Let's not WASTE our WASTE!

Bioenergy Australia Media Alert  
 
20.08.19 
 
Let’s not WASTE our WASTE!  The global recycling trade was disrupted early last year by an abrupt decision by Chinese authorities to dramatically toughen restrictions on 24 types of recyclable waste from around the world.  The ban has had serious repercussions in Australia with SKM Recycling, Victoria’s largest recycler, going bankrupt two weeks ago.  

Australia generates about 2.5 million tonnes or 103 kg per capita of plastic waste p.a. Of this only about 13% is reused or recycled with 87% sent to landfill.  SKM have warned that 400,000 tonnes of recyclables would be sent to landfill each year if the company was no longer in operation.

The Waste Management Review report 2018 outlines export markets for waste materials for recycling will become more constrained globally, and Australia will need to increase on-shore recycling of the major export commodities of metals, paper and cardboard and plastics.

Whilst recycling solutions exist for PET e.g. soft drink containers and HDPE e.g. milk bottles, there are very few recycling opportunities for the residual plastics such as yoghurt pots, meat trays, light film packaging, polystyrene etc.  

Australia’s waste management industry at the time of China’s ban indirectly employed around 50,000 people.  Instead of exporting the waste to overseas countries but utilising it in Australia we have the opportunity to create jobs.  A staggering 9.2 jobs for every 10,000 tonnes recycled in Australia, compared to 2.8 for export.  The 2018 National Waste Policy also notes that a hypothetical 5% improvement in the efficient use of materials could “benefit Australia’s GDP by as much as $24 billion”.

Landfill levies, paid by homeowners, businesses and the community purportedly to improve recycling and resource recovery in Australia currently raise more than $1.2b per year, every year unfortunately most of this goes into consolidated revenues.  In NSW for instance the Government receives an estimated ~$750 million pa. via the waste levy; Approx. 15% of this waste levy is hypothecated back to the waste management industry whilst the balance (~$630 million pa) stays with NSW Treasury1  
 
Shahana McKenzie, CEO Bioenergy Australia says “Governments have to intervene and lead the way for a circular economy because the endpoint is an economy that is more valuable, creates more jobs, is healthier and most importantly, has significantly less impact on the environment.” 
 
“If we want recycling and value extraction opportunities to increase and become more profitable, then not only do we need the policy incentives for companies and councils to invest in it, but we also need to make sure they get the infrastructure approved and built”.

McKenzie has called out that “it is critical Australia considers a variety of solutions to deal with the 87% of waste currently going to landfill. The Bioenergy STRONG conference being held in Brisbane in November will cover innovative projects that are extracting the value from our waste and converting it into products such as electricity, aviation fuel, diesel and marine fuel”

An exciting example for the types of new solutions available come from Licella, an innovative Australian based technology company, which has developed a solution for these End of Life Plastics.  

Steve Rogers, BDM for Licella, advises “the solution takes these plastics, mixes them with water that is heated and pressurised at which point the plastics break down from their long chain polymers back to the simpler hydro carbons from which they were originally made. The result is a synthetic crude oil, which like the original fossil crude from which the plastics came, can then be fractionated and used to make new plastics, low sulphur fuels, waxes and bitumen”.

Another example is Southern Oil Refining who are seeking to turn wastes such as used mining and passenger tyres, commercial and industrial waste and non-recyclable plastic into 100 per cent drop in diesel.  

Southern Oil’s’ Director of Corporate and Regulatory Affairs, Mr Troy Collings outlined that as part of this journey Southern Oil and global truck engine manufacturing giant Scania had formed a partnership to run renewable fuel through a state-of-the-art Scania test engine and alternator.

“In February of this year we’ve shown that is it is technically possible to turn a mixture of passenger and truck tyres into crude and then refine it into 100 per cent drop in diesel and run a brand new truck engine” Collings said.  ‘’Non-recyclable plastics and commercial and industrial wastes is where the rubber will literally next hit the road next in terms of converting waste into a range of fuel”’ he added.

Innovative solutions like these need investment assistance to get the first commercial scale plants built in Australia.  Once in operation these plants can then be replicated to address the challenges associated with non-recyclable plastics.

The current recycling crisis offers the perfect opportunity to explore some innovative ways of turning our waste into valuable products and energy.

All media enquiries: Catherine Scheen | 0424184469 | catherine@bioenergyaustralia.org.au

Available for Interview:

● Shahana McKenzie, CEO, Bioenergy Australia

● Steve Rogers, Licella

● Troy Collings, Southern Oil Refining
 
About Bioenergy Australia  Bioenergy Australia is committed to accelerating Australia’s bioeconomy. Our mission is to foster the bioenergy sector to generate jobs, secure investment, maximise the value of local resources, minimise waste and environmental impact, and develop and promote national bioenergy expertise into international markets.  Australia lags behind the world when it comes to bioenergy, and we aim to change that. We empower, share knowledge, and connect Australian bioenergy producers, investors, researchers, and users to make Australia’s bioeconomy world-class. http://www.bioenergyaustralia.org.au Bioenergy STRONG 2019, Brisbane 13-15 November: www.bioenergystrong.org.au