EPA on Waste Management in Australia
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) goal for Australia is a
common goal. “To minimize waste and resource use in accordance with the
waste hierarchy, with a long term vision for zero waste.” (EPA, 2003)
This sounds familiar. Isn’t it the goal of local government also? The
role and responsibility of the EPA is work with proponents and provide
advice and guidance to help them establish their landfills. The growth
in our economy and population has created a demand for the goods and
services provided by local businesses, industries and our local
government. According to the EPA, what drives or generates waste in
Australia are economic growth, urban consolidation, household formation
trends (referring to fewer people in more dwellings), under provision of
garden waste and other recycling services, and community attitudes. We
use natural resources to make products or provide service and we
generate waste. It’s just that simple. Waste is material discarded, used
up and/or left over in the course of industrial, commercial, domestic or
other activities. Our waste is sent to landfills for disposal which, the
EPA indicates, is an expensive, yet traditional way to manage our waste.
The common misconception that disposing of waste in the method is
cheaper is in error. In comparison to the cost and benefits of recycling
this is especially true. The rate at which we are sending waste to
landfill is alarming. The amount of solid waste and hazardous waste sent
to landfills is approximately one ton of solid waste for every person in
the community. Liquid waste, which is subject to levies by the EPA, is
up. Litter is on an upward trend with cigarette butts being the main
item discarded regardless of the increased butt bins and community
education. Just prior to the Olympics, 3000 bags of litter was collected
the Dukes Highway. Litter is the foremost visible sector of discarded
materials and highly offensive to the community. Hazardous waste is up
60%. Hazardous waste and radioactive waste poses a risk to human health
and our environment. As such, requires special handling and disposal. If
discarded materials are not properly managed, it can pollute the land,
air and water.
The EPA maintains that we need to minimize the waste we generate and
recycle as much as possible. We have seen an increase community
participation in recycling. Mostly due to services provided by local
government and curbside waste collection. However, these efforts must be
increased. This includes the industrial and commercial sectors of
Australia. Despite the increase in recycling efforts, it is being offset
by the number of tons per person sent to landfills. In order to decrease
our dependency on landfill, Australia is moving towards improved methods
for minimizing and avoiding waste as well as a cleaner operation of
businesses and industries. About 50% of waste materials going to
landfill come from construction and demolition activities. This refers
to materials such as soil, clay, concrete and waste fill. The EPA has
performed an audit at the high priority sites and concludes that there
is a need to ensure the long term best practice management measures for
these and other priority sites. Poor practices and treatment of our
environment have led to a degradation of our water, air and land
resources. These audits are in an effort to refine the practices and
procedures with the goal of minimizing any future risk or harm to the
environment. The purpose of a landfill is to be a receptacle of those
discarded materials that are unable to be recovered, reduced, reused, or
recycled. As such, it is vital to adhere to a precautionary approach to
dealing with our waste management and the environment. |
