At Recycling Plastics Australia we're passionate about recycling... not just plastics, but all kinds. Unfortunately though, we're not doing anywhere near enough as a nation... here are some recent media articles about what Australia is doing - or more importantly not doing - about recycling.
There is no doubt Australia is one of the most wasteful nations in the world, so the practice of recycling helps to lessen our guilt. As we drag our bins out for collection each week, we feel like we’re helping the environment. But the reality is that we’re all being conned. Right now, Australia is stuck in an unsightly and worsening recycling crisis. What is being done with plastic waste, the material most people think would be easy to salvage and re-use, is of the greatest concern. As Liam Bartlett discovers, most of it ends up either being buried or worse – exported to countries like Malaysia, a place we are now treating like a garbage bin.
It's been a year since China's ban on foreign waste sent shockwaves through Australia's recycling industry.It meant we suddenly had 1.2 million tonnes of waste to find a new home for.That sounds like a massive figure, but it's a drop in the ocean compared to the 111 million tonnes that previously went to China from all over the world.So far that's gone to countries like Thailand where foreign waste imports leapt 400 per cent. But they've now announced similar bans.It means a solution right here at home is more urgent than ever.