Counteracting waste levies with recycling solutions

Waste levies continue to rise throughout Australia as governments and councils work to reduce waste to landfill and increase recycling rates. Waste levies have been dictating how waste is disposed of in Australia for some time. Queensland has been the dumping ground for upwards of one million tonnes of waste from NSW due to the lower cost of waste disposal. However, this will come to an end as Queensland has now imposed waste levies to bring it in line with neighbouring states.

Simply put, the cost of waste disposal and the pressure to comply with environmental standards will continue to increase. The best thing organisations can do now to mitigate the impact of increasing costs and social pressures is to implement an effective and long-term recycling solution.

The China recycling ban was, in large part, implemented because the recyclables it received were low quality and heavily contaminated. Recycling solutions provider Method believes the future of recycling is separating at the source. This means that recyclables maintain their integrity; and with clear communication about what should go where, contamination is reduced.

Method’s philosophy of open-plan recycling brings its bright, colour-coded bins out into the open-plan design of modern spaces. Placed together, they form flexible recycling stations that are located consistently throughout a space or building.

By removing convenient general waste options such as desk bins, users must make a short walk to the nearest station where each waste stream is available to them. Further, being out in the open increases accountability, even subconsciously.

Method has been helping organisations to recycle more and waste less with its innovative bins for several years, with clients including the Sydney Cricket Ground, Canva, Foster + Partners, Life Flight, Xero and many more. Using Method’s system, Westpac New Zealand reduced waste to landfill from 70 to 30% and the company is working to reduce this further.

Visit Method at the Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo (AWRE) this October (stand B51) to learn more about the innovative bins and how they can help your organisation. Or, visit methodrecycling.com.

Image courtesy of Method.