The land down under is no exemption to the global waste crisis. With more than 74 million tonnes of waste produced annually, the Australian Government pushes for a billion-dollar change to significantly improve waste management and minimise waste generation in the country.
National Agenda Towards Environmental Protection
By 2030, Australia’s National Government aims to have completely streamlined its agenda for waste management and reduction, as stated in its national waste policy.
Along with that, the government set a national agenda, known as the National Waste Policy Action Plan of 2019, which includes the following seven core targets:
Reducing waste generated per person by 10% by 2030
Statistics show that Australians, particularly those involved in construction and demolition, generate roughly 2.94 metric tonnes of waste in a year. That said, every person plays a huge role to contribute in waste reduction and recycling.
Paul’s Rubbish Removal, together with the Australian Government, shares the same initiatives and educate people on the global impact of waste, including the following:
- Minimising food waste
- Recycling your household waste and supporting recycling initiatives and sustainable innovation/design
- Reducing use and observing proper disposal of single-use plastics and abiding by the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL)
Fulfilling these goals will reduce an average person’s waste generated by as much as 285kg per year.
Regulate and control rubbish exports
The Australian Government is taking steps to regulate the exportation of common waste materials such as paper, tyre rubber, broken glass, and plastic. This is done by streamlining:
- New policies and rules to reestablish the new standard of processed waste exportation
- A nationwide ban on exporting untreated and raw waste, as stated under the Council of Australian Governments’ waste export ban
We recommend reading further on regulated waste exports and which materials will be allowed for export. Our team supports the government’s Waste Recycling Modernisation Fund, aiming to reinforce and transform our recycling industries to progress further to sustainability.
Retrieve 80% of rubbish from waste streams by 2030
While reducing waste is the ideal option after proper disposal, achieving an average of 80% resource recovery from waste streams is still a crucial part of Australia’s waste hierarchy.
The process utilises wasted resources for recovering energy and recycling the raw materials from waste. To do so, the authorities, together with leading industry brands like Paul’s Rubbish Removal, focus on:
- Expanding the recycling industry’s capacity by utilising the Recycling Modernisation Fund
- Long-term product stewardship and management, making brands responsible for their products’ entire service/shelf life and giving consumers a choice to return used products
- Adopting national policies and standards on recycling and proper waste disposal
- Improving equipment and technology for ease of access to waste and recycling facilities.
Fulfilling this component will help Australians recover about 15 million metric tonnes of resources every year.
Get rid of harmful and problematic plastics by 2025
The Australian Government takes serious measures to eventually phase out unnecessary single-use plastics by 2025, as it’s one of the most toxic and insidious pollutants today.
Aside from that, we at Paul’s Rubbish Removal adheres to national policies involving chemical and hazardous waste management to prevent them from leaching into our soil and environment.
To effectively phase out single-use and other harmful plastics, we need to focus on:
- Minimising plastic litter
- Using biodegradable alternatives from single-use plastics (i.e., paper cups)
- Streamlining reliable management systems for chemicals and harmful waste.
To give you more insights into the impacts of plastic waste, read the report on the National Plastics Summit. Nevertheless, fulfilling this component will help citizens become more aware and responsible in consuming and disposing of plastics.
Reduce the amount of organic waste in landfills to 50% by 2030
We understand the government’s efforts to improve organic waste recovery and reduce the rubbish we dump in landfills.
We contribute to this cause by:
- Establishing a commitment program for the rubbish industry
- Expressing our support to Australia’s research and technological innovations
Learn how you can repurpose your organic waste and how to dispose of them properly.
The Australian Government is also taking huge steps to further tackle the food waste issue. Read more on the following reports straight from the authorities:
We can save as much as 2.7 million metric tonnes of organic waste from landfills annually by satisfying this goal. As a result, we can further reduce methane and greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
Reuse of recovered resources by the national government and industries
To maintain sustainable resources recovery, government agencies and industries need to:
- Promote high-quality products from recovered resources/materials
- Increase demand for products from recovered resources and materials
This component is crucial since ignoring resource recovery will lead to more waste getting dumped into our landfills. Aside from that, we also get to purchase more products from sustainable sources and exhaust the recovered resources more, keeping them out of landfills.
Deliver reliable data to establish better decisions
Paul’s Rubbish Removal uses big data to streamline real-time and relevant information and make adequate adjustments in our service to maximise efficiency.
But aside from keeping brands in top shape, big data and reliable statistics are critical in helping government agencies and monitoring bodies make helpful decisions against waste.
If you’re interested in learning about the latest information on the country’s waste in numbers, check out Australia’s National Waste Accounts and Waste Reports.
