EVENTS – AUSTRALIAN LANDFILL AND TRANSFER STATIONS CONFERENCE Mike Ritchie, of MRA Consulting, explained why Victoria has a better system than NSW for waste and recycling infrastructure approvals.
Driving the discussion THE SEVENTH AUSTRALIAN LANDFILL AND TRANSFER STATIONS CONFERENCE COVERED THE BROAD SPECTRUM OF BEST PRACTICE, INCLUDING MANAGING EMERGING CONTAMINANTS AND IMPROVED PROCUREMENT.
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andfill and transfer station innovation, design, operation, regulation and safety are paramount to the continued growth of the waste management and resource recovery sector. It is this crucial area of operations that drove the seventh Australian Landfill and Transfer Stations conference, an event hosted by the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR). Taking place at the Pullman Mercure, in Brisbane, the four-day program comprised keynote presentations from international and Australian experts,
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technical tours, workshops and networking opportunities. With the Sunshine State making progress on a landfill levy and new waste strategy on the way, Queensland Government Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch officially opened the two days of presentations. She noted the groundswell of community support for effective resource recovery, highlighting the draft waste management and resource recovery strategy will set the course for a zero-waste society. On day one, Mike Ritchie, of MRA Consulting, spoke of why the federation was failing us. His presentation pointed out
inconsistencies between the Federal Government, states and territories on areas such as landfill bans, quantified targets, levies, planning and container deposit schemes. One point Mr Ritchie made was that NSW generally takes between two and five years for recycling and waste infrastructure approvals. This is too long for most investors, he said. Mr Ritchie pointed out that Victoria has a much better system, with construction and demolition facilities and materials recovery facilities not even needing an EPA licence. Mr Ritchie told the audience that Victoria also has the RD&D approvals pathway which allows
