Waste management in Australia

The system is undergoing a process of reformation to establish a more consistent and circular economy-based legislation,[6] a more reliable database[7] and a stronger, more independent domestic industry.

[2] Most Aborigines conducted a nomadic way of life,[16][17][18][dubious – discuss] and because they were those who moved, and not their "refuses",[17] some of these sites had originated from continuous human presence over hundreds or thousands of years.

[8][10] The low density population, its ecological footprint and the traits of the Australian environment led to a harmonised system in which waste was not contemplated as, and did not represent, an issue.

[2][3] Household and other early forms of waste that could not be recycled or otherwise reused were left in the streets, dumped in rivers, or collected in the backyard, where acid was used to accelerate decomposition and diminish the smell.

[2] Diaries and journals from travellers and residents in the first decades of Sydney's life reported a "shameful situation",[3][24] which saw what at that time was a town of 50,000 people covered by various types of waste, flies and mosquitoes.

[2][26] At the time of Captain Arthur Phillip looking for the ideal settlement site, in 1788, a primary requirement was that of a sufficient freshwater supply,[27] and that river constituted a crucial discriminant in the choice of Sydney.

[31][32] The scheme that would have reformed the usage (at that time comprehensive of both freshwater supply and sewerage disposal) of Melbourne's Yarra River waters was launched during the depression which hit the city during the 1890s.

[42] More people started to recognise the issues related to litter and to the waste management practices, and the government evaluated the return of the deposit refund and the taxation of non-recyclable products.

[2] The inappropriateness of the waste management strategies started to be evident in the last decade of the 20th century, with the cities undergoing a process of rapid population growth and the states being unable to contrast unregulated landfills.

[43][44][45] The national waste management framework is under implementation to establish a more consistent and circular-economy-based legislation,[6] a more reliable database[7] and a stronger, more independent domestic industry.

[5][46][48] Its benefits -for policymakers, local manufacturers and communities-, had been highlighted by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO),[51] and yet a 2011 study disclosed that only Tasmania and the Northern Territory were fully aligned with it, and only two states, namely NSW and WA, partly did so.

[7][52][56] In particular, the different systems, classifications and technical terminologies adopted by each jurisdiction, and required by the diverse stakeholders range and nature,[57] increase the complexity in both the data collection and wrangling processes.

[74] It will be in use until 2030 and, while setting the guidelines for governments, specific local and regional circumstances considerations for businesses and communities can still be pondered and implemented[6] The document presents itself as with a circular economy footprint.

[101] In March 2019 the organisation published "Solving Plastic pollution through accountability", a report issued on an international basis and which urged governments to stop accepting projects contemplating the use of virgin materials.

[102] Additionally, it supported a global ban to single use plastics and requested the producers to be considered responsible for how their products are ultimately disposed of, and recycled.

[5] A research conducted by Pollinate and Planet Ark in 2018 reported that the most requested recycling services by the households regarded, in order of prominence, organics, soft plastics and e-waste.

[122] A harmonised action has been taken by Planet Ark, PREP Design and the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, producing the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) as a result.

[126] The adoption of a unique bin for a wide range of recyclables may cause contamination problems,[127] but it has the side-effect of diminishing the number of trucks (and consequently air pollution), required for the collection processes.

[139] In South Australia, which is currently the leader in the sector,[134][135] resource recovery activities employ almost 5000 people and contribute more than half a billion Australian dollars to the SA Gross State Product (GSP).

[54] The most up-to-date waste-to-energy plants ameliorate their ecological performances by capturing CO2 emissions produced by the combustion of fuels;[142] carbon dioxide can also be then diverted and used by other processes.

[50] While the latter has an end-of-life (filling) and requires the jurisdictions to find new sites, the former, although sharing the characteristic of not being wanted by the nearby households,[147] does not need to move over time and will mainly affect only a relatively small area.

[38] A preferable solution -when considering waste hierarchy and climate change-, is that of adopting composting and special bacteria for limiting the amount of emissions produced.

[89][134] The emerging discrepancy between the levy legislation in Queensland and New South Wales supported the introduction of waste from interstate within the QLD borders,[134] with the additional effects of pollution originated by transports.

[158] The global, non-binding action plan was a product of the Earth Summit, a United Nations (UN) conference on environment and development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 3 to 14 June 1992.

[59][126][168] Since the Chinese "National Sword" policy came into effect in 2018, the waste management industry entered a crisis:[6][60][122][169][170] of the 1,248,000 tonnes (30% of the total produced per annum) of recyclable materials sent to China only in 2016–2017, 99% had been affected.

[179] Litter report is a strategic mean used nation-widely as a supplement to EPA in its investigations; it has been implemented in all the states: NSW,[98] QLD,[181] VIC,[182] TAS,[183] WA,[184] SA,[185] ACT[186] and NT.

[194] On the 13th of February 2024, high temperatures, strong winds and lightning strikes caused a power outage in Victoria which resulted in a blackout for more than 620,000 homes and business across the state.

[86] It provided the illustration of the "triple manifesto", defined as the close relation shared by the State or regional technologies, practices and strategies in the context of waste management.

[5][201] Their studies span one financial year each and provide statistics and commentary on several aspects of waste management by using different key focuses (for example, on a per capita basis).

[204][205][206] The Coolaroo plant had been receiving household recyclables from the Melbourne area, which it stockpiled as one of the consequences of China's National Sword  -ultimately increasing the risks for fire hazard.