Resource recovery is the activity of separating materials from waste that can be recycled into new products or used as an energy alternative to fossil fuels and is actioned with the goal of diverting as much waste from landfill as possible. It’s a part of an important goal being adopted worldwide which is to secure a waste-free and more sustainable future.
Since the industrial revolution, fossil fuels have been the greatest provider of energy in the developed world. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbon-containing materials that when burned produce energy used for electricity, heating and powering vehicles. Fossil Fuels, however, are a non-renewable resource and a major contributor to greenhouse gases. Major strides are being made in the area of renewable sources of energy and this includes alternatives to fossil fuel, one of which that is increasing in favor is Process Engineered Fuels (PEF) created in the Waste to Energy Process.
Infrastructure includes everything from the roads we drive on, the buildings and communities we live in, to the management of waste. Infrastructure sustainability considers the overall design, construction, and operation that is optimized to meet the environmental, social and economic outcomes. One of the key areas crucial to infrastructure sustainability is Waste Management and there are 3 important markers of quality you need to look out for when selecting a waste management provider that can help you achieve your sustainability goals.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN’s climate science body, published a report that stated the world has 12 years before the effects of climate change are irreversible. Forty Australian experts provided input to the report, involved in Working Groups on the Physical Sciences, Impacts, Adaption and Vulnerability and the Mitigation of Climate Change. The IPCC called on policymakers and industry leaders to take the lead to influence the world in adopting practices to offset the current situation. With the threat of droughts, flooding, and extreme weather conditions anticipated to affect the socio-economic structure negatively, private citizens are increasingly doing their part to offset the current situation.
The demand for green commercial construction is increasing as the issue of landfill, it’s environmental impact and sustainability become increasingly prevalent. Sydney’s 2030 Zero Waste Target and the impact of the China sword policy are major contributors to the increased pressure on greater sustainability and greener building practices and for good reason. The construction and demolition sector accounted for approximately $20.4 million of tonnes of waste in the year 2016-17 alone making it one of the largest waste source streams. With so much waste being produced per year, and increased demand on greener building, just how do you make the construction process sustainable?
Food waste is a global challenge that has a 19huge economic, social and environmental impact. It costs the Australian economy approximately $20 billion a year. In 2016, the Government of Australia convened a food waste summit to develop a national waste strategy.
The construction industry produces a lot of waste, especially demolition operations. According to Australia’s State of Waste in 2016, the construction and demolition industry accounted for 40 per cent of Australia’s total waste generation; this included waste such as bricks, concrete and timber. Additionally, a study in 2016 found that material wastage was the cause of an average of 20-30 per cent of cost overruns in construction projects.
On 28 August 2018, 23 out of 96 members of the megacity network C40 signed the organization’s Advancing Towards Zero Waste Declaration. One of those cities was Sydney.
Aside from supporting C40’s global aim of ensuring a healthier more sustainable future, the city council’s move strengthens Sydney’s goal of reducing generated waste and the amount of waste sent to landfills by 2030.
