National Waste and Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC) State Affiliates provide a detailed overview of industry and policy changes across the country.
NWRIC is the national industry body for commercial waste and recycling operators Australia wide.
It brings together national businesses and affiliated state associations to develop and promote policies and actions to advance waste management and resource recovery in Australia – ensuring a fair, safe and sustainable industry that serves all Australians.
NWRIC state affiliates include the Waste Recycling Industry Queensland (WRIQ), the Waste Contractors and Recyclers Association of NSW & ACT (WCRA), the Victorian Waste Management Association (VWMA), the Waste Recycling Industry of South Australia (WRISA), the Waste Recycling Industry of Western Australia (WRIWA) and the Waste Recycling Industry Northern Territory (WRINT).
WCRA – NSW
Save the date
WCRA’s industry update will be held on Thursday, 9 June 2022 from 3pm at The Kirribilli Club.
The update will be followed by dinner, with recently appointed NSW Minster for Environment, the Hon. James Griffin invited.
Why the NSW EPA case against Grafil matters – By Frank Klosterman, Director at Full Circle Advisory
November 5, 2021 was a scary day for New South Wales. On that day, the NSW Land and Environment Court sentenced Grafil Pty Ltd and Bruce McKenzie in a long-running prosecution over accepting material from a third-party waste processor that was subsequently found to contain asbestos.
On the same day, the NSW EPA made public that the EPA’s Resource Recovery Framework would undergo an independent review by Dr Cathy Wilkinson from Victoria.
What do you think caused the EPA to have its framework for Resource Recovery Orders and Exemptions (RRO/E) reviewed?
Read the full article on the Inside Waste website.
WRIQ – Queensland
Release of the Regulatory Strategy, Queensland’s Environmental Regulator
The Queensland Department of Environment and Science has now released its Regulatory Strategy 2022 – 2027. The strategy is also publicly available on the department’s website.
The strategy outlines key target areas and actions to be delivered over five years and is based on the principle of continuous improvement and builds upon the previous Strategy released in 2014.
Release of the Organics Strategy and Action Plan
The Queensland Government has launched the Queensland Organics Strategy 2022–2032, which outlines a plan to improve the management of organic materials over the next ten years.
The strategy takes a paddock-to-plate approach that includes the entire organics supply and consumption chain. The strategy is supported by the Organics Action Plan which details how government, community, councils and business and industry will work together to reduce the amount of organic material that is generated and subsequently disposed to landfill.
National Infrastructure Database
The national infrastructure database was quietly published by DAWE last week at https://www.awe.gov.au/environment/protection/publications/waste-resource-recovery-infrastructure-db.
The information is dated and it appears to be missing critical information for Queensland. The Department has formally noted the number of legacy facilities showing in the database and have committed to update.
The Department is seeking to hear from industry with regards to what should be in the public domain with regards to infrastructure data, including at facility scale. May I encourage you to take a look and provide any feedback to WRIQ. We will be providing a formal submission on the view of the Queensland industry at the end of March.
More news from WRIQ can be found here.