Turning Australia’s Waste Into Energy

Australians trust that our waste will be disposed of appropriately. Although most don’t understand the nitty gritty behind our waste management solutions, the least we know is that our general and recycled waste is taken care of in an ethical and environmentally friendly manner.

However, one of the world’s most eco-friendly solutions to waste management is still causing debate in Australia. That is, the solution to turn our waste into energy.

But before we dive into this waste-to-energy method, Harry Van Moorst, community activist from the Western Region Environment Centre, stresses that there is a “waste hierarchy” to consider first. According to Moorst, our top two priorities regarding eco-friendly waste management, concerns the general Australian public.

The first is to consciously reduce our waste. Naturally, a reduction in the average Australian’s waste consumption will reduce our overall waste crisis. Waste reduction can be achieved with simple practices such as ditching plastic shopping bags, using a keep cup for your morning coffees, and packing your children’s school lunch in tupperware, rather than cling wrap.

The second priority is to recycle. There is a particular emphasis on knowing how and what to recycle. This includes focusing on clean paper, cardboard, hard plastics, glass and aluminium. It is just as important to understand what can’t be recycled, as it is to understand what can be. For example, materials contaminated by food (such as greasy pizza boxes) cannot be recycled.

The third solution to consider regarding eco-friendly waste management is out of our hands (that is, the hands of the general Australian public). Instead, it’s in the hands of our government. Moorst reasons that “our waste is better off going to a waste-to-energy plant than to landfill.”

Rather than piling up in landfill, a waste-to-energy solution involves burning the waste in incineration systems as a fuel to generate energy.

What can we learn from other countries?

Turning Waste Into Energy

Sweden, one of the world’s leading nations in effective waste disposal, first adopted this solution in the 1940s. With over 34 waste-to-energy plants currently in operation, Sweden diverts approximately four million tonnes of waste from landfill each year. Two million of that is their own waste, and the other two million is imported from neighbouring countries, such as the United Kingdom, that pay Sweden to get rid of their rubbish.

Considering Australia’s waste crisis, especially after China’s recent waste ban, it is reasonable to question why a country like Sweden would want to take another country’s waste.

Sweden is able to recycle approximately half their waste and burn 49% for energy, which generates electricity for a majority of the country. In addition to diverting almost all landfill waste and providing sustainable energy solutions to their residents, Sweden also makes about $100 million a year from this trade with other countries.

While I’m not suggesting Australia should take responsibility for other country’s rubbish, it’s important to consider the sustainable benefits of turning a liability, such as waste, into an asset, such as energy.

So, why is this causing debate in Australia?

Most Australian’s argue that the solution reminds them of backyard incinerators that were commonly used in the 1960s. What once encouraged families and neighbours to socialise, backyard incinerators were banned over 40 years ago due their contribution to pollution and poor air quality. Most of those against the waste-to-energy solution are concerned about their health.

However, our government wouldn’t consider reintroducing the practice of burning our rubbish if it had such a negative affect today. It’s important to consider that times have changed and more advanced technology and solutions have been discovered that contribute to this renewed method to convert rubbish from landfill. It’s also important to consider that this global method of using incinerators is not the same as it was in the 60s. It’s not just a backyard solution anymore, and it’s now handled by professionals in the waste management and environment industries.

What is Australia’s progress so far?

Despite debates, Australia is slowly introducing this waste management method and currently operating about 30 waste-to-energy projects, most of which are confined to small incinerators.

Australia’s first large scale project of the sort is the Kwinana Waste to Energy facility, located just outside Perth. A $668 million renewable energy project, the facility is expected to officially open by the end of 2021.

The plant will divert up to 400,000 tonnes of waste from landfill each year, which is approximately one quarter of Perth’s post recycling rubbish. It is also expected to convert the waste into enough energy to power 50,000 homes and contribute to the Australian Federal Government’s national target of diverting 80% of our waste from landfill by 2030.

While there are a number of eco-friendly ways that we, as the general Australian public, can dispose of our waste (such as recycling), a waste-to-energy solution is a part of the bigger picture for Australia to consider. According to Federal Energy and Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg, waste to energy has to be part of the solution to dispose of our rubbish ethically and reduce landfill.


Nationwide Waste Solutions is your trusted waste management company. We prioritise finding the most sustainable solution to tackle your waste and recycling management needs. For more information about our services, call us on 1300 729 922 or contact us here.

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Environmentally Friendly Ways to Recycle Unwanted Papers

Recycling is one of the simplest and most effective ways to achieving a sustainable environment. We find ourselves accumulating piles of unwanted paper, and more often than not, it’s at our office workplaces. Here are some ways to dispose of those unwanted papers in an environmentally friendly way.

Office Recycling Bin

Think about one of the most common places that unwanted papers accumulate. It’s most likely your office work space! Often, office employees have stacks of paper accumulating on their desk, and it’s these same papers thrown into an un-orderly pile that are probably never going to be looked at again.

The most convenient way to get rid of them is to have an office recycling bin, or multiple bins if you work in a large office space. The most sensible places to put these bins are next to the photocopiers and printers. It’s also sensible for each employee to have a small recycling bin under their desk.

Office recycling bins give employees an easy, central point to dispose of all of their unwanted papers. Having enough bins and placing them in convenient spots, allows you to dispose of the papers straight away. This is a very simple way to encourage an easy transition into a more environmentally friendly workplace.

Not only is this beneficial to the environment, it creates a far more tidy and productive work space for people.

Secure Document Destruction Service

Depending on the nature of the business, some companies must safely store and sometimes, destroy confidential documents. Often, the most convenient way to achieve this is to go straight to your waste management company for a secure document destruction solution.

Not only will the waste management company know how to destroy the unwanted documents without breaching confidentiality, they will also ensure that it is done so in an environmentally friendly manner. As this process takes a little bit more consideration than regular recycling, it’s helpful to know that your waste management company can handle it all for you.

Secure document destruction solutions can come in a variety of container sizes depending on your business’ needs. Additionally, this solution is especially useful if you have too many documents to simply be shredded.

• Shred it

Using a shredder is another effective way to recycle unwanted papers. Firstly, shredders are useful to destroy confidential documents, considering you don’t have many to get rid of and a complete secure document destruction solution isn’t necessary.

However, there are also many other efficient ways to make use of unwanted shredded paper in the workplace. If your business ships goods from a warehouse, consider replacing your packaging material or void filler with the shredded paper accumulated in the office. Reusing this paper allows your business to save resources and reduce waste. Not to mention that the shredded paper is likely to be a more environmentally friendly void filler than your existing one, such as foam or pieces of polystyrene void filler.

• Donate it

Shredding and reusing unwanted papers is still effective even if you can’t find a use for it in your workplace. That’s because there are many more creative ways to use it. Rather than going straight in the recycling bin, shredded paper can be donated to people who could make use of it, to help reduce overall waste. For example, shredded paper can be used by people who are moving houses, to help pack and move items safely. It can also be used as mulch for those who enjoy gardening. Another alternative is for it to be donated to your local op shop and used as packaging for fragile items such as glassware. Instead of recycling unwanted papers straight away, consider what other uses shredded paper could be effective for.

• Use less paper

A big part of being sustainable is saving resources or getting the best use of out them so that they’re not going to waste. Using less paper to begin with, reduces the need to recycle as much.

A simple way to achieve this in the workplace by printing and photocopying on both sides of the paper when documents have multiple pages. This reduces your paper consumption by half - a simple, yet significant solution.

Outdoor recycling containers

Many workplaces consider outdoor recycling containers a highly effective way to recycle documents. Offices can allocate a staff member at the end of each day to be responsible for collecting the recycling bins and disposing of them in the outdoor containers. However, this can also be done by the office cleaner.

Bulk waste removal has many benefits, including the reduced number of collection frequencies. On a side note, this also reduces transport emission from the collection trucks, making this an even more environmentally friendly solution.

Waste management businesses offer a variety of sizes for both front and rear bins, as well are flexible collection frequencies.

Co-mingled recycling

Another efficient way to recycle unwanted papers is to use a co-mingling solution. Co-mingled recycling is a solution that allows you to mix paper with other recyclables, such as bottles, cans, cartons, cardboard and certain types of plastics.

Some people consider this a far more cost-effective and easier recycling method, to encourage an eco friendly waste solution.

At Nationwide Waste Solutions, we offer recycling solutions to suit your needs, including office bins, secure document destruction, co-mingled recycling bins, and bulk waste removal. For more information about how we can help conveniently encourage your business to be more environmentally friendly, call us at 1300 729 922 or contact us here.

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