The NSW senate has released a comprehensive and welcomed reform plan for waste and recycling in NSW, writes Alex Serpo, Policy Officer at the National Waste and Recycling Industry Council.
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Volvo backs new program for women drivers
The first Superior Heavy Vehicle Licensing (SHVL) program for women will be delivered in partnership between Wodonga TAFE’s Transport Division DECA, Transport Women Australia Limited (TWAL) and Volvo Group.
The program has been created to help women qualify for their heavy vehicle licence. Volvo will supply a prime mover for the four-week intensive training course designed to provide students with behind-the-wheel experience.
By encouraging female drivers to participate in the course, DECA was looking at a solution to address the driver shortage across the road transport sector.
At the recent Transport Women Australia Conference in Canberra, Women Driving Transport Careers was launched. Offered in Metropolitan Melbourne, the course will be arranged in conjunction with Volvo Group Australia Driver Academy.
Simon Macaulay, National Manager Transport at DECA, said the training will assist females obtain a high demand skill for which to fast-track their entrance into the heavy transport workforce.
“We provide participants with the industry standard skills and know-how. We take them through areas that are barely mentioned in a lot of licence instruction, such as safety protocols and health and safety procedures, road maps, fatigue management, chain of responsibility and use of technology,” Macauley said.
Volvo Group Australia has found the average age of truck drivers in Australia is 47. Meanwhile 52 per cent of employers, according to its research conducted in 2016, struggle to attract the quantity of drivers needed and 46 per cent are already experiencing a shortage of available drivers.
President and CEO of Volvo Group Australia Peter Voorhoeve said the company is working hard to attract new and more diverse talent into the heavy transport sector.
“Australia is standing on the precipice of a serious truck driver shortage, the effects of which will be felt far beyond the transport industry. If the industry does not find ways to attract more drivers to the industry, we will all feel the pain in higher prices for the things that trucks move up and down our highways – food, clothing, construction materials, medical supplies and consumer goods to name just a few.
“As the leading manufacturer of trucks in Australia, we take our role in the industry seriously, which is why we are constantly looking for new ways to grow the heavy transport sector workforce and champion greater diversity in the driver workforce.”
(Image: 2017 Volvo Truck Challenge finalist Kerri Connors).
CoR changes coming soon
Reforms to the Chain of Responsibility (CoR) laws will be implemented from 1 October, with timing for the changes confirmed by Queensland Transport and Main Road Minister, Mark Bailey.
National Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) CEO, Sal Petroccitto, said the start date for the reforms follows lengthy consultation and information for heavy vehicle businesses over the past 18 months.
“The NHVR has been engaging with many of the 165,000 businesses which make up the heavy vehicle supply chain, and conducted more than 100 workshops,” said Petroccitto.
“October 1 provides the additional time that some sectors were asking for to prepare for the changes, particularly the agricultural sector.
“This change to CoR laws is a significant leap forward in recognising everyone in the heavy vehicle supply chain has a role to play in ensuring safety.
“The reforms complement national workplace safety laws, and place a positive duty-of-care on supply chain parties.
“Duty holders who assess their risks and manage them will be complying with both the HVNL and workplace safety law,” he said.
The NHVR has information available including CoR Gap Assessment tools, role-specific fact sheets, Safety Management System templates and tools, and videos and podcasts
OECD urges global governments to improve plastic recycling
Plastic recycling is being held back by low recovery rates, poor quality of recycled plastic and a lack of price incentives according to a report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The Improving Markets for Recycled Plastics: Trends, Prospects and Policy Responses report urges governments around the globe to act fast to encourage more recycling at a better quality.
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It attributes the lag in plastic recycling to the fact it is cheaper to create products from new plastic than it is to recycle plastic. The report also said primary plastics can be priced higher than recycled plastic, due to it usually being better quality.
Hazardous chemical additives can also survive in recycling plastics, which the report says weighs on secondary markets.
It estimates the world produces around eight times as much new plastic compared to recycled plastic.
The OECD report calls for stronger incentives to be provided for better designed plastic goods, as well as an investment in waste collection infrastructure and source separation. A product label system that shows how much recycled content is in a product was suggested to create consumer driven demand.
Heavier taxes on the manufacture of new plastics was also suggested to reduce the demand in items such as single use bags, cutlery or drinking straws.
Barriers to recycling identified by the report include the view that recycled plastics are substitutes, prices of recycled plastics being driven by oil costs instead of collection, sorting and processing, a smaller and fragmented plastics recycling sector, the market being concentrated in a few countries, and technical challenges associated with the variety of polymers and additives.
Waste plastics often remain in the environment, posing a threat to wildlife and marine creatures. Only 15 per cent of plastic waste is recycled globally, with 25 per cent being incinerated and the remainder sent to landfill according to the report.
The report will be presented at the Global forum on Environment: Sustainable Plastic Design in Copenhagen, Denmark.
New report urges caution for biodegradable bags
A new report from Europe has found issues with testing on biodegradable plastic bags and urges caution when considering whether they should be exempt from plastic bag bans and levies.
Jesse Harrison and co-authors argue in the report that existing industry standards and test methods are insufficient when it comes to predicting how biodegradable plastic bags break down in lakes, rivers and marine environments.
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The Biodegradability standards for carrier bags and plastic films in aquatic environments report was commissioned by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and involved the University of Edinburgh, the University of Vienna, and the University of Helsinki.
said the data obtained by current standards, test methods and specifications can significantly underestimate how long it takes for polymer biodegradation in natural ecosystems.
“Existing biodegradability standards and test methods for aquatic environments do not involve toxicity testing or account for potentially adverse ecological impacts of carrier bags, plastic additives, polymer degradation products or small plastic particles that arise via fragmentation,” the report said.
Auckland University of Technology Professor Thomas Neitzert said this research helps destroy the current thinking a plastic bag with a biodegradable label is safe for the environment.
“The co-existence of conventional plastic bags and so-called biodegradable plastic bags of compostable materials is also upsetting current recycling operations and is confusing the general public,” Dr Neitzert said.
“The current standards are not taking properly into account real-life conditions and are therefore underestimating the break-down times of plastic materials.
“The standards are also not accounting for the damage of break-down particles on marine life when they are digested. A biodegradable plastic bag is potentially dangerous to marine life from the moment it enters the water until it dissolves into micro- or nanoparticles over many years,” he said.
University of Waikato Professor Kim Pickering said the review provided an excellent overview of the current assessment of biodegradability, including its shortfalls.
“It is important to assess how long things take to degrade in real situations and also what they break into and the consequences of that and we need to address such shortfalls,” Dr Pickering said.
“If it is to be assumed that we cannot prevent some plastic products getting into the environment, then biodegradable plastics could be a step in the right direction (depending on the product),” she said.
“It shows that there are great uncertainties regarding the impact these could have on the environment and so we should still assume responsibility of waste and consider its disposal, whether biodegradable or not.”
VIC EPA Governance Board appointments finalised
The remaining appointments to the new Victorian Environment Protection Authority (EPA) governing board have been announced by Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio.
The board members have been selected for their skills and knowledge of their roles and will be key to implementing the state government’s EPA reform agenda, according to the Victorian Government.
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Ms Cheryl Batagol will be chair of the governing board and will lead and eight-person board that includes:
- Mr Greg Tweedly (Deputy Chair)
- Professor Joan Ozanne-Smith
- Mr Graeme Ford
- Professor Rebekah Brown
- Ross Pilling
- Ms Monique Conheady
- Ms Debra Russell.
Ms Batagol has been Chair of the EPA under the current governing structure since 2009. She brings more than 40 years of experience in waste management, water and environment sectors to the positions.
The Board will come into operation on 1 July and will lead the EPA in implementing its response to the Independent Inquiry into the EPA.
Ms D’Ambrosio said the Victorian Government is making sure the EPA is equipped with the people, powers and resources it needs to do its job and protect Victoria’s environment.
“This board has a fantastic cross section of experience and knowledge to help us implement our vital reforms to the EPA,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.
Getting the edge on volume
Global bin weighing company BOTEK has remained ahead of the curve in legal for trade weighing for nearly four decades.
Know your waste: Mandalay Technologies
Understanding your business operations is crucial to avoiding compliance issues. Mandalay Technologies’ Lacey Webb tells Waste Management Review how leveraging data can eliminate regulatory risk and financial liability.
Sleeper issue: What are PFAS?
A group of chemicals called PFAS have flown under the radar for years but could be dangerous. Waste Management Review reports on the new national PFAS management plan and its effects on the landfill industry.
SV release new tech guide
Sustainability Victoria has released a new guide that details the current and emerging technologies for resource recovery.
Sustainability Victoria Chief Executive Officer Stan Krpan said there is a need to find new and productive uses for waste as Victoria’s population grows.
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“With this Resource Recovery Technology Guide, we have analysed both current and emerging resource recovery technologies to support government and industry to make decisions about the most appropriate technology to suit their needs,” Mr Krpan said.
“In providing a summary of available technologies, their associated waste streams, regulatory requirements and potential costs, we want to make it easy to understand technologies that will help guide decisions to benefit the environment and the community,” he said.
The guide includes technologies found in traditional material recovery facilities, complex mixed facilities, mechanical and biological treatment, as well as energy from waste. And advanced fuels produced from waste.
“Some of these technologies have the potential to continue our move away from landfills, especially for residual waste which cannot be recycled and ends up in landfill. We know that resource recovery creates many new jobs and drives investment in regional communities,” Mr Krpan said.
“Victoria is thinking circular and we are committed to improving the way we manage our waste and generating value from our resources. This guide points us on the new directions and opportunities some of which are already being used and some which we may borrow that have been successful overseas,” he said.
Sustainability Victoria has also released a revised Guide to Biological Recovery of Organics to help readers understand the regulations, requirements and best practice methods for biological processing of organics.
“Organic wastes make up a large proportion of the waste generated in Victoria and the recovery of organics offers a significant opportunity to reduce the environmental impacts of landfill,” Mr Krpan said.
Mr Krpan said the revised guide helps local government, industry and community groups understand the biological recovery of organics. It discusses feedstocks, technologies, and the costs and planning involved.
“We have heard from local government that there is a great need for authoritative information and guidance on processing technologies and advanced resource recovery. We worked with industry experts to create really practical guides that we hope are used widely.”