Waste Production in Western Australia: Challenges and Solutions

This report discusses the issue of waste production in Western Australia and its impact on the environment. It explores the challenges faced in waste management and the measures taken to address them. The report also highlights the need for a sustainable approach to waste management and the future prospects for reducing waste production.

NAME OF THE STUDENT
NAME OF THE COLLEGE
COURSE ID
SUBMISSION DATE
COLLEGE ID
TOPIC-
“Despite many years of education about waste, Western Australia’s per capita waste
production is still extremely high.”

ABSTRACT
The following report talks about the problem of waste production in the western part
of Australia. Australia has been a home to various aboriginals and welcomes a diverse crowd
from various other counties for the purpose of education, work or just settling in. it is also a
hub to a lot of tourists visiting the country for leisure and exploration. People from different
parts of the word come to western part of austrlia for the beautiful sightseeing of rocks and
rivers and indulge in the aboriginal culture. Promotion for a better future needs a call on the
sustainability of the continent’s beauty which has been degrading with the increase in the
waste accumulation in the parts of the continent. Waste production has been a problem for the
world altogether. It is not just a hot topic for today’s world but it lead to the stopping of
sustainability programs for the future (Gai 2016).
INTRODUCTION TO WASTE PRODUCTION
With the increase in urbanization and growth in population, the world is rapidly
heading towards an increase in the waste production process. With the insensitivity that is
showed by the human race will not let the reduction process of waste get simplified and head
towards a devastated future ahead (Engelbrecht, Biswas and Ahmad 2013). In the past
century, the population has turned to more affluent and urban, hence increasing the
percentage in the waste produced by the cities. Solid waste has become a very integral part of
human’s experiments and discoveries for a better lifestyle. It is like the by product of almost
all the production and industrial presence on the earth. The world’s most developed and
growth oriented cities and countries are also a part of the most effected parts by the problem
of waste production. Garbage is produced on a greater pace than it is being tried to turn
down. Rubbish is being generated on a greater pace everyday and is adding to the pollutants
present in the environment. It adds to the greenhouse gases and effects the civilization is
return, be it directly or indirectly. Waste production is ruining the natural resources of our
environment. The rivers are carrying the factory and sewer waste and carrying it in to the
oceans (Gai 2016). Waste heaps are formed in the outskirts of the countries and burn, leading
to the production of hazardous fumes and fly ash. The waste products are ruining the world
and its beauty in a lot of ways. They usually bring diseases and devastation in earth’s life. The
sustainability of natural resources and products are destroyed because of the ill usage of these
resources by the humans. It might not be understood today, but the end result to such
activities would only bring devastation to human race. The most beautiful parts found on this

earth are being trapped in the dangers of waste production. This includes western part
Australia which is beautifully decorated with landscapes, rivers and oceans.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA AND WASTE PRODCUTION
Western Australia is thought to be as great tourist spot for the world with tourist
ranging from all the over the world. Thinking about waste production on a larger scale,
people have not known some important facts about the waste production problem in western
America (Engelbrecht, Biswas and Ahmad 2013).
Researches have found out that per person waste from western America have
amounted around2.4 tonnes which have been increasing each year. This means that one
household can produce around a house full of waste piled up in an entire day. This is a lot of
waste piling up in landfills available each year (Gai 2016). This shows the percentage of
production of waste in the lands of Western Australia for the year which is been collected in
landfills of the country destroying the natural resources (Group 2019).
Not just production, Western Australia stays at the bottom of the recycling list of the
countries. Only 30% of the total produced waste is being recycled in the continent. This value
is abysmal when compared to the total average of the nation which stands at 50%. Whereas,
the Australian Capital Territory leads the list at 75% of waste being recycled in the land. The
area of recycling needs an extreme level of improvement through policies and government
action.
The growing areas of development and growth in the industries and building for the
civil crowd has lead to the highest amount of waste production which accounts around 4.4
million tonnes of produced waste per year. Many demolition projects carried out in the
western Australian region also add to this amount of waste being produced in Western
Australia (Howgrave-Graham and van Berkel 2007). These works account more than half of
the total waste produced in the state. It is more than the total commercial and municipal waste
streams when combined together. It is expected to increase in the coming decade because of
the rise in the number of projects being ongoing in the state. Around three quarters of the total
waste produced through the construction and demolition ends up in the landfills in western
austrlia which is almost 3.3 million tonnes. This rubbish makes up three quarters of waste
totally produced in the state and it ends up being filled in the landfills and not being recycled.
Only one fourth of the waste is being recycled from the landfills which is too less to save the

world from further damage ("Community And Industry Engagement | Waste Authority WA"
2019).
The total number of landfills in Perth metropolitan region ranges is more than 30 and
this is likely to grow with the increasing demand of population for a well planned industrial
city. With the population rise and demands for industry construction has to match up the
housing accommodation (El Hanandeh 2015). Hence, waste production is not going to come
to an end any soon in future. As the number of landfills keep increasing, the problem would
get hard to be handled even if given hundred percent attentions to it.
Western Australia is falling short of the national targets and their governmental goals
for the waste diversion from the landfills. The warning for the garbage production is
increasing day by day without the efforts and attention of the community to address the issue.
It was found that only 42% of the total waste in the landfills was diverted in the year 2014-
15. The actual figure was lower than the decided national rate of 60% (El Hanandeh 2015).
The reasons behind such low figure out of the desired approximate are lack of
responsibility and clarity in the agencies which is hampering the efforts. Poor planning and
funding delays have added to the problem. The total allocated funds are less than the planned
58% out of the state budgeted plans. The current plans of waste management are unreliable
and incomplete for the successful management of the waste production. Lack of management
between the stakeholders and the agencies has made the process of waste management slow
and stagnant. This shows the carelessness of the people involved in the imitative as well as
the lack of knowledge amongst the people living in the state. Awareness amongst the people
must be increased so as to add responsibility at the lower levels as well. The long term goals
can only be achieved if there is an awareness of programs and policies amongst the citizens
and the lower authorities of the state (Engelbrecht, Biswas and Ahmad 2013).
MEASURES TAKEN TO CURB WASTE PRODUCTION
Although there has not been much of awareness amongst the western Australians
about the growing issue waste management in the state but there have been few measures
taken by the government for an initiative towards the state planning in waste reduction
processes. Few measures that have been taken by the government for curbing the issue of
waste production are as follows-

Waste in Western Australia is managed at 3 levels being – municipal solid waste, commercial
and industrial waste and construction and demolition waste. These three levels are used for a
strategic disposal and differentiation of wastes available.
The principal legislation used for waste management is the Waste Avoidance and Resource
Recovery Act 2007. The environmental protection act 1986 is used for the regulation of waste
prevention and pollution control (Kumar and Pal 2013).
The C&D calculates the largest waste category and the plans have been formed for the
regulation of reusing and recycling of the waste present in the landfills.
Steps have been taken for a sustainable plan for the growth of development in buildings and
industries.
PROBLEM ARISING IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PROJECTS
The government does not have a proper implementation plan and proper timings for
the fulfilment of projects and missions. The agencies are not yet responsible enough for the
implementation of plans that are decided on a larger scale. A decentralized program is yet not
created for the lower authorities to get a clear knowledge of the factors that have to be
corrected and used. People of Western Australia are still focussed on the development of
industries and accommodation settings. The proposed amount by the government is not yet
allocated in a diverse and a planned manner to the waste management authorities for their
clear implementation. The schools and colleges must be warned about the usage of products
that lead to the addition in the total waste production. Awareness programmes must reach the
public in a more effective manner (Kumar and Pal 2013).
FUTURE PROSPECTS
The future needs to be saved by making changes in the basics for a better future and
growth in reduction of waste. The liner program of making- using – disposing must be called
off and a circular approach should be placed instead. The waste is actually not a waste
material but a valuable product for turning into useful commodities. Reprocessing industry
must be given more importance than the dumping industry because the waste collected is
much more than the capacity to ruin it ("Community And Industry Engagement | Waste
Authority WA" 2019).

More and more energy projects can be discovered for using waste in creating energy
and turn waste management into a profitable business for the state development. New
business models must be set up by the government to welcome private sector for
transforming waste material into energy.
An effective technology must be maintained for cleverly separating various waste
products and making it easy for the companies to recycle them in categories (Smith and Ball
2012).
Not just the business is to be changed, but also the public mindset on the waste
management schemes and initiatives. They need radical overall as the food that is being
produced all over the country is half wasted and ends up in the bins. Hence, people need to
get more sensitive about the waste production (Wright, Smith and Tull 2018).
Lastly, government needs to plan its policies in a better way to make it reach at the
lower levels and increase the base to a more decentralized level so that it can match with the
authorities working on lower levels. National plans must include monthly plans for a clear
knowledge of implementation (Smith and Ball 2012).
CONCLUSION
We learnt that Western Australia is leading the chart in waste production activity by
adding to their construction and demolition projects which constitute around 75% of the total
waste produced and the landfills are being filled with the heaps of waste without any fast rate
of recycling it. This problem shows the loss of perspective of the Australian government and
lack of attention towards the waste management programs. People are more concerned about
the accommodation programs but they do not care about the community destruction been
placed by a continuous increase in the amount of waste in the country. A strong action plan
with decentralized efforts is a good idea of spreading the word to lower authorities and
communities ("Community And Industry Engagement | Waste Authority WA" 2019).
Initiatives which add to the people’s awareness can work for the sustainable approach of the
world. People might have to change their thinking for dumping to recycling and using waste
for productive commodities so as to treat the problem in a much effective way. Government
role is to look after the policy implementation and allocation of funds at all the levels with
total honesty. Western Australia is a home to various beautiful gifts of nature but with
increased amount of waste, it might lose the charm of a top tourist place on the globe (van
Berkel 2007).

REFERENCES
"Community And Industry Engagement | Waste Authority WA".
2019. Wasteauthority.Wa.Gov.Au. http://www.wasteauthority.wa.gov.au/programs/cie/.
El Hanandeh, Ali. 2015. "Energy Recovery Alternatives For The Sustainable Management Of
Olive Oil Industry Waste In Australia: Life Cycle Assessment". Journal Of Cleaner
Production 91: 78-88. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.12.005.
Engelbrecht, Deborah, Wahidul K. Biswas, and Waqar Ahmad. 2013. "An Evaluation Of
Integrated Spatial Technology Framework For Greenhouse Gas Mitigation In Grain
Production In Western Australia". Journal Of Cleaner Production 57: 69-78.
doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.06.010.
Gai, Prasanna. 2016. "Macroprudential Policies In Australia: Design And Effects". Australian
Economic Review 49 (1): 83-85. doi:10.1111/1467-8462.12145.
Group, MRA. 2019. "State Of Waste 2016 – Current And Future Australian Trends". The
Tipping Point. https://blog.mraconsulting.com.au/2016/04/20/state-of-waste-2016-current-
and-future-australian-trends/.
Howgrave-Graham, Alan, and Rene van Berkel. 2007. "Assessment Of Cleaner Production
Uptake: Method Development And Trial With Small Businesses In Western
Australia". Journal Of Cleaner Production 15 (8-9): 787-797.
doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.07.004.
Kumar, Ramesh, and Parimal Pal. 2013. "Turning Hazardous Waste Into Value-Added
Products: Production And Characterization Of Struvite From Ammoniacal Waste With
New Approaches". Journal Of Cleaner Production 43: 59-70.
doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2013.01.001.
Smith, Leigh, and Peter Ball. 2012. "Steps Towards Sustainable Manufacturing Through
Modelling Material, Energy And Waste Flows". International Journal Of Production
Economics 140 (1): 227-238. doi:10.1016/j.ijpe.2012.01.036.
van Berkel, Rene. 2007. "Cleaner Production And Eco-Efficiency Initiatives In Western
Australia 1996–2004". Journal Of Cleaner Production 15 (8-9): 741-755.
doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2006.06.012.

Wright, Breanna, Liam Smith, and Fraser Tull. 2018. "Predictors Of Illegal Dumping At
Charitable Collection Points". Waste Management 75: 30-36.
doi:10.1016/j.wasman.2018.01.039.