Official Publication of the
www.insidewaste.com.au
ISSUE 80 | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017
INSIDE
Proving that nothing should go to waste, Territorians got crafty, building boats out of used beer cans for the 43rd annual Beer Can Regatta. This year, 16,000 people gathered at Darwin’s Mindil Beach for the event. (Credit: Darwin Lions Beer Can Regatta)
18 Taking down the barriers 30 Out and about 41 Keeping with the current
Of inquiries and investigations
Hazardous waste trends upwards
PP: 255003/07055
ISSN 1837-5618
A new Department of Environment report shows Australia produced around 5.6 million tonnes of hazardous waste in 2014-15, a 30% increase from 2010-11. The report highlighted that hazardous waste growth has trended strongly upwards at a rate of approximately 9% each year in the five years to 2014-15. “This is despite downturns in traditional industries such as heavy manufacturing and aluminium smelting leading to declining volumes of traditional wastes like acids, alkalis and various organic and inorganic chemical residues”, the report noted. Aside from increases related to domestic activities in line with population growth (for e.g. vehicle oils, grease trap waste, tyres and biosolids)
hazardous waste growth highlights the emergence of new waste types and industries. The most notable of these is the rapid expansion of Queensland’s coal seam gas (CSG) industry and the large volumes of high-salinity waste it generates. On the list of top wastes produced by weight in 2014-15, CSG waste ranked seventh (4.1%) behind contaminated soils (26%), asbestos (18%), grease trap waste (10%), tyres (7%), animal industry wastes (6%) and waste oil (5.5%). “This is notable because all of the top six wastes arise in proportion and geographic distribution with population, as distinct from CSG wastes that occur primarily in one jurisdiction and, more to the point, one area, the
overlapping Surat and Bowen Basins,” the report said. “This is the most significant example of a ‘new’ waste stream disrupting the market in terms of location of the waste and traditional location of the infrastructure built to manage it.” The rapid growth of hazardous waste is also associated with new waste types emerging from changes in technology and consumer products and consequently the “increased regulatory understanding of the hazards of entrained chemicals in the wastes that they become or create.” Despite the steady increase in hazardous waste, there is limited domestic infrastructure to treat new waste.
THE ABC’s Four Corners program in August certainly put the spotlight on the waste and resource recovery sector. It was the talk of the town for weeks and has led to calls for a Senate inquiry to scrutinise the problems raised in the show. And the Waste Management Association of Australia is supportive of the move. “A Senate inquiry is a great opportunity to create more federal discussion about the actions we can take to ensure this sector is able to provide even better services to the people of Australia,” WMAA CEO Gayle Sloan said. “We support and endorse this inquiry into illegal dumping. WMAA welcome efforts to establish a level playing field and ensure the legitimate business practices of the many are not undermined by illegal activity of a few. “WMAA wants to see the federal government taking a more active stand and scrutinise what is going on in the recycling industry. There are too many examples of loopholes that we all know need to be closed, but which clearly have not been fully addressed by each state jurisidiction working in isolation.” On the issue of interstate waste transportation, particularly from NSW to Queensland, the Queensland Premier has expressed her shock and horror at the extent of the movement of waste and the government has launched an investigation into the issue. Retired Supreme Court Judge, The Honourable Peter Lyons QC will lead the three-month independent investigation. More throughout the issue.