July 2017

The City of Sydney has announced grant funding to tackle takeaway coffee cups, marine plastic pollution and energy waste.

Recipients of its knowledge exchange sponsorships include the Responsible Cafes ‘BYO coffee cup’ campaign, which encourages consumers to reduce the volume of coffee cups to landfill by bringing their own re-usable cups.

Other recipients include the Total Environment Centre – a national conference on solutions for marine plastic pollution and Energy Action – to improve compliance with energy efficiency legislation across city buildings.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the City is a strong supporter of new ideas and innovation in the sustainability sector.

“There’s no dedicated coffee cup recycling facility in Australia yet, so we’re getting behind the ‘BYO coffee cup’ campaign to get to the root of the problem,” the Lord Mayor said.

“In our area alone, 100 million takeaway coffee cups end up in landfill every year – and each one takes around 50 years to decompose, thanks to the plastic liner inside the cup.

“Responsible Cafés connects and promotes cafes that encourage customers to refuse takeaway cups for good, and they’re aiming to recruit another 100 new city cafes.

“We can’t tackle Sydney’s environmental challenges on our own, so grants like these are crucial if we’re going to make the change we need.”

The project complements the ‘Choose.Reuse’ campaign by our national CitySwitch Green Office program, where CitySwitch companies challenge their staff to avoid disposable cups in the office.

Responsible Cafes founder Justin Bonesey the movement was growing at a rapid pace.

“We are in the midst of the biggest shift away from disposable coffee cups in our generation as there are now over 2,500 cafes across Australia offering a discount to people with a BYO coffee cup – and growing by the day,” Mr Bonesy said.

“It’s great for our pocketbooks, great for cafes to bring in new customers, and great for the planet. Cafes keen to make a difference can sign up on our website to get free downloadable promo materials and be listed on our searchable map of participating cafes visited by over a million people per year.”

Customers at Cherubini Espresso Bar in Darlinghurst have been receiving a discount for using a reusable cup for more than a year and owner Marz Adnan is thrilled to see more cafes jumping on board.

“It’s great to see so many cafes jumping on board this important movement. For the customer it’s a no-brainer. They can reuse their cup, save some money and do their part to protect the environment,” Mr Adnan said.

In early 2017, the City adopted Environmental Action 2016–2021, a five-year plan which outlined a vision to transform Sydney into a low carbon, zero waste and water sensitive city.

The strategy recognises that collaboration is essential for the City to achieve its targets and included a new environmental knowledge exchange grant program.

Knowledge exchange sponsorships support the exchange of ideas and knowledge, showcasing local and international expertise.

The Total Environment Centre’s Marine Plastic Pollution Solution Conference will be held from 30 October to 1 November with the help of a knowledge exchange sponsorship.

“CSIRO research estimates that two thirds of marine debris found along the Australian coastline is plastic, much of it flowing into the ocean through our stormwater and sewerage systems, presenting an enormous hazard to marine life” the Lord Mayor said.

“Our Environmental Action strategy includes a target to halve the amount of solid pollution discharged into our waters via the stormwater system by 2030. This conference will help us achieve that.”

A new energy from waste project in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley region has received funding from the state and federal government.

News Corp reports Australian Paper has been given $5 million for a feasibility study into a proposed $600 million energy project at its Maryvale mill.

If deemed feasible, the facility would take 650,000 tonnes of waste from Gippsland and southeastern Melbourne and turn it into base load power to run the mill.

“Generating energy from municipal waste at Maryvale would help address southeast Melbourne’s long-term landfill issues, and also create valuable new construction and manufacturing jobs in the Latrobe Valley,” Australian Paper chief operating officer Peter Williams told News Corp.

“This project would be a major boost for regional paper manufacturing and we are excited to be investigating this important opportunity.”

Australian Paper the building of the facility would create about 800 jobs, providing 46 full-time jobs.

The project is also anticipated to save about 500,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually at the Maryvale paper mill.

The NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) has released its timetable for the next four years of Waste Less, Recycle More grants.

EPA Executive Director of Waste and Resource Recovery Steve Beaman said the NSW Government is investing $337 million more over four years to continue to deliver economic and environmental benefits to NSW through the Waste Less, Recycle More initiative.

“Grants for organic infrastructure to help reduce food and garden organics waste going to landfill are currently open for applications.

“The grants assist with the installation of infrastructure and equipment to increase recycling capacity for food and garden waste or improve opportunities to redistribute good food to people in need.

“Since the initiative commenced $40 million has already been allocated to 71 projects, increasing the state’s organics processing capacity by an estimated 527,000 tonnes a year under this grant program.

“$3 million has also been provided to food relief agencies to collect an additional 6,000 tonnes of surplus food per year to feed people in need.”

Mr Beaman said Waste Less, Recycle More encourages innovative business approaches to increase recycling and reduce waste, along with reducing illegal dumping and littering.

“More than 1,000 projects across the state that are expected to process more than 2.2 million tonnes of waste and create 845 jobs have already been supported through the initiative.”

A full timetable of grants over the next four years is now available on the EPA website to assist organisations to get involved at: www.epa.nsw.gov.au/wastegrants/index.htm.

Grants to open in July:

• Grants for weighbridges to support recycling facilities and landfills to install weighbridges, to assist the better quantification of waste.
• Grants for litter prevention – regional implementation program to support regional waste groups to deliver on their regional litter plans, achieving litter reduction for NSW.

Funding for 2017-2021 includes:

• $30 million for litter reduction programs, including $1.5 million for community litter grants and $4 million for council litter grants
• $106 million for the waste and recycling infrastructure and business recycling
• $57 million for household problem waste programs, including $37 million for community recycling centre collections and processing
• $70 million for councils’ waste and resource recovery projects
• $65 million to combat illegal dumping

The Victorian Government has announced a joint taskforce to target key recycling sites it believes require extra management to ensure community safety.

It comes after a large fire at the Coolaroo recycling plant in Melbourne’s north, which took days to get under control.

The taskforce will comprise Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA), Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB), Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Emergency Management Victoria (EMV).

It will audit recycling facilities across Victoria, to identify and prioritise sites that require action such as a fire management plan to better protect community. It will also consult with waste resource and recovery groups.

As part of this, Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio intends to declare, under section 18B of the Environment Protection Act 1970, an interim waste management policy to require facilities to store materials in a manner that minimises risk to human health and the environment.

It will outline requirements for appropriate storage of recyclable materials, require risk assessment by operators, and compliance with fire services guidelines. Non-compliance with this interim policy could lead to sanctions under the Environment Protection Act 1970.

The interim policy will remain in place for 12 months while a more permanent solution is finalised. The Environment Protection Bill 2017, which is before Parliament, will further clarify EPA’s role as a protector of human health and the environment.

The Victorian Government is overhauling the Environment Protection Act. The cornerstone of the new legislation will be a general preventative duty to minimise risk of harm to human health and the environment. The duty will require everyone to take reasonably practical steps to minimise risks of harm from pollution and waste.

The Victorian Government has already invested $162.5 million to further strengthen the state’s environment protection framework and bolster the EPA’s ability to prevent and reduce harm from pollution and waste. The Labor Government has also set a 30 year Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan to set the priorities for effectively managing waste, including providing a record $30.4 million over four years to improve waste and recovery resource management.

“We are taking immediate measures to ensure better protections for Victorians and our environment,” said Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio.

“The Environment Protection Bill 2017, which is currently before Parliament, will further clarify EPA’s role as a protector of human health and the environment.”

FROM OUR PARTNERS: 

Atlas Copco Construction Equipment Australia and diesel supplier Redstar Equipment have entered into a distribution agreement.

As part of the agreement, Redstar Equipment has started distributing Atlas Copco’s portable compressors, portable generators, lighting towers and pumps through-out their network of four metropolitan branches and more than 60 dealers Australia-wide.

This agreement has allowed Atlas Copco to expand their brand presence, product availability and servicing capabilities throughout Australia.

John Fitzpatrick, Business Line Manager – Portable Energy for Atlas Copco Power Technique, said the distribution agreement has already made it easier for customers to access Atlas Copco products as well as receive exceptional after-sales service and support.

“The agreement with Redstar Equipment has given us the opportunity to increase our customer base throughout Australia. We’ve already receive lots of positive feedback,” he said.

“The agreement has created better product offerings for our dealers with the opportunity to access high quality world-renowned Atlas Copco products,” said Richard Crowe, General Manager for Redstar Equipment.

“Redstar Equipment’s vision is about providing the growing Australian market with industry-leading, high quality products and excellent after sales support.”

The distribution agreement came into effect on 1st January 2017.