WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – INTERNATIONAL
Eggersmann’s Clyde Valley Residual Waste Project commenced in December 2019 and involved five local authorities.
Lessons from the EU DUNCAN BOWETT, EGGERSMANN UK MANAGING DIRECTOR, SPEAKS WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW ABOUT THE GROWING AUSTRALIAN RESOURCE RECOVERY MARKET AND A LOCAL PARTNERSHIP WITH SKALA.
W
hile the European Union did not escape China’s National Sword restrictions in 2018, harmonised waste regulation facilitated a swift regional response. Higher population density was another factor, with greater material output working to incentivise private investment. According to Duncan Bowett, Eggersmann UK Managing Director, the regulated EU system, and associated technology outlays, is better equipped at separating waste than its Australian counterpart. This, he says, inevitably leads to a higher-
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quality recycling product. “The UK presently falls under EU legislation, so we have to follow the European directive on recycling and waste, whereas in Australia, it’s very much a state by state system in terms of what material is collected, sorting, processes and levies.” Duncan suggests the disjointed nature of Australia’s resource recovery system, in conjunction with the country’s relatively small population, works to disincentivise private investment in higher grade processing technology. He adds that given the rate
of Australian construction and infrastructure building, this creates a significant level of missed economic and environmental opportunity. “Australia’s big build movement is in full swing, and when you’re knocking down buildings and building new infrastructure, you’re using a lot of aggregates,” Duncan says. “We went through a similar growth period in the UK 20 years ago and used landfill tax increases to capitalise on resource recovery potential.” That forward thinking, Duncan says, has fostered a healthy resource recovery environment, where projects
