6 Solid Waste Disposal Options in Australia
6 Solid Waste Disposal Options in Australia
While Australians are some of the strictest when it comes to rubbish segregation; due to a recent lack of processing capacity, there is no real way to make sure rubbish gets to the few recycling facilities available. This means that much of your waste collected at the kerbside will likely make its way to a landfill.
Right now, we have a lack of solid waste disposal options. While this is likely to be addressed in a few years as investments in onshore processing facilities come to fruition. These are currently the 6 solid waste disposal options in Australia.
These are Currently the Options We have for Dealing with Rubbish:
1.) Prepared landfills
In Australia, the bulk of solid waste of any kind currently makes its way into a prepared landfill. Prepared, or as they are also called, “sanitary landfill” are different from open rubbish pits. Due to the presence of systems that help reduce their impact on the surrounding environment. These landfills typically have a waterproof liner at the bottom that is either man-made or composed of natural rock. Which prevents rubbish juices from making their way into the water supply. There may be other facilities onsite for further processing of the rubbish as well.
2.) Open burning
While it used to be common in Australia and still is widely practised around the world, it is now illegal. Due to concerns about the release of toxic gases and potential fire hazard. Open burning is also recognized as a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Which makes it even less desirable than other alternatives. Nevertheless, it is still occasionally practised here due to its convenience.
3.) Incineration
Unlike open burning; burning solid waste in a modern incinerator, releases far fewer toxic materials and greenhouse gases into the environment. Incineration is not so common in Australia for handling general solid waste. It is used, however, for dangerous biological wastes such as hospital waste and sewage. With our current processing capacity issues. It may not be too long before we start burning more rubbish to generate electricity.
4.) Discharging into waterways
While previously common, this type of waste disposal is thankfully no longer practised on such a wide scale in Australia. This practice involved; either directly dumping rubbish into coastal waters or rivers. Or putting them on barges to be disposed of far from land. All of these methods are no longer used in Australia. We continue, however, to feel the impact decades later due to a lot of rubbish being non-biodegradable. Rubbish from other countries that still practice dumping solid waste into waterways also manages to find its way here.
5.) Composting
While few things can be done with our current stock of plastic waste. Most biodegradable rubbish can be composted and turned into fertilizer for garden and agricultural use. About half of household rubbish is compostable, according to Compost Week. The fact such a publication as Compost Week exists should tell you that there are several ways to practice composting.
There are both traditional and high-tech ways to go about composting both at an individual level and an industrial scale. There is art and science to composting. Which allows a dedicated composter to create very specific mixes of high-grade organic fertilizer perfect for different uses.
Moving away from home composting. Industrially-produced compost made from household green waste can also be used to help neutralize the dangerous pathogens in sewage. As well as manufacture different useful chemicals, including substitutes for fossil fuels.
6.) Waste reduction
Perhaps the best way to “dispose” of solid waste. Is to not make so much of it in the first place. Consciously reducing our consumption of materials is especially important. Given that it not only reduces the amount of waste into the environment. Also because it reduces the number of resources needed to process it. Such as fuel, labour, and electricity.
Rubbish is a very sensitive issue right now. Kerbside collections are just not going to cut it for many situations. One way you can ensure that more of your rubbish is processed the right way is to use a skip bin rental service. Rather than rely on overworked kerbside collectors. This is especially important if you’re producing more of a certain type of waste that local facilities may not be able to handle.
If you’re interested in renting a skip bin, you can use a skip bin price comparison site like Skip Compare to make sure that you can find the best options at a good rate.
Featured Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash
