Effective Waste Management and Resource Recovery Solutions

A great starting point for better managing your waste is to understand your waste streams and put in place processes to measure what you are currently generating and sending to landfill. There are a number of on-line tools to assist businesses including the NSW EPA Bin Trim Assessment Tool. Cross Connections can also undertake resource-efficiency assessments which assist in identifying solutions that can result in more cost-effective and sustainable outcomes.

If you are interested in receiving a Bin Trim Assessment or a Resource Efficiency Assessment please contact us now.

Yes, soft plastics can be recycled but the reality is that the majority of this material currently goes to landfill, as most business and households don’t have access to a dedicated collection service for soft plastics. Plastic bags and soft plastic packaging has typically been viewed as a problematic and challenging waste stream when it comes to recycling as it is currently not accepted in most kerbside recycling collection bins. However, local solutions can be put in place to allow soft plastics to be collected from businesses, councils and communities. Mixed soft plastics have the ability to be reformed into higher end use applications, using new models for collection and technologies which reform this material into useful products such as furniture, assets and equipment, that can go back into the communities.

If you are still sending your soft plastic packaging to landfill get in contact to discuss your options.

It’s the plastic you can scrunch and includes things like shrink wrap, bubble wrap, cling wrap, postal bags, shopping bags, snack bags and other soft packaging that protects products or produce. A 2015 NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) community benchmark study revealed that 60% of householders were still placing plastic wrapping in general waste bins with 34% incorrectly placing soft plastic in the recycling bin.

Source: http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/resources/wastestrategy/150194-community-benchmark.pdf

Soft plastic packaging is also a valuable resource, so contact us to find out how your plastic waste can be turned into products, that provide ongoing value for your business and/or your local community.

There are opportunities for businesses to receive support and reduce business costs associated with waste disposal, through the NSW EPA Circulate (Industrial Ecology) Program and the Bin Trim Program.  Under both of these programs businesses can receive advice and access to Equipment Rebate Grants up to $50,000.  These rebates are currently available to SME’s in NSW to increase resource recovery (conditions apply).

The Office of Environment’s (OEH) Sustainability Advantage Program is another innovative and successful program helping businesses to save money and achieve increased competitiveness through improved environmental practices and implementation of sustainability initiatives.

As a NSW EPA Circulate facilitator and an approved consultant to OEH we are well placed to help you understand your options and to reduce your waste costs.

Traditionally, the model for identifying material as waste and managing those material streams has been considered a linear approach – take, make, dispose. A typical example is a traditional manufacturing business, taking in raw materials, making products, disposing of waste to landfill via an organised weekly waste collection. The waste composition going to landfill may not be fully understood nor actively measured, other than for invoicing purposes. The transition to the circular economy is resulting in a model that is regenerative by nature and makes good business sense. It’s about rethinking the waste we generate, designing out waste, ensuring resource productivity and realising opportunities to engage with others and build capital and resilience.

Rethinking Progress : The Circular Economy provides an easy to understand overview of the Circular Economy.  https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy/overview/concept. Acknowledgement Re-thinking Progress: The Circular Economy  – Source The Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

To understand the opportunities to participate in the circular economy make contact today.

Circular Economy projects can’t be undertaken in isolation. They require partnerships and collaborations which provide diversity of thought, different skills, abilities and capabilities of stakeholders that can be leveraged to produce outcomes.  Innovative and optimum solutions can be identified, enduring and successful outcomes can be achieved. An Australian example is the collaboration between Close the Loop, Downer and others. This collaboration has led to a Circular Economy project and resulted in TONERPAVE, a new asphalt product made with used toner powder extracted from recycled toner cartridges. http://tonerpave.com.au/?p=5192

The OEH Sustainability Advantage Program and NSW EPA Circulate Program both provide members and partners with further opportunities for collaboration.

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much” – Helen Keller

You may be a generator of waste and/or a business that can utilise recovered resources as an input to your process or project. How do you find the right organisations to collaborate with, to maximise the value of your by-products or to supply alternative input materials?  The timely progression of projects will be influenced by your ability to identify and engage in suitable collaboration opportunities.

If you need help identifying businesses to collaborate with, please get in contact now.