Analysis of Waste Management Practices in Australia

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WASTE MANAGEMENT
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2. Why is waste management important?
The crucial way of managing waste is to protect the health & safety of people and the
environment. An average Australian generates 2.25 kg of waste every day and going deep
into it, 67 million tonnes of waste is generated in the year 2016 as per the Australian National
Waste Report. According to ABC news, the waste generation rate has outclassed the waste
recycling and disposal rate. This has become a serious problem for the country. The most
concerning issues are the management of hazardous waste that are posing serious health
issues and polluting the environment. Diseases, such as Cholera, Dysentery, and Typhoid can
spread due to poor waste management. These are not only affecting only humans but the
whole ecosystem is affected by waste generation and it's poor management. As per the report
of National Geographic, 8,300 million metric tons of fresh plastic was produced in 2017 out
of which only 12% was incinerated, 9% got recycled, and 79% was dumped in landfills or
dumped in the ocean (Parker, 2017). Plastic is being dumped in the sea that has made more
than 700 marine species either endangered or vulnerable (Laner, et.al, 2012). Hence, waste
management is the crucial aspect of not only Australia but for the whole world.
4. How is Waste Management Implemented in Australia?
Waste management is the process that is the responsibility of state or urban local government
that manages and regulate the waste as per the programs, policies, and legislation. The
Australian federal government is responsible for making national policies, strategies, and
structuring the policy framework. On the other hand, the local government is responsible for
waste management within the residential community and local areas as per the regulatory
framework of each territory or state. The local government collects the household waste and
provide the recycling services, operates waste landfilling sites, and create community
awareness at local and state level. In addition to this, they are solely responsible for providing
litter infrastructure and maintain them. However, waste management is not only the
responsibility of the local government, but industries, NGOs, businesses, communities, and
household, and individuals are also equally responsible for managing the waste and help the
government in doing so.
Talking about the national policy and governance for waste management, the Australian
government have a positive approach for waste management and policy regarding the same.
In 1992, for the first time, a comprehensive approach for managing the waste was formed
under the National Strategy for Ecologically Sustainable Development. It aimed at
improvising the efficiency of using the resources, minimizing the environmental impact of
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waste disposal. In addition to this, the approach also considered hazardous waste
management and reducing their generation and addressing their disposal method.
Apart from this, the government also launched the National Waste Policy that was endorsed
by COAG in the year 2010 that emphasizes the formation of a national framework and
strategies for managing the waste along with resource recovery. The National Waste Policy
emphasises on reducing waste generation, minimizing waste disposal, and managing waste as
an environmental resource and delivering economic and social benefits (Laner, et.al, 2012).
There are other policies also that are explained below (Department of the Environment and
Energy, 2016):-
National Environment Protection Measures (NEPMs): The following was formed under the
NEPC Act of 1994. NEPMs are characterized as a particular set of national objectives or
guidelines that aim at managing or protecting a specified aspect of the environment. NEPMs
comprises a wide range of environmental matters as per the NEPC Act 1994. These include:-
 In order to achieve a set outcome, the controlled waste that moves between territories
and states should be properly controlled, determined, transported, and handled with
utmost care by following environmentally sound and feasible practices for the waste
management.
 In order to reduce environmental degradation, it is required to use used packaging
again and again. In addition to this, the use of virgin plastic material should be
minimised by promoting the use of recycling and reuse material in packaging the
material. This would support the voluntary strategies and approaches in Australia.
National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act 2007: NGER was formed by the central
government for introducing a particular national structure that reports and disseminate
organisations' information about their total greenhouse gas emission, energy consumption,
carbon footprint, energy production, and other useful information as defined under NGER
legislation.
Product Stewardship Act 2011: This policy provides a solid framework for managing the
health and safety and environmental impacts associated with a product, especially to those
that have issues with their disposal. The framework has defined many stewardships, such as
mandatory, co-regulatory, and voluntary.
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References
 Department of the Environment and Energy. (2016). Retrieved from
http://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste-resource-recovery/national-waste-
reports/national-waste-report-2013/policies-and-governance
 Laner, D., Crest, M., Scharff, H., Morris, J. W., & Barlaz, M. A. 2012. A review of
approaches for the long-term management of municipal solid waste landfills. Waste
management, 32(3), 498-512.
 Parker, L. (2017). We made plastic. We depend on it. Now we’re drowning in it.
Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-
planet-waste-pollution-trash-crisis/
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