Recycling in Australia
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Recycling in Australia is a widespread, and comprehensive part of
waste management in Australia Waste management in Australia started to be implemented as a modern system by the second half of the 19th century, with its progresses driven by technological and sanitary advances. It is currently regulated at both federal and state level. The ...
, with 60% of all waste collected being recycled. Recycling is collected from households, commercial businesses, industries and construction. Despite its prominence, household recycling makes up only a small part (13%) of Australia's total recycling. It generally occurs through kerbside recycling collections such as the commingled recycling bin and food/garden organics recycling bin, drop-off and take-back programs, and various other schemes. Collection and management of household recycling typically falls to local councils, with private contractors collecting commercial, industrial and construction recycling. In addition to local council regulations, legislation and overarching policies are implemented and managed by the state and federal governments.


History


Early recycling efforts (1920–1950)

Prior to
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, open and unregulated landfills as well as incinerators were a popular and viable solution to Australia's waste problem. The only material with enough value to compensate recycling was
waste paper The recycling of paper is the process by which waste paper is turned into new paper products. It has a number of important benefits: It saves waste paper from occupying homes of people and producing methane as it breaks down. Because paper fib ...
. Waste paper collections from households and factories started in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
in the 1920s, with the practice becoming widespread across Australia by the 1940s due to the start of World War II. In addition to the collection and recycling of paper, World War II caused a very high level of demand for resources such as metal, paper, and rubber waste to contribute to the war effort. Despite the rise in recycling, these recycling practises faded after the war with no sustainable market for these resources.


Second wave of recycling (1970–2017)

The 1970s saw the return of recycling due to an explosion of public concern about the protection of the environment. Similarly to pre World War II, the only major recycled product was paper- with 30% of consumption collected. During the 1970s also saw the introduction of community recycling centres in Melbourne and
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
local councils where the community could voluntarily bring glass, metal and paper. In the late 1980s and early 1990s many local councils began kerbside recycling collections. Kerbside recycling collections allowed Australian households to separate out recyclables such as paper and glass for processing. During this time extensive education campaigns educated Australians about the new practice, which has become commonplace well into the 21st century. One campaign, ‘Do the Right Thing’ was a highly successful advertising campaign launched by
Keep Australia Beautiful The Litter Act 1979 was an act passed by the Western Australian Government to prevent littering. It helped to set up the Keep Australia Beautiful Council (W.A.). See also *Litter in Australia Litter in Australia is prevalent in many areas a ...
which ran during the 1980s to help educate the public about litter and the importance of recycling. The introduction of container deposit schemes in Australia during the 1980s and 1990s encouraged community groups to collect aluminium cans for recycling in many states and territories. Newspaper publishers also agreed to pay for paper waste to be collected by councils thus helping to fund kerbside collections. Collection rates for both materials rose to about 65% Australia wide with the amount of waste generated by each person reaching ~1 tonne a year. At the
United Nations Conference on Environment and Development The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992. Earth Su ...
in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 Australia was a signatory to Agenda 21. Agenda 21 was designed for countries to "commit to waste minimisation, environmentally sound waste reuse and recycling, and environmentally sound waste treatment and disposal." In an attempt to encourage recycling, Australian states started imposing higher levies on landfills after 2006. This caused a reduction in landfill waste as the high costs (up to $200 tonne by 2014 in New South Wales) caused a strain on the disposal of waste.


Post Operation National Sword (2018–present)

On 1 January 2018, China announced
Operation National Sword The Operation National Sword was a policy initiative launched in 2017 by the Government of China to monitor and more stringently review recyclable waste imports. Before the policy, China was importing the vast majority of recyclables from North Amer ...
, an operation that restricted imports on 24 categories of Australian recycling materials, resulting in stockpiling of recyclable materials in Australia with no destination. The President of the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia, Garth Lamb, had advocated for infrastructure projects to use recovered recycled materials rather than raw materials, such as crushed glass replacing sand in roadworks. The new restrictions placed by China impose a maximum contamination threshold for accepted materials of 0.5%- a rate hard to achieve by the industry in Australia due to the levels of contamination. Prior to Operation National Sword, Australia sent 1.25 million tons of waste to China in 2017. In an effort to rejuvenate the Australian recycling industry, a range of policies and programs have been established to reduce contamination and recycle more of Australia's waste onshore. In addition to programs established by
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
in 1977 and the
Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
in 2012, container deposit schemes have been widely rolled out or are planning to be introduced in the remaining 6 Australian states and territories by 2023. These programs have reduced contamination as bottles and cans are separated from the waste stream before being contaminated. A parliamentary inquiry into the waste and recycling industry in Australia filed a report on 13 June 2018. In 2020, the
Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...
announced a recycling industry overhaul focusing on increasing recycling and reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills. This overhaul included the introduction of a container deposit scheme to be introduced by 2023, the introduction of a new household glass bin by 2027, the standardisation of bin lids, and mandating that every household will have a food and garden organics (FOGO) bin by 2030.


Incentives


Costs

To incentivise recycling, local councils provide heavy discounts or the inclusion of a household recycling bin for free. In contrast, food and garden organic bins require a payment however are discounted. These incentives make recycling a viable option for households due to the small or non-existent cost associated with using the service/s.


Education

Advertising campaigns based on educating the public about how to recycle, cohesive product labelling (the Australasian Recycling Label), and events including
Planet Ark Planet Ark Environmental Foundation is an Australian non-profit environmental organization founded in 1992. Planet Ark works with partners in the public and private sectors to help find the simple ways in which their partners can reduce their im ...
's 'National Recycling Week' assists in raising awareness on the issues surrounding recycling and how to correctly recycle.


Household recycling

Household recycling in Australia is typically done through a system of kerbside collection bins with different coloured lids to represent different waste streams. The majority of states and territories use a red lid for
landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
, yellow lid for recycling, and a green lid for food and garden organics. In some
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
councils, a blue lid is used for
paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distributed ...
and cardboard recycling, and
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
is currently rolling out a purple lid bin for
glass recycling Glass recycling is the processing of waste glass into usable products. Glass that is crushed or imploded and ready to be remelted is called cullet. There are two types of cullet: internal and external. Internal cullet is composed of defective p ...
. In 2018/19, 63% of all waste produced in Australia was recycled or recovered. In 2016–2017, 46% of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) was recycled.


Recycling (yellow lid)

Recycling in Australia is managed on a council basis, where each council has their own rules on what can and can't be placed in the recycling bin. Despite this, the following items are commonly placed in the recycling bin: * Aluminium cans, foil, and trays * Glass bottles and jars * Paper, cartons, and cardboard * Plastic bottles, trays, and containers * Steel cans and aerosols


Metals

Metals collected through kerbside recycling bins include aluminium and steel which can be converted into new products depending on their level of contamination, the quality of the recycling, and the characteristics of the metal. Aluminium can be repurposed into new consumer metal products (cans, foil, trays) and can also be used in
aeroplanes An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectr ...
and
consumer electronics Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic (analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually r ...
. Due to the aluminium's unique properties and high sale price, it can be recycled endlessly into new products. Recycling rates in Australia for aluminium packaging sits between 44% and 66% with the majority of processing occurring onshore. Steel cans are most commonly used in
food packaging Food packaging is a packaging system specifically designed for food and represents one of the most important aspects among the processes involved in the food industry, as it provides protection from chemical, biological and physical alterations ...
, as paint containers, and as aerosol cans which can all be recycled through kerbside collection. Recycled cans can be reprocessed into new new food packaging, railway tracks, car parts and construction materials. In 2018, the rate of steel recycling was ~56% in Australia.


Glass

Glass recycling is common in Australia with a recycling rate of 46%. Recycling of glass occurs mostly onshore through companies like
Visy Visy Industries (known as Pratt Industries USA in the US) is an Australian-American company was established in Melbourne in 1948 and is a privately owned paper, packaging and recycling company. Visy was owned by Richard Pratt until his death ...
and O–I Asia. The process of recycling glass involves sortation and melting of the products to produce new glass products, sand, or for use in the construction of road projects. The
Victorian Government The Victoria State Government, also referred to as just the Victorian Government, is the state-level authority for Victoria, Australia. Like all state governments, it is formed by three independent branches: the executive, the judicial, and th ...
announced in 2020 that every Victorian household would receive a purple lidded glass recycling bin. The rollout will be completed by 2027 with the aim of reducing contamination in the yellow lid recycling bin and to increase the states recycling rate.


Paper, cartons and cardboard

The quality of paper and cardboard degrades over time as the recycling process continues. This means that traditionally the end product after the recycling process is at a lower quality than the original virgin product. In 2022, the majority of Australia's paper and cardboard is mostly recycled in Australia. Prior to the 2018
Operation National Sword The Operation National Sword was a policy initiative launched in 2017 by the Government of China to monitor and more stringently review recyclable waste imports. Before the policy, China was importing the vast majority of recyclables from North Amer ...
, 55% of Australia's paper and cardboard waste was recycled locally with 28% recycled in China. Australia also has numerous carton (
Tetra Pak Tetra Pak is a Swedish–Swiss multinational food packaging and processing company with head offices in Lund, Sweden, and Pully, Switzerland. The company offers packaging, filling machines and processing for dairy, beverages, cheese, ice cream ...
) recycling facilities.


Plastic

Plastics accepted in most kerbside recycling bins include: type 1 (PET), type 2 (HDPE), and type 5 (PP). Other plastics ( type 3, type 4, type 6, and
type 7 Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * T ...
) aren't always recyclable through kerbside collection. Type 6 (
polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It is a ...
) can be dropped off at council operated transfer stations for recycling. Type 4 (
low-density polyethylene Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is a thermoplastic made from the monomer ethylene. It was the first grade of polyethylene, produced in 1933 by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) using a high pressure process via free radical polymerization. Its ...
) was able to be recycled through Redcycle drop off points in supermarkets in a program that ended in 2022.
Plastic waste Plastic pollution is the accumulation of plastic objects and particles (e.g. plastic bottles, bags and microbeads) in the Earth's environment that adversely affects humans, wildlife and their habitat. Plastics that act as pollutants are catego ...
can be reprocessed in a number of ways, with the result of being reconverted into various new products, such as bottles, bins, bags or piping. Prior to the introduction of
Operation National Sword The Operation National Sword was a policy initiative launched in 2017 by the Government of China to monitor and more stringently review recyclable waste imports. Before the policy, China was importing the vast majority of recyclables from North Amer ...
in 2018, 71% of Australian exports of scrap paper/paperboard and scrap plastics went to China. After the introduction of Operation National Sword, the figure fell significantly to only 16% of exported mixed plastic scrap being sent to China during the full financial year of 2017–18. This fell even further to 8% of exported mixed plastic scrap going to China in June 2018. Despite challenges faced in the industry, the plastics recycling industry is beginning to recover in Australia due to government incentives and export restrictions.


Food and garden organics (green lid)

Similar to recycling, food and garden organic collections are managed on a council basis with weekly or fortnightly collections. Traditionally, these bins would only include green garden waste collections, however beginning in the late 2010s,
food waste Food loss and waste is food that is not eaten. The causes of food waste or loss are numerous and occur throughout the food system, during production, processing, distribution, retail and food service sales, and consumption. Overall, about o ...
began being accepted in the bins alongside the renaming of the bins to "food and garden organics". These changes have contributed to an uptake in food and garden organic recycling. Accepted items vary council to council, however these items are commonly accepted in the food and garden organics bin: * Lawn clippings, weeds, and leaves * Sticks and small branches * Fruits and vegetables * Meats and fish * Bread, pasta, and egg shells * Dairy products * Compostable bin liners * Compostable packaging Upon collection, contents of the bin are taken to a composting site where it is screened for contamination before being turned into soil, potting mix, or mulch.


Hard waste collection

Hard waste collections occur in most suburban and regional councils and is designed to collect waste that is too large for a kerbside collection bin or for items that aren't accepted in any of the standard waste collections. Fixed hard waste collections happen twice a year, typically during the seasons of autumn and spring. Some councils use a ticketed approach where the resident has two collections per year that they can redeem at any time. Items collected during a hard waste collection may be disposed, recycled, or
reuse Reuse is the action or practice of using an item, whether for its original purpose (conventional reuse) or to fulfill a different function ( creative reuse or repurposing). It should be distinguished from recycling, which is the breaking down of u ...
d depending on the condition. Items typically accepted include: As hard waste is placed on a residents
nature strip Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...
, members of the public are able to access and take items for their own reuse and repurpose. This removes the need for recycling or disposal and gives the item a longer use life.


Drop-off locations

For waste that cannot be recycled through traditional kerbside collections (hard to recycle items) or in areas where kerbside collections aren't available, drop-off locations provide options for waste disposal and recycling. Drop-off locations include council transfer stations and store drop-offs programs.


Transfer stations

Transfer Stations are common across Australia to dispose of waste and hard to recycle items. The centres are designed to encourage sortation of items to reduce contamination, increase the cleanliness of the waste, and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill. Items commonly accepted at transfer stations are similar to what is accepted in a hard waste collection. Items commonly accepted include: * Electronic waste * Scrap metal * Hard waste * Recyclables * Mattesses * Green waste * Polystyrene * Batteries * Light globes * Printer ink cartridges * Paint and chemicals * CDs, DVDs, cassettes * Waste oil


Store drop-off

Store drop-offs are designed to be easily accessible to the consumer to dispose of their hard to recycle items, and similarly to transfer stations, require the recycler to sort items for recycling. Supermarkets and retailers that sell hard to recycle items typically have a bin for customers to dispose of these hard to recycle waste streams, with examples of bins including soft plastics, batteries, ink cartridges, and electronic waste.


Unconventional waste


=Electronic waste

=
Electronic waste Electronic waste or e-waste describes discarded electrical or electronic devices. Used electronics which are destined for refurbishment, reuse, resale, salvage recycling through material recovery, or disposal are also considered e-waste. Informa ...
collection services were mandated under The National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme in 2011, and can be dropped off at transfer stations, and electronic/appliance retailers. Individual components are first separated from the electronic waste before each individual element is sent to be recycled. Major e-waste recyclers in Australia include Mobile Muster and Tech Collect, with most technology stores providing mobile phone or e-waste recycling bins. A study conducted in 2019 estimates that Australia recycles only 12–20% of its e-waste. In
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
and
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, it is illegal to dispose of e-waste in landfills. More states, including
Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, are planning to implement a ban by the end of the 2020s.


=Soft plastics

= Type 4 plastics ( low density-polyethylene or soft plastics) are hard to recycle due to its tendency to become caught in processing machines at
material recovery facilities A materials recovery facility, materials reclamation facility, materials recycling facility or Multi re-use facility (MRF, pronounced "murf") is a specialized plant that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-u ...
. Despite its difficulty to recycle, the material is also extremely common with 70 billion pieces used each year in Australia. In a bid to help recycle this material, until 2022 the RED Group collected soft plastics dropped off by consumers at Coles and
Woolworths Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
stores at Redcycle bins. The collected materials were sorted and sent to Replas, where they were recycled and turned into
park furniture Park furniture is furniture in a park. It is often made out of iron or wood. Common examples of park furniture include bandstands, benches, chess tables, fountains, light fixtures, picnic tables, and statues. Description Researchers in Hon ...
,
road surface A road surface (British English), or pavement (American English), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, hoggin, cobbles ...
s and
bollard A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. It now also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to prevent automotive v ...
s.


=Polystyrene

=
Polystyrene Polystyrene (PS) is a synthetic polymer made from monomers of the aromatic hydrocarbon styrene. Polystyrene can be solid or foamed. General-purpose polystyrene is clear, hard, and brittle. It is an inexpensive resin per unit weight. It is a ...
(or type 6 plastic) is a common and very lightweight plastic, used for packaging and protection of goods. Polystyrene can be dropped off at most transfer stations for recycling, where it can be turned into coat hangers and synthetic timber. The Australia Packaging Covenant reports that only 29.7% of expanded polystyrene used for packaging is recycled. Preventing this rate from being higher is the high likelihood of contaminating other recyclables and the difficulty of sorting.


=Batteries

= Although programs have existed before, in 2013, Aldi Supermarkets introduced the first supermarket battery recycling program in Australia. The program allowed customers to return AA,
AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Airports * Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA) * Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA) Arts, entertainment, and me ...
, C, D, and 9V. Since the program was launched, through its partners Aldi have recycled 351 tonnes of batteries. In 2020 alone, 7.5 million batteries were diverted from landfill. Since Aldi's launch, numerous other supermarkets and stores have launched similar battery recycling programs, with battery recycling rates growing to 10% by 2021. In April 2018, the first onshore
lithium battery Lithium battery may refer to: * Lithium metal battery, a non-rechargeable battery with lithium as an anode ** Rechargeable lithium metal battery, a rechargeable counterpart to the lithium metal battery * Lithium-ion battery, a rechargeable batte ...
recycling plant was opened in
New Gisborne New Gisborne is a suburb of Gisborne in Victoria, Australia, in the foothills of Mount Macedon in the Shire of Macedon Ranges. The Gisborne railway station on the Bendigo line The Deniliquin railway line (also known as the Echuca railway ...
,
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
. In February 2022, "B-cycle" was federally authorised under the Product Stewardship Act. B-cycle is a national recycling scheme in place to make it easier for Australians to dispose of their old batteries. B-cycle works with major retailers including
Woolworths Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...
, Coles,
Bunnings Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian household hardware chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand. Bunnings was founded in Perth, Wester ...
,
Officeworks Officeworks is a chain of Australian office supplies stores operated under parent company Wesfarmers. The company was established in 1994 by Coles Myer, which became Coles Group before it was acquired by Wesfarmers. Its head office is located i ...
and
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...
to put battery collection bins at their stores to maximise coverage and access to the bins.
Lead batteries Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...
(or
car batteries An automotive battery or car battery is a rechargeable battery that is used to start a motor vehicle. Its main purpose is to provide an electric current to the electric-powered starting motor, which in turn starts the chemically-powered intern ...
) can be recycled at council operated transfer stations. There is a 99% recycling rate for lead batteries in 2021.


=Light bulbs

= Transfer stations and all
IKEA IKEA (; ) is a Dutch multinational conglomerate based in the Netherlands that designs and sells , kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services. Started in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad, IKEA has been t ...
stores accept light bulbs and fluorescent tubes for recycling.


=Automotive

= Automotive recycling is considered one of the main solutions the growing number of vehicles reaching end-of-life (EOL) cycle. According to the
Australian Bureau of Statistics The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) is the independent statutory agency of the Australian Government responsible for statistical collection and analysis and for giving evidence-based advice to federal, state and territory governments ...
, during 2001 to 2015 the number of new motor vehicles sales increased by 48% in Australia. The average life cycle of vehicle in Australia of 10.1 years, with the number of vehicles reaching its EOL cycle growing fast too. During 2014 to 2015, 765,828 vehicles reached their end-of-life cycle. In Australia, vehicles that have reached their EOL are passed from owners to the auto recyclers directly or through an insurance company, car mechanics, or used car dealers.McNamara N
Vehicle Recycling and Sustainability
Melbourne, Australia: International Specialised Skills Institute Inc; 2009
In first stage of recycling, the car batteries and fluids are removed during the de-pollution process. In the second stage, the valuable and high demand vehicle parts are recovered from the vehicles and sold in the market for reuse. In last stage of the recycling process, the remaining parts of the vehicle are crushed and sent to metal recycling facilities to recover metals from the vehicle.


=Printer ink cartridges

= Printer ink cartridges are recycled through a program by the non-profit Cartridges 4 Planet Ark. The program was founded in 2003 by
Planet Ark Planet Ark Environmental Foundation is an Australian non-profit environmental organization founded in 1992. Planet Ark works with partners in the public and private sectors to help find the simple ways in which their partners can reduce their im ...
with support from seven printer ink manufacturers, the program recycler Close the Loop and retailers. The program has diverted 51 million cartridges from landfill with over 4,000 drop off locations nationwide. Upon collection, cartridges are sorted and recycled into recycled inks, road surfaces, and eWood garden beds.


=Paint and chemicals

= The majority of paint waste in Australia is recycled by the not-for-profit company Paintback. Since beginning operations in 2016, Paintback has recycled over 36 million kilograms of paint and packaging through 165+ drop-off locations. The program is funded by a 15-cent per litre levy on products sold by Australia's major paint manufacturers. Chemical and hazardous waste recycling is promenade in Australia with most states having collection programs. Once collected, chemicals are sealed in drums and are transported to a specialist waste treatment facility for recycling.


=Coffee pods

= Coffee pods can be recycled through produces of the pods including companies like
Nespresso Nestlé Nespresso S.A., trading as Nespresso, is an operating unit of the Nestlé Group, based in Lausanne, Switzerland. Nespresso machines brew espresso and coffee from coffee capsules (or ''pods'' in machines for home or professional use), ...
which have organised collection points at their stores, and created campaigns to help reduce their disposal issues. Coffee residuals are used as compost and aluminium can be recycled into cans, aeroplanes, and consumer products.


=Textiles

= Clothes that are in good condition are encouraged to be donated at charity shops, donation bins or kerbside bagged collection. This extends the life of the clothing and reduces the need for recycling. In cases where textiles aren't able to be donated, recycling is preferred. In Australia, there are a range of textile recycling businesses, store drop-off programs, and reuse initiatives. In total, more than 800,000 tonnes of leather, rubber and textiles were discarded 2018–19 with a recycling rate of just 7 per cent according to the most recent National Waste Report. Despite this low figure, donations are common with a rate of (on average) 12.1 kg of clothing textiles donated per person in Australia.


Commercial and industrial recycling

In Australia, commercial and industrial (also large apartments buildings) recycling is collected by private waste management contractors, as business council rates don't cover waste and recycling. Excluding
hazardous waste Hazardous waste is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. Hazardous waste is a type of dangerous goods. They usually have one or more of the following hazardous traits: ignitability, reactivity, co ...
, it isn't compulsory to sort waste into different streams, however, it is more cost effective to recycle due to high fees associated with garbage collection. In the state of
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
, general waste often costs more than twice as much as cardboard recycling. Almost 33 million tones of C&I waste is generated each year in Australia, with 53% (over 17 million tonnes) recycled. Detailed breakdowns of C&I recycling are not recently available, but they cover similar types of materials as household recycling, as shown below. *Overall recycling rate – not a total of the column.


Construction and demolition recycling

Construction sites Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and come ...
usually don't sort their waste for recycling onsite, and instead dispose of it in a
landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste ...
or sort it offsite for recycling. For demolition sites, waste is sometimes sorted and sold for reuse – examples being
roof tiles Roof tiles are designed mainly to keep out rain, and are traditionally made from locally available materials such as terracotta or slate. Modern materials such as concrete, metal and plastic are also used and some clay tiles have a waterproof g ...
, bricks, and building fixtures. In total, the Construction and Demolition (C&D) sector recycled almost 80% of the 29 million tonnes it generated, the highest recycling rate of the three sectors. In cases where waste is sorted offsite, materials are recovered for resale and recycling at a
materials recovery facility A materials recovery facility, materials reclamation facility, materials recycling facility or Multi re-use facility (MRF, pronounced "murf") is a specialized plant that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-u ...
. Metals are recovered by a magnet, concrete,
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...
and
sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...
separated by trommels,
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
is extracted, shredded and resold, bricks are separated and resold, and
soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...
is cleaned and sold. The recycling process produces numerous different products that can be continued to be reused.


See also

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Waste management in Australia Waste management in Australia started to be implemented as a modern system by the second half of the 19th century, with its progresses driven by technological and sanitary advances. It is currently regulated at both federal and state level. The ...
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Container deposit legislation in Australia Container deposit legislation (CDL), also known as a container deposit scheme (CDS), is a scheme that was first implemented in South Australia in 1977 and over the decades has spread to the Northern Territory in 2012, New South Wales in 2017, the ...
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Environmental issues in Australia Environmental issue in Australia describes a number of environmental issues which affect the environment of Australia. There are a range of such issues, some of the relating to conservation in Australia while others, for example the deteriora ...
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Litter in Australia Litter in Australia is prevalent in many areas and a significant environmental problem, particularly in the large cities of Sydney and Melbourne. An anti-litter movement began in 1969 in Victoria with the formation of Keep Australia Beautiful. ...
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Circular economy A circular economy (also referred to as circularity and CE) is a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. CE aims ...
*Recycling *
Green waste Green waste, also known as "biological waste", is any organic waste that can be composted. It is most usually composed of refuse from gardens such as grass clippings or leaves, and domestic or industrial kitchen wastes. Green waste does not incl ...


References

{{Australia topics Environmental issues in Australia
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
Waste management in Australia