It's 90% utilisation of what's received. Remember this was primarily paper and glass, which were easily segregated

The combo bins have seen people throwing general waste in with everything, also combining stuff (glass in a tied plastic bag isn't opened - it's rejected to landfill)

I beg to differ, split bins were every bit as bad as the comingled bin common today, just less room. Its the person loading it & the lack of education as to what is acceptable, not what is recyclable. Acceptable not recyclable, the difference between the two goes to landfill.