2009
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About the report
This report identifies opportunities to deploy existing and emerging technologies and innovations to achieve better waste and recycling outcomes in Australia, across different locations, scales, waste streams and materials.
The report identifies that most advances in waste innovation have been in the development of new technologies to treat wastes. It acknowledges emerging innovation in waste minimisation practices including source separated collection and specific technologies for treating specific waste streams.
The report notes the need for research into improved recovery and reprocessing technologies while stating that the main challenge in Australia is to improve the access to such technologies across the country. The report suggests access to technology could be improved by:
- incentives to efficiently collect and transport materials to strategic locations for reprocessing
- developing local and export markets for recovered materials and value added products, and
- encouraging the community and business to actively participate in these schemes.
The report identifies a need to review economic and regulatory drivers to overcome current disincentives and barriers to establishing advanced technologies close to the population centres that are producing the wastes.
The report forms part of a suite of research reports used to inform the National Waste Policy - Less waste, more resources.