towards ZERO WASTE Information to assist in planning for a zero waste future
Context / Introduction This booklet is for Council, residents, not-for-profits, businesses, community groups, charities, students, Councillors and local members, and schools. It contains information on the current state of waste in the Marrickville local government area. Council is preparing a ten year Towards Zero Waste Strategy so that as a community we can reduce and deal with the thousands of tonnes of waste materials produced each year. Together we can answer the question How can we move to a zero waste community? Zero Waste adopts the Waste Hierarchy The Hierarchy encourages us to value waste as a resource, firstly by maximising resource use, then recycling and recovering, before finally considering disposal. AVOID / REDUCE REUSE RECYCLE RECOVER DISPOSE 2 Towards Zero Waste - Information to assist in planning for a zero waste future 3
IN A NUTSHELL More than 34,000 tonnes of material is collected from homes, apartment blocks, parks, community centres, streets and lanes each year. More than half (63%) goes to landfill. Council provides residential services: kerbside collections (red yellow and green lidded bins and booked household clean up) and drop off recycling (e-waste and chemicals, batteries, corks, mobile phones etc.) Businesses, schools, not-for-profit agencies, and community groups manage their waste and recovery of materials through private contractors. In asking the question How can we move from a waste to a zero waste community. Consider your role and the role of others, including Council, in the management of materials now and into the future. The following pages provide information about: Why we need to change The problems with landfill The materials that end up in landfill What is happening in other areas What is zero waste? A towards zero waste story 4 Towards Zero Waste - Information to assist in planning for a zero waste future 5
WHY WE NEED TO CHANGE In Marrickville:* In Marrickville More broadly: More broadly 63% of all materials from households About 30% of food produced in 63% of all materials and from Council households goes to landfill About Australia 30% of goes food to produced landfill in NEVER and Council goes to landfill Australia 47% of the red bin is food and garden reaching goes the to consumer landfill NEVER 47% of the red bin organics is food and which garden reaching the consumer release harmful Businesses in NSW send 1.33 MILLION organics which release greenhouse harmful gas emissions in landfill Businesses tonnes of in organic NSW send material 1.33 MILLION (60% of greenhouse gas emissions in landfill tonnes Almost 100% of all materials from the their of waste) organic to material landfill each (60% year of Almost 100% of all booked materials household from the their waste) to landfill each year clean up goes to Packaging makes up 20% of garbage booked household landfill clean (this up goes excludes to whitegoods, Packaging from NSW makes businesses up 20% of garbage landfill (this excludes greenwaste whitegoods, and mattresses) from NSW businesses The construction sector sends about greenwaste and mattresses) The community expects a more The 500,000 construction tonnes sector of contaminated sends about soils Society expects a sustainable more sustainable system 500,000 and concrete tonnes of to contaminated landfill each year soils system and concrete to landfill each year We are in a position to move towards We are in a position zero to waste move towards thanks to a thriving local zero waste thanks reuse to a thriving culture local e.g. Reverse Garbage, reuse culture e.g. The Reverse Bower, Garbage, charities, local networks The Bower, charities, for collaborative local networks consumption for collaborative consumption We want to know more about We don t know enough waste about from local businesses, the waste from local businesses, construction the sector and schools construction sector within and our schools community within our community 6 Towards Zero Waste - Information to assist in planning for a zero waste future
THE PROBLEMS WITH LANDFILL Landfill capacity With 445kg of waste generated per person per year and a growing population, landfill space in Sydney is running out. Within the next 5 years, Sydney landfills are expected to reach capacity, increasing reliance on the Woodlawn facility 225km south west of Sydney. Environment and human health Waste materials contain toxins that remain hazardous for decades - TVs contain mercury, arsenic, cadmium, PVC, solvents, acids and lead. The leachate (liquid formed when water filters through the landfill) is highly toxic and may pollute soils, ground water and waterways within and surrounding the landfill if not managed properly. Climate change The implications for global warming and climate change are enormous. Organic food and garden waste is compacted in landfill, removing oxygen and creating anaerobic conditions. This generates methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Methane is also flammable, and can become dangerous if allowed to build up (a legacy of older landfills). Emissions are also associated with the collection and transportation of waste. Local amenity Impacts on surrounding communities include dust, odour, litter, noise, pests and damage to local infrastructure from heavy vehicles. Transferring the burden Most of the waste generated in metropolitan Sydney is managed far from the local government area; we are paying for waste to be someone else s problem. Legacy of waste Waste buried in landfill becomes a problem for future generations. Modern landfills are subject to controls and licencing but we continue to manage impacts from redundant holes in the ground in metropolitan areas. Lost access to resources Once recoverable materials, like food organics and recyclables, are disposed of in landfill they are no longer available for recycling. Cost Landfill is the most expensive option for managing waste; in NSW the levy on each tonne of waste disposed to landfill is approximately $100/tonne. In 2011/2012 Council paid $1.7 million to dispose of waste to landfill and $1.6 million in levy costs. Most NSW landfills are privately operated for profit. 8 Towards Zero Waste - Information to assist in planning for a zero waste future 9
WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF WASTE IN MARRICKVILLE? TONNES KERBSIDE RED GARBAGE BIN 16159T HOUSEHOLD CLEAN UPS AND DUMPS 3041T STREET SWEEPING AND LITTER (INCLUDES PARKS) 2618T KERBSIDE YELLOW RECYCLING BIN 8461T MATTRESSES 215T WHITE GOODS 139T E WASTE 123T HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS 79T KERBSIDE GREENWASTE BIN AND PICKUP 4,030T RESIDENTIAL WASTE KEY LANDFILL RECYCLING GREEN/GARDEN WASTE HAZARDOUS MATERIAL FOOD ORGANIC 34,747 TONNES PER YEAR (based on 2011/12 tonnages) 26% IS RECYCLED 11% IS COMPOSTED 63% OF WASTE GOES TO LANDFILL 445 KG STUFF PER PERSON PER YEAR 10 Towards Zero Waste - Information to assist in planning for a zero waste future 11
TONNES KERBSIDE RED GARBAGE BIN 16159T HOUSEHOLD CLEAN UPS AND DUMPS 3041T STREET SWEEPING AND LITTER (INCLUDES PARKS) 2618T KERBSIDE YELLOW RECYCLING BIN 8461T MATTRESS 215T WHITE GOODS 139T E WASTE 123T HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS 79T IS RECYCLED IS COMPOSTED GOES TO LANDFILL WHAT GOES INTO LANDFILL WHAT GOES INTO THE RED BIN 21,818T (63%) OF WASTE GOES INTO LANDFILL 279 KG STUFF PER PERSON PER YEAR 12% LITTER ANd STREET SWEEPING (2618T) 14% HOuSEHOLd CLEANuP ANd dumps (3041T) KERBSIDE GREENWASTE BIN AND PICKUP 4,030T RESIDENTIAL WASTE 34,747 TONNES PER YEAR* 26% 11% 62% OF WASTE 74% OF LANDFILL IS FROM THE RED BIN (16,159T) 4% WASTE, METALS, HAZARdOuS MATERIALS 14% RECyCLING & GREEN WASTE 24% OTHER 37% food 79% CAN BE RECOVEREd GARBAGE 21% 21% IS ACTuAL GARBAGE 12 Towards Zero Waste - Information to assist in planning for a zero waste future 13
WHAT ABOUT WASTE FROM THE COMMERCIAL & BUILDING AREAS? GENERAL WASTE - RED BIN Council has no complete data from these areas however... Across NSW: More than 2,000,000 tonnes of commercial waste is sent to landfill each year. Of this 60% is organic material and 20% is packaging. Asbestos, contaminated soil, and concrete products are the most common materials sent to landfill; the waste levy has positively influenced recycling within the construction and development sector. In Marrickville: Marrickville Council does not provide any waste collection services for local business, schools, community groups, or not-for-profit groups; they manage their waste through private contractors. Waste management is often a lower a priority because of small volumes, and lower comparative operational costs. 24% RECYCLING 3% GREEN WASTE CASE STUDY 1 THREE STORY OFFICE BLOCK (Council s Administration Building) 29% 1% 7% 15% 3% 7% 4% 2% 7% 1% 24% IS RECYCLABLE MAtERIALS ELECtRICAL ItEMS OtHER PLAStIC FILM BuILDInG MAtERIALS non-recyclable PLAStIC FOOD AnD KItCHEn DISPOSABLE PAPER towels PLAStIC BAGS COntAMInAtED PAPER 17% OFFICE PAPER 4% MIxED PAPER 3% CARDBOARD 2% RECYCLABLE GLASS 3% RECYCLABLE PLAStIC 2% MAtERIALS 73% GENERAL WASTE RED BIN 14 Towards Zero Waste - Information to assist in planning for a zero waste future 15
WHAT IS ZERO WASTE? PRODUCT TAKEBACK PURCHASING CHOICES CREATING DEMAND A zero waste community is one that avoids the generation of waste and where any discarded materials are designed as a resource for other processes, no materials are discharged to land, air or water. What is our role? CLEANER PRODUCTION PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY LONGEVITY AND RE-USE DESIGN FOR BETTER MANAGEMENT OF RESOURCES INVOLVES THE WHOLE COMMUNITY RE-USE RECOVERY SERVICES & CENTRES JOBS IN RE-USE AND RECOVERY SHIFTING SUBSIDIES POLICY AND REGULATION 16 Towards Zero Waste - Information to assist in planning for a zero waste future 17
HOW ONE CHANGE BY ONE PLAYER CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE A towards zero waste story Case Study 2: TVs Once upon a time TVs were large and bulky and when they broke, often 20 years after they were first brought home from the department store, they were thrown into the bin and taken away, never to be thought of again. Australia was smaller, there were fewer people, we burned our rubbish in the backyard, and there was lots and lots of land. This is how the system worked... MANUFACTURER RETAIL CONSUMER LANDFILL (COUNCIL) However fairly soon governments realised that big, bulky TVs - and many other things - were poisoning the land with toxic heavy metals. Australian cities were growing, communities were living closer and closer to the tip, and complaints about noise and smell began to escalate. At the same time, TVs were getting cheaper, and more people were buying more TVs. Industry saw an opportunity all those precious metals and plastics could be recycled into something else. While this was a good thing, somehow the community had become gripped with a level of consumerism that had taken hold in every aspect of every person s life, buying ever-cheaper, newer, thinner TVs (which broke much more quickly than the big and bulky TVs). All this was happening despite the community becoming more and more concerned about protecting and improving the quality of life (including free health care, good public transport, access to clean food, water and air, cultural richness, a fair go for all). What to do about it? How can an individual change the world? The government introduced a new law. TV producers had to take responsibility for their products at the end of their life. One change in law has made a world of difference. This is how this system works now MANUFACTURER RETAIL CONSUMER DESIGNER GOVERNMENT INDUSTRY RECYCLER The Australia Government introduced a new law, the Product Stewardship Act 2011, which requires producers of televisions and computers to be responsible for recycling their products when they reach the end of their useful life. Australians disposed of 106,000 tonnes of televisions and computers in 2007-08, with only 10% recycled (largely through Council collections). The product stewardship scheme anticipates that 80% of televisions and computers will be recycled by 2021-22 (currently around 30%). In 2011/12 over 4000 Marrickville Council residents brought more than 180 tonnes of e-waste to Council for recycling. 95% of it was recycled. Now with Product Stewardships that 95% is recovered by the manufacturer. So How Can We Make A Difference? How Can Marrickville Move Towards Zero Waste? 18 Towards Zero Waste - Information to assist in planning for a zero waste future 19
This information informs the development of Council s Towards Zero Waste strategy and enables Marrickville to set priorities for the next 10 years. www.marrickville.nsw.gov.au council@marrickville.nsw.gov.au 9335 2222 Printed on 100% post consumer recycled paper