Drink container deposit increases to 10 cents

The incentive for South Australians to keep recycling has increased with the doubling of the current 5-cent deposit on drink containers to 10 cents, the first increase since the scheme began in 1977.

While South Australia continues to lead the rest of Australia with recycling of its drink containers, there are still about 8,000 tonnes - or more than 185 million of them - going into landfill each year. The aim is for every container specified under South Australia’s Container Deposit Legislation is recycled.

In recent years, CDL return rates have declined from 84 percent down to 70 percent, so the time is right to increase the deposit to ten cents. If the refund had been regularly adjusted to keep pace with inflation, it would now be 32 cents in current dollar values.

Increasing the deposit to 10 cents will ensure even more containers are recycled, as well as reducing litter and increasing the amount community groups can generate in income from the return of CDL containers. It will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 70,000 tonnes a year.

Each year South Australians return more than 420 million containers, made up of 140 million glass bottles, 168 million cans, 92 million PET bottles and 20 million fruit drink and flavoured milk cartons. More than $20 million is collected each year by South Australians returning drink containers within the scheme.

The 10 cent deposit will be implemented later in 2008, in consultation with the beverage industry and container collectors, so that transition arrangements can be carefully planned.

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Councils have until 11 April 2008 to register their interest in participating in a pilot which aims to remove food scraps from household waste bins.

Kerbside collection of food waste represents a major milestone in SA’s waste strategy and is linked to achieving the 2010 target of recycling 75% of material collected at kerbside. Twenty four councils attended a forum on 14 February 2008 to gather more information before deciding to commit to the project.

“Councils who commit to the pilot will involved in an ongoing project of collections that extends beyond the initial three months associated with gathering data,” says Zero Waste SA Chief Executive, Vaughan Levitzke.

“Fortunately we can build on the learnings of not only the food waste trial undertaken by Burnside Council trial in 2006-07 but those of other councils throughout Australia. Most of the issues raised at the forum – such as accommodating the needs of large families, nappy disposal and perceptions of odour – can be addressed because of these previous experiences.

 “It’s now up to interested Councils to ensure a representative sample of the community is included in the pilot, and to decide whether a fortnightly residual waste collection service would work.

“Councils also recognise the importance of a comprehensive community information program to support the pilot and the need to determine performance indicators to gauge the success of the pilot.”

Forum presentations can be downloaded from http://www.zerowaste.sa.gov.au/foodwaste_invitation_presentations.php

At the forum: Cheryl Hill (Zero Waste SA Board member), Vaughan Levitzke (Chief Executive, Zero Waste SA), facilitator Wendy Campana (Executive Director, Local Government Association of SA) and Tom Spirat (Zero Waste SA Board member)

Forum presenters

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Organics contamination issue alive

Zero Waste SA has written to Compost Australia urging its members to print contamination messages on product packaging when new stocks are reprinted.

The move recognises that everyone involved in commercial compost production – from collectors to processors and distributors – has a role in eliminating contamination in kerbside collected garden organics.

Zero Waste SA is winding up its pilot with 10,000 householders in Campbelltown Council and Port Adelaide Enfield Council which uses a range of techniques to reduce contamination. These have included a warning system, bin lid stickers, flyers, media coverage and sponsorship.

Zero Waste SA Program Manager Philip Matthews says it is vital the issue retains currency beyond the campaign and that there are continual reminders and prompts for householders.

“One problem is that some home gardeners still think that the garden organics bin can be used for any garden related waste,” says Philip Matthews.

“It would be great if compost and mulch producers such as Jeffries, Peats and Van Schaicks could print appropriate messages on their packaged products and product advertising.”

 “This simple, but important initiative will complement the State and Local Government’s efforts to achieve zero contamination in kerbside collected organics.”

Philip Matthews

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Food waste – it’s all consuming

Zero Waste SA is looking at the broader issue of food waste across all sectors – not just the food waste ‘in bins’ – as well as wasteful food consumption.

Speaking at the 3rd International Solar Cities Congress urban ecologist Herbert Girardet said that 20 times as much energy goes into the food production system than actually comes out in terms of the calorie of the food.

He also acknowledged South Australia’s compost industry and its use of open windrow composting system.

This year Zero Waste SA is also supporting Adelaide Thinker-in-Residence, Dr Andrew Fearne, a world-recognised leader in value chain management and consumer behaviour, especially in the United Kingdom agri-food industry.

In 2007 Zero Waste SA itself diverted 478.5 litres – about two 240 litre wheelie bins - of food waste from landfill through the two worm farms staff operate in the office.

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Five major grants totalling $1.1 million awarded through Zero Waste SA Metropolitan Infrastructure Grants will support the work of five South Australian organisations

The projects will help divert 100,000 tonnes of recyclable waste from landfill - including garden organics, glass, electronic waste and material from household and commercial recycling collections.

A $300,000 grant has been awarded to Integrated Waste Services (Wingfield) to establish state-of-the-art recovery and sorting equipment for commercial and industrial waste currently destined for landfill. It will allow them to divert 75,000 tonnes from landfill each year.

A $205,500 grant has been provided to Visy Recycling to upgrade equipment used in its three metropolitan Adelaide material recovery facilities to separate glass from kerbside collected recyclables. 

Glass is the largest source of recyclable waste processed at the Visy facilities.  The grant will assist Visy to recover 19,000 tonnes of glass waste from the three sites every year.

A further $300,000 provided to Peats Soils (Brinkely) will help purchase equipment to remove contamination such as metals and plastics from organic waste, improve sorting and production efficiencies. Highly-contaminated composts or mulches are un-saleable to any landscape or agricultural market and is sent to landfill.

A grant of $175,000 has been awarded to SA Waste Management to improve resource recovery infrastructure at its transfer station which will result in an increased diversion from landfill by 3,000 tonnes per annum and dramatically improve processing efficiency.

Another $137,000 will support Anglicare’s work building a reuse and recycling facility at Main South Road, St Mary’s and reuse infrastructure at Elizabeth West. The project will divert a minimum of 600 tonnes of e-waste from landfill for reuse and recycling and increase sales and donations of reused electronic products.

The Visy and Integrated Waste Services projects include funding of $252,500 from the National Packaging Covenant.

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Incentive grants for community organisations

Almost $70,000 in funding will help the community-based organisations improve their recycling efforts.

Zero Waste SA’s Social Enterprise Incentive Grants program targets not-for-profit organisations such as progress associations, charities and Scout groups, which raise money from resource recovery activities to support worthwhile community projects.

Community organisation play an important role in collecting materials for re-use and recycling, which would otherwise be disposed in landfill. The projects which have received funding target a diverse range of materials, including household whitegoods, clothing, mattresses, scrap metal and manufacturing off cuts.

The funding assists each organisation’s social goals by supporting projects which improve the storage, handling, processing and marketing of recyclable materials.

For a list of organisations which have received funding click here.

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Bag claims confuse shoppers

Single-use plastic bags which claim to be ‘100% degradable’ are confusing shoppers who are keen to be environmentally responsible but may not fully understand the difference between ‘biodegradable’ and ‘degradable’.

“The term ‘100% degradable’ is pretty meaningless,” says Zero Waste SA’s Richard French.

“Almost everything is 'degradable' over time given the right conditions. Degradable plastics are, almost exclusively, made from petroleum, with additives, and some overseas producers often use heavy metals that cause the plastic to break into smaller and smaller pieces over time.

“The life of the plastic bag can be predetermined by the amount of additive used.

“In theory, the plastic can be ultimately degraded by micro-organisms. However this is likely to take a very long time even under ideal conditions and conditions that are not necessarily found in landfills.”

For the record, biodegradable plastics break down under the right conditions to carbon dioxide, water, and biomass (renewable organic matter). Since these plastics are made from starch from, for example, corn and potato, the carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere when the source of the starch is grown. Biodegradable plastic bags have been shown to break down completely in a few weeks in commercial composting.

There is an Australian Standard (AS 4736-2006 Biodegradable plastics – Biodegradable plastics suitable for composting and other microbial treatment) against which biodegradable plastics can be scientifically tested for compostability and the effect of the composted material on plant germination, plant growth, and earthworms.

Zero Waste SA has raised the issue with the South Australian Office of Consumer and Business Affairs.

“We expect scientific data to support ‘green’ claims,” says Richard French.

“The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says that firms which make environmental or 'green' claims should ensure these claims are scientifically sound and appropriately substantiated as consumers are entitled to rely on and expect these claims to be truthful.”

Richard French with a ‘100% degradable’ plastic bag.

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Phoenix starts journey towards zero waste

Iconic not-for-profit organisation the Phoenix Society has started the journey towards zero waste.

The Society provides job opportunities for people with intellectual and physical disabilities at five premises – four in metropolitan Adelaide and one in Whyalla. Zero Waste SA has funded a preliminary waste and resource efficiency assessment at two premises as part of the Industry Resource Efficiency Program.

Local companies who are at the start of improving their environmental performance want to see local examples of what others are doing,” says Zero Waste SA Program Manager John Blumson.

“The Phoenix Society’s experiences will be one of the first of several companies to be documented in a series of case studies.

“These individual company’s stories will then be showcased as leaders in resource efficiency and published on the Zero Waste SA website."

Uma Preston is preparing the case studies and says it is nice to look at the environmental achievements of companies.

“The Phoenix Society is an example of a medium organisation that has made a start in the area of improving environmental performance and it’s intended that like-organisations can learn and benefit from the Society’s experiences.”

In line with many businesses, and responding to customer and community interest, the Phoenix Society is keen to improve their environmental credentials to develop a competitive advantage in this area.

Other South Australian companies which will have their waste management experiences documented in case studies include GM Holden, RM Williams, New Castelloy and Tarac.

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Business attitudes a first

McGregor Tan Research has been appointed by Zero Waste SA to undertake a major research project to investigate South Australians’ attitudes and behaviours towards waste reduction and recycling.

The 2008 survey will measure progress against benchmarks set in the 2005 baseline study. New questions will be included to reflect important changes in the environment since the last survey was undertaken, such as increased concerns about e-waste disposal, climate change and the greenhouse gas benefits of recycling. With the wide adoption of kerbside recycling services by councils since 2005, Zero Waste SA will be keen to compare results for the community’s knowledge of recycling and related behaviours.

In what could be a first for an Australian environmental market research study, the survey has been broadened to include the attitudes and behaviours of business. This recognises the challenges of achieving the South Australian Waste Strategy targets for the commercial and industrial waste streams.

The market research findings will be used to inform the development of Zero Waste SA business program and, importantly, identify how communications programs can be further fine-tuned. The study is expected to be completed by April 2008.

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Stimulating markets for recyclable materials

Expanding markets for high volume recyclables such as organics, plastics and glass is the focus of a new Zero Waste SA grants program.

With $400,000 on offer, Zero Waste SA is calling on South Australian remanufacturers and marketers of products made from recycled materials to apply for a grant.

The program is an innovative and challenging area for investment due to the industry’s focus on gate fees more than building product value, says Program Manager Angus Mitchell.

“Funds aim to stimulate investment in a diverse range of market development activities such as product development and reprocessing, market research and field trials,” says Angus.

“We have a priority list of recycled content products to focus our investment effort, however, other products may be considered on a case-by-case basis.”

The priority products include: aggregate and soils; recycled organics; plastics; CCA treated timber alternatives; glass; reuse/second-hand products; industrial residues and slags.

Applicants must pre-register by 21 March 2008 with submissions due on 18 April 2008. Further information is available from Angus Mitchell, tel. 08 8204 2586 or email angus.mitchell@zerowaste.sa.gov.au. The grants guidelines can be downloaded here

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Organics contamination issue kept alive
Zero Waste SA has written to Compost Australia urging its members to print contamination messages on product packaging as new stocks are reprinted.

Forum food for thought