NSW EPA recommends business continuity plans

As the COVID-19 situation unfolds, the NSW EPA has assured industry it will continue to fulfil its responsibilities as the state’s primary environmental regulator, while maintaining the health and safety of staff, communities and other partners.

According to an EPA statement, the authority has a business continuity plan in place, which is being reviewed regularly in light of the most up-to-date advice.

“That includes planning to allow staff to work remotely where appropriate so that we maintain our compliance, enforcement and pollution response activities as best we can to prevent environmental and community harm,” the statement reads.

“We will continue to require compliance with licence conditions and issue clean-up notices and prevention notices where necessary. The EPA may however, consider requests for exemptions on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the provisions of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.”

The EPA is strongly recommending waste and environmental management businesses implement their own continuity plans, if one is not already in place.

“That plan should take into account the updated advice being provided by NSW and Commonwealth health officials, including any sector-specific advice,” the statement reads.

“Now is also the right time to check you have everything in place to enact your pollution incident response management plan.”

A continuity plan will help businesses meet responsibilities for any environmental impacts from activities, as according to the EPA, licence conditions and other regulatory responsibilities remain in place.

“These include the priority responsibilities of maintaining and operating pollution control equipment, and storing, transporting and disposing of waste appropriately,” the statement reads.

Licensees in the waste industry should maintain good communications with clients and the EPA, the statement suggests, particularly around predicted service disruptions.

“Licensees must continue to notify the NSW EPA of pollution incidents and other regulatory or compliance issues or events,” it reads.

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Cleanaway forecast remains in line with FY20 earnings guidance

In a statement to the ASX in March, Cleanaway assured stakeholders it has not seen any material change in volumes across any of its operating segments to date.

Cleanaway’s current financial performance for FY20 remains in line with its internal forecasts and FY20 earnings guidance, it said. However, the impact of COVID-19 means Cleanaway considered it prudent to suspend its earning guidance.

Cleanaway Managing Director Vik Bansal said the company has not observed any decline in overall trading in any of its operating segments to date.

He said that however, as the COVID-19 situation evolves, Cleanaway expect the SME part of its C&I waste volumes to be impacted.

“At this stage, we expect the demand for other services, such as health, municipal collections and related post-collections services to remain strong,” Mr Bansal said.

“Cleanaway provides a range of essential services to a diverse customer base which includes municipal councils, government infrastructure, hospitals, resources, manufacturing, commercial and industrial customers.

“We are taking measures to help ensure the safety and welfare of our employees and customers and we remain confident in the resilience of our business.”

Following the collapse of SKM Recycling Group, Cleanaway Waste Management acquired the senior secured debt in the group for around $60 million, with the exception of its glass recovery services business. This includes the property, plant and equipment from a network of five recycling sites, comprising three materials recovery facilities (MRFs), a transfer station in Victoria and a MRF in Tasmania. SKM also has two sites in South Australia.

Cleanaway’s Footprint 2025 strategy went from strength to strength as Cleanaway in October announced a joint venture with Macquarie Capital’s Green Investment Group to develop a waste-to-energy (WtE) project in Western Sydney.

UN urges governments to recognise waste as an essential service

In the wake of COVID-19, the United Nations (UN) is urging global governments to recognise waste management, including medical, household and other hazardous waste, as an “urgent and essential public service.”

According to a UN statement, treating waste as an essential service has the potential to minimise the secondary impacts of COVID-19 on human health and the environment.

“During such an outbreak, many types of additional medical and hazardous waste are generated, including infected masks, gloves and other protective equipment, together with a higher volume of non-infected items of the same nature,” the statement reads.

“Unsound management of this waste could cause unforeseen “knock-on” effects on human health and the environment. The safe handling, and final disposal of this waste is therefore a vital element in an effective emergency response.”

Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions Secretary Rolph Payet said all branches of society must work collectively to minimise the human and economic impacts of COVID-19.

“In tackling this enormous and unprecedented challenge, I urge decision-makers at every level: international, nationally, and at municipal, city and district levels, to make every effort to ensure that waste management, including that from medical and household sources, is given the attention – indeed priority – it requires in order to ensure the minimisation of impacts upon human health and the environment from these potentially hazardous waste streams,” Mr Payet said.

Effective management of biomedical and health-case waste requires appropriate identification, collection, separation, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal, according to the UN statement.

“The safe management of household waste is also likely to be critical during the COVID-19 emergency,” the statement reads.

“Medical waste such as contaminated masks, gloves, used or expired medicines, and other items can easily become mixed with domestic garbage, but should be treated as hazardous waste and disposed of separately.”

Furthermore, the UN statement suggests medical waste be separately stored from other household waste streams and collected by specialist municipality or waste management operators.

An essential history:  

After the Second World War, Australian Governments faced the challenge of returning Australian communities back to a normal way of life and period of economic growth.

According to Russell Kennedy Lawyers Principal Stefan Fiedler, Federal and state governments passed legislation to prevent the interruption or dislocation of services that would undermine economic growth, including electricity, gas, fuel, water, sewerage/trade waste and transport.

“In Victoria, the Essential Services Act 1948 (Vic) (repealed) was enacted granting power to the Minister to intervene to take carriage of service delivery and employ personnel in an emergency with return of all interventions to the Parliament. Other States passed similar powers albeit on an industry sector basis,” Mr Fiedler says

Under the Act, Mr Fiedler says services declared an essential service were either exclusively or substantially provided by the state government or state government controlled entities.

“At the time, and continuing today in Victoria, waste disposal remains a service provided by local government and private corporations,” he says.

“However, interruption and dislocation of waste services over the past two years – caused primarily by tightening international restrictions – has caused a shift in Victoria, with the state government moving to regulate waste management as an essential service under new legislation.”

The announcement, made by Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio on 26 February, is laid out in Recycling Victoria – A New Economy and provides wide and substantive structural change.

“Regulation of waste management as an essential service is likely to catalyse a further consolidation of the sector, with larger corporations more readily adapting to reformed regulatory framework,” Mr Fiedler says.

“The exception being regional centres where the larger corporations have not sought to provide a service.”

While the nature of emergencies has evolved overtime, with more recent events such as terrorism and bushfires being included, Mr Fiedler says the core objective remains: to prevent interruption or dislocation of services.

“Measures introduced by the Federal and state governments to date have not directly restricted the continued provision of waste services. In the event that these evolving measures may interrupt or restrict the provision of waste management services, then the states’ emergency powers may be used to issue specific directions,” Mr Fiedler says.

“If this were to occur it is anticipated that waste management services would increase, with a focus on handling and disposal to ensure destruction of any virus contaminated waste.”

What does this mean for the Australian sector? 

While Victorian Waste Management Association Executive Officer Mark Smith has welcomed the UN’s call, he suggests appropriate reflection is needed on the Australian context.

He adds that this reflection needs to balance a wide range of factors, but must put the private sector front and centre as part of the conversation.

Unlike other essential services, the waste industry is made up of many small and medium businesses and handful of very large multinationals, Mr Smith says

“Jurisdictional differences between the states will see variations on the definitions of essential service in a waste management context. But all those conversations should happen with the waste industry at the table with government. Since we are all in agreement about our important role in managing Covid-19, and in the wake of the UN alert, the industry should see prioritisation awarded for things such as PPE,” he says.

“Another part of this conversation relates to minimum servicing standards, and this became a challenge for Victoria in the wake of National Sword impacts and later interruptions from SKM’s closure. What we saw then was ripples caused by shortfalls of the true cost of collection, processing and disposal versus what was in a contract.

“We will need to discuss what type of support or assurance are available to the industry should we start to see ripples surfacing. Initial feedback from our members is they are via bad debtors.”

Mr Smith says the challenge that exists right now is an elephant in the room, which should be discussed with industry to build confidence.

“We are a service industry and we deliver services across the country. Touching every part of the economy and every household. In coming weeks and months we are going to see changes which will impact the ability of some of businesses and organisations to pay their outgoings including their waste collection costs. No one wants to turn down a job or not run a collection. But as we see decreased cash flow around the economy, who is going to foot the bill when the expectation is continue to run services?”  Mr Smith says.

“When thinking about support for the industry, it’s really important that decision markers get this right. They need to start thinking about the entire waste and recycling network. By network what I’m talking about is tracing a line behind every kerbside bin, and it includes drivers, administration staff, back end office, compliance teams, transfer stations, MRFs, landfills, the list goes on. We need to consider the whole network in policy making and decision making, and when needed support or relief funding, as the different parts of the network work together to deliver waste management services for the country.

“If this isn’t afforded to the sector we may see some of these ripples create bigger impacts than they needed to because we ignored those early warnings.”

Mr Smith says Australia could see key assets or services affected if cash flow is impacted and invoices aren’t paid, “which will have knock on impacts that no one has a clear understanding or grasp of: we don’t need to turn the history pages back that far to see examples of it.”

Traditionally managed at a local generation and disposal level, Mr Smith says growing communities, industry change, logistical improvement and lifting environmental standards and community expectations have transformed waste into an economy of scale.

“What we have now is an integrated network that includes tens of thousands of collection vehicles, thousands of sites managing consolidation, sorting, processing and reprocessing, hundreds of landfills that play a diminishing but critical role supporting that network, and export markets that increasingly pose a challenge for Australia amid the incoming COAG ban,” he says.

According to Mr Smith, this network, paired with supply chain and logistics efficiencies, means that for certain material streams, Australia is single point dependent.

“These sites pose significant risks to the rest of the network if they are ever interrupted or stopped. This was evidence by SKM’s repeated closures throughout 2017-18,” he says.

Waste as an essential service in Victoria: 

Following a 2019 Essential Services Commission review, the Victorian Government signalled its intent to recognised waste as an essential service in its newly released Recycle Victoria Strategy – formally the Circular Economy Policy.

“In my opinion, the move to elevate the vital role our members and the broader industry plays in every Victorian household, dwelling and business was a reaction to the impotent position the state government found itself in on the back of China Sword, and the subsequent knock on affect it had across the industry,” Mr Smith says.

According to Mr Smith, Victoria has seen sustained deficiencies in its governance arrangements around waste and resource recovery over several years, which relate more to bureaucracy than industry itself, as highlighted by recent VAGO reports.

“Where things have fallen down, I believe, relates to the early detection and management of internal and external threats to the network, government intervention during times of crisis, and the ability and oversight of government to understand how the sector actually works and connects with the economy: primarily around material flow, high risk materials, illegal activities and market concentration,” he says.

However, Mr Smith adds that the drivers behind why Recycle Victoria proposed waste management as an essential service are very different to the challenges Australia currently faces in the wake of COVID-19

“Initially, state and Federal Governments side stepped important questions raised in the wake of National Sword by thinking waste was an issue between local councils and business. However, this line of thinking oversimplifies the far bigger and more important question, which I believe will be answered through the Recycle Victoria work,” he says.

“However its really important to highlight that the waste and recycling sector in Victoria is made up over 1200 organisations and what essential looks like is contextualised by what’s important to the government.

“The expectation of our members and the VWMA would be that government invite industry along to shape that context and create a shared understanding of what essential service might mean for our sector, as opposed to proposing government’s understanding of how the sector works. It’s important to deal with the current crisis first however, and important structural changes aren’t rushed through to tick a box.”

Highlighting how the waste sector touches every Australian home, dwelling and business, Mr Smith says not acknowledging waste as an essential service shows a lack of understanding of the role the sector plays in Australian society.

“Let’s be clear, essential services for our sector will need to be a two way street. Yes businesses and the sector will need to modify, change and adapt and we will. But government and the community need to do the same and the best outcome here will be when we all know our part and try out best to stick to it.”

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BINGO provides an update on impacts of COVID-19

BINGO has withdrawn its FY20 earnings guide as a result of the impact of COVID-19, but highlighted it remains well positioned over the medium term to capitalise on positive future regulatory and market tailwinds underpinning the business.

In a statement, BINGO highlighted as a result of measures announced by both state and federal governments to close non-essential gatherings, commercial and industrial waste volumes are likely to be impacted.

The greatest impact is expected to be in the commercial, retail, hospitality and shopping centre end marks.

“Although we have seen minimal disruption to existing construction projects, disruptions to the supply chain arising from the COVID-19 as well as economic dislocation are expected to result in some delays to the commencement of new projects,” the statement said.

“We expect this will continue in the short-term and will likely impact volumes and market pricing in the building & demolition (B&D) sector. As and when activity recovers, BINGO would expect to benefit from government stimulus packages aimed at fast tracking infrastructure and construction activity.”

The company highlighted its strong balance sheet, backed by significant property assets, noting it was confident it can meet all future cash requirements.

“We are taking proactive measures to ensure the safety of our people, sustained services to our customers and the preservation of cash flow to ensure the business is in the best position possible.”

BINGO Managing Director Daniel Tartak said the company had a strong first three quarters of FY20 and is in a solid financial position.

“Our customers are our partners, and we will continue to work with them to ensure safe and ongoing collections and waste services during this time,” he said.

“First and foremost, we are taking all the necessary precautions to safeguard the safety of our people. We have also proactively implemented business continuity plans to ensure our business continues to operate efficiently during this time of great uncertainty.”

“Despite the immediate challenges from COVID-19, BINGO remains well positioned over the medium- term to capitalise on the positive future regulatory and market tailwinds underpinning the business.”

Last year, Bingo Industries acquired Dial A Dump Industries (DADI) and set its sights on building a resource recovery park as part of the acquisition.

BINGO Industries agreed to divest its recycling facility in Banksmeadow, NSW to ease ACCC competition concerns regarding its $578 million acquisition of DADI. The ACCC required Bingo to divest the facility to maintain competition for B&D processing in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Following this, the ACCC announced it would not oppose the acquisition after accepting a court-enforceable undertaking from BINGO to divest its Banksmeadow processing facility. CPE Capital was announced as the buyer for $50 million in September.

In announcing the company’s full-year results in August, Daniel noted that the asset base secured through the acquisition would transform the business for many years to come. Some of its most recent redevelopments include Bingo’s first recycling centre in West Melbourne, Victoria, having first entered the market in 2017 through several strategic acquisitions.

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Painting thermal pictures

While the human eye can detect electromagnetic radiation in the visible light spectrum, all other forms of electromagnetic radiation, such as infrared, are invisible.

Discovered in 1800 by astronomer Frederick William Herschel, infrared radiation lies between the visible and microwave portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The primary source of infrared radiation is heat, or in the case of water and wastewater applications, abnormal pump and electrical device conditions.

To identify these problems, Leong Au, CBC Service Technician, says water and wastewater operators rely on thermal imaging cameras to record radiation intensity. He adds that by highlighting potential problems before they arise, radiation detection serves as predicative maintenance.

“Thermal imaging has evolved into one of the most valuable diagnostic tools for predictive maintenance in the water and wastewater sectors, facilitating increased reliability and critical asset uptimes,” Leong says.

“By detecting anomalies often invisible to the naked eye, thermography allows corrective action to be taken before costly system failures occur.”

Infrared thermography is the art of transforming an infrared image into a radiometric one, which allows temperature values to be read from the picture.

“Every pixel in the radiometric image is in fact a temperature measurement. In order to read this, complex algorithms are incorporated into thermal imaging cameras, which makes them a crucial tool for electrical and mechanical water applications,” he says.

To facilitate predictive maintenance for their clients, Leong says CBC, in partnership with leading thermal imaging camera design and manufacturing company FLIR, offer a full range of thermology cameras suited to the water industry.

He adds that due to CBC’s fully accessible range of stock, cameras can be purchased on demand and delivered at lighting quick speeds.

FLIR thermal cameras are able to identify unstable connections between main electrical cables, highlighting which phases are operating at higher temperatures.

“Infrared technology provides thermal images of temperature differentials within the detection field. It is then reliant on a human understanding of the image to determine the presence of faults, which is why it’s important to work with qualified technicians,” he says.

Leong adds that it is common practice for insurance companies to require 6-12 months’ worth of external audits on all electrical panels in water applications. As such, operators require consistent monitoring.

“When dealing with mechanical systems at water treatment plants, infrared images can detect problems such as bearings running at high temperatures. This is often the fault of misalignment or a lack of lubrication, both relatively easy fixes that can prevent further corrosion or even explosion,” Leong says.

According to Steven Blott, FLIR Systems Country Manager Instruments, FLIR’s partnership with CBC began in 2010.

“When the price of thermal cameras went down, interest went up, which meant we needed to work with out-of-house distributors to match demand,” Steven explains.

“FLIR engaged CBC because we knew they had the customer focused mentality and technical abilities required to positively represent and distribute our products.”

When an operator doesn’t take a thermal photograph correctly, for example not focusing the lens or using the correct temperature scale, the resulting picture will be inaccurate.

“Whoever said a picture paints a thousand words was absolutely correct. The image has to tell a thermal story of what’s going on with internal machinery and water pumps. If not, the problem is going to persist, costing clients time and money,” Steven says.

Following initial engagement, FLIR worked with CBC to train technicians in level one thermology. From there, in addition to being a product they supply, FLIR cameras became a core component of CBC’s maintenance kit.

According to Steven, working with an organisation like CBC is highly valuable because while operators can buy cameras outright online, there is no back-up support when issues arise.

“Without local support, operators are unable to simply pick up the phone when they have issues,” he says.

“Additionally, if they have to ship their camera overseas for diagnostics, they lose the ability to apply predictive maintenance for an extended period of time, which can have dire consequences when dealing with water and electricity.”

Alternatively, CBC and FLIR offer a complete package, with after-sales support, servicing and ongoing diagnostic assistance.

“CBC is focused on bringing qualified, experienced and technically savvy personnel together within our engineering services team and across the organisation on a broader scale,” Leong says.

For more articles like this go to: www.lets-roll.com.au

                               

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Fed Govt announces second stimulus package worth $66B

The Federal Government has released the second stage of its plan to cushion the economic impacts of COVID-19, with a total of $189 billion injected into the economy by all arms of government.

According to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the Federal Government will provide up to $100,000 to eligible small and medium sized businesses and not-for-profits that employ people, with a minimum payment of $20,000.

“Under the enhanced scheme from the first package, employers will receive a payment equal to 100 per cent of their salary and wages withheld (up from 50 per cent), with the maximum payment being increased from $25,000 to $50,000,” he said.

Additionally, the minimum payment is being increased from $2,000 to $10,000, and will be available from 28 April.

By linking the payments to staff wage tax withholdings, Mr Morrison said businesses will be incentivised to hold on to more of their workers.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister highlighted that the payments are tax free, flowing automatically through the Australian Tax Office.

“We want to help businesses keep going as best they can and for as long as they can, or to pause instead of winding up their business. We want to ensure that when this crisis has passed, Australian businesses can bounce back,” Mr Morrison said.

“We know this will be temporary. That’s why all our actions are geared towards building a bridge, keeping more people in work, enhancing the safety net for those that aren’t and keeping businesses alive so they can get to the other side and stand up their workforce as quickly as possible. We know Australia’s more than three million small and medium businesses are the engine room of our economy. When they hurt, we all hurt.”

The measure is expected to benefit an estimated 690,000 businesses that employ over 7.8 million people. Small and medium business entities with aggregated annual turnovers under $50 million are eligible.

An additional payment will also be made from 28 July, with eligible entities receiving a payment equal to the total of all of the Boosting Cash Flow for Employers payments received.

“This measure is expected to cost $31.9 billion over the forward estimates period, including the value of the measure announced in the first stimulus package,” Mr Morrison said.

For regulatory protection and financial support, the Federal Government will also establish the Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme, designed to grant small and medium enterprises (SMEs) access to working capital.

Under the scheme, the government will guarantee 50 per cent of new loans issued by eligible lenders to SMEs.

“The government’s support will enhance lenders’ willingness and ability to provide credit to SMEs, with the scheme able to support $40 billion of lending to SMEs,” Mr Morrison said.

“The scheme will complement the announcement the government has made to cut red-tape to allow SMEs to get access to credit faster. It also complements announcements made by Australian banks to support small businesses with their existing loans.”

According to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, the $189 billion economic support package represents the equivalent of 9.7 per cent of Australia’s gross domestic product.

“The government is taking unprecedented action to strengthen the safety net available to Australians that are stood down or lose their jobs and increasing support for small businesses that do it tough over the next six months,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“These extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures.”

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WMRR outlines COVID-19 clinical waste guidance

The National Biohazard Waste Industry (BWI) committee, a division of the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR), has developed guidance to assist health care providers managing COVID-19 affected materials.

According to a WMRR statement, in the wake of the World Health Organisation’s pandemic declaration, stakeholders are considering additional measures to ensure the appropriate management of waste from patients, confirmed or suspected, to be infected with COVID-19.

“Under AS 3816:2018 Management of Clinical and Related Wastes, clinical waste is defined as any waste that has the potential to cause injury, infection, or offence, arising but not limited to medical, dental, podiatry, health care services and so forth,” the statement reads.

“At this time, we are not aware of any evidence that direct, unprotected human contact during the handling of healthcare waste has resulted in the transmission of COVID-19, nor is COVID-19 regarded as a Category A infectious disease.”

BWI understands that the World Health Organisation, and some Australian health officials, have declared that clinical waste from infected patients should be treated as normal clinical waste, “this however, may not be a uniform stance.”

“In light of the dynamic and evolving nature of the COVID-19 situation, along with the growing body of knowledge including the significant range of unknown characteristics, such as survival on surfaces, BWI feels it is prudent to suggest the adoption of additional measures,” the statement reads.

As governments evaluate the transmissibility and severity of COVID-19, BWI is aiming to offer a degree of precaution and assistance to staff who will be responsible for the management of higher than normal, and potentially more hazardous, clinical waste volumes.

“Additionally, it is hoped that these measures will also afford a greater level of protection to healthcare facility staff and waste handlers, both within and external to the facility, responsible for the management of clinical waste,” the statement reads.

Additional measures include: 

Health care workers are being urged to implement “double bagging” of waste from COVID-19 confirmed patients. According to the statement, this can be achieved by lining all clinical waste mobile garbage bins (MGBs) with clinical waste bin liners.

“By placing infected waste into a primary clinical waste bag and tying this bag up prior to disposal in the lined MGB – the bag lining the MGB must also be tied up – a significant increase in protection can be achieved,” the statement reads.

“For bins or containers that have been used in isolation rooms or in close proximity to patients confirmed as infected with COVID-19, the exterior surface should be wiped clean in accordance with World Health Organisation guidelines prior to collection.”

Discreet notification and identification of any bins carrying infected waste is also suggested, as clearly agreed upon with waste management providers.

“Understandably, there may be a reluctance to overtly label bins containing COVID-19 waste, therefore this could be as simple as the addition of a simple mark or sticker as clearly agreed and documented between the facility and your waste management provider,” the statement reads.

BWI recommends these measures be adopted alongside personal protective equipment and other relevant practices.

“BWI would like to reiterate the importance of all facilities continuing to work and engage with their waste management providers on the recommended additional measures,” the statement reads.

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FIAL releases roadmap to halve food waste by 2030

Food Innovation Australia Limited (FIAL) has released its Roadmap for Reducing Australia’s Food Waste by Half by 2030, as required under the 2017 National Food Waste Strategy.

Each year, over seven million tonnes of food is wasted in Australia, costing the economy an estimated $20 billion, according to the roadmap.

The National Food Waste Strategy seeks to half this tonnage by 2030, with FIAL engaged by the Federal Government to work with stakeholders across the food value chain to identify appropriate actions.

According to FIAL Chair Michele Allan, the roadmap provides a clear path forward, documenting the steps and initiatives required to tackle Australia’s food waste.

“While work is already underway in many sectors, there are opportunities to improve coordination through robust governance, reporting against a balanced scorecard and better understanding the overall feasibility of achieving a 50 per cent reduction by 2030,” Dr Allan said.

Strategies include a Voluntary Commitment Program, which the roadmap highlights as a “powerful vehicle for reducing food waste across the supply chain.”

“An effective Voluntary Commitment Program that has been implemented internationally has been found to reduce food waste by up to 28 per cent. FIAL is currently developing a Voluntary Commitment Program for Australia,” Dr Allan said.

The program will look at ways to find innovative uses for waste and surplus food, embed new criteria into design, buying and sourcing and change commercial supply practices.

Further actions include scaling-up food rescue and relief, launching an ongoing national behaviour change program and mainstreaming Fight Food Waste CRC research findings.

Additionally, a number of targeted sector action plans have been drafted, with more scheduled in 2020.

“These plans take a ‘whole-of-sector’ systems perspective to identify opportunities and target interventions that maximise food recovery, reduce waste and create multiple benefits,” Dr Allan said.

“Everyone has a role to play in reducing food waste and now is the time to take action. We hope you will join us on the path to halving food waste by 2030.”

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