Registrations are now open for the eagerly-anticipated ninth annual Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo (AWRE) taking place on 29-30 August at ICC Sydney, Darling Harbour.
Around the world, organisations are working to inspire the business community to embrace opportunities in the green economy. One of these philosophies - zero waste – is currently doing just that, by addressing the ways we make, consume and dispose the ‘stuff’ our businesses generate. With the global aim to reduce and eventually eliminate waste sent to landfill to be disposed, here are our top six picks of who’s currently leading the charge.
Australia is a nation of clothes-lovers, so much so, that we are the second highest consumers of clothes (per capita) in the world. The average Australian buys 27kg of clothes every year, but because the stuff we buy often costs so little, we think nothing of chucking it away when we are sick of it. In fact, every 10 minutes, Australians throw out 6000 kg of clothing, making textile waste the fastest growing sector of household waste.
If recycling were a Commonwealth Games sport, Australia would be Trinidad and Tobago. We rank 17 out of the 34 OECD nations in the recycling event, yet we are increasing the amount of waste we generate — up 23 percent between 2006 and 2015. Of course, this is not news to the waste industry. Finding a way to deal with waste is becoming more pressing, as our days of exporting it to other countries are rapidly coming to an end.
Australians are the second-highest producers of waste per person in the world, beaten only by Americans. So it’s good to see our industries taking innovative approaches to finding sustainable waste and recycling solutions in some of our most important waste sectors.
The damaging and long-lasting environmental effects of excessive waste has gained significant awareness in recent years. From re-usable coffee cups to the ban on plastic bags, Australian consumers have been making strides in their efforts to recycle, re-use and better dispose of waste. Our industries are helping this cause too, with a growing list of companies investing in packaging that is sustainable, biodegradable and even compostable!
