National peak industry body for the recyling industry launched

A new national peak industry lobby organisation has been launched in Sydney at the Australasian Industrial Ecology Conference. The new Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR) has been formed to represent all businesses across Australia which are involved in driving recycling systems, product ‘take back’ schemes similar to those already operating in Europe and manufacturing of new products using recycled materials.

ACOR Chief Executive Rod Welford said the new organisation would elevate the profile and importance of the industry and ensure governments recognised the potential of the industry to contribute to Australia’s energy-efficiency and carbon abatement goals.

Welford said that while much of the federal government’s climate change attention had been focused on issues affecting the Minerals Council (carbon trading) and the Clean Energy Council (renewable energy), the energy-efficiency opportunities of expanded systems for resource recovery and recycling have been overlooked.

“Recycling is about the recovery of products under Product Stewardship schemes, the exchange of industrial by-products between enterprises (known as industrial ecology), the recovery of surplus materials or by-products of commerce or industrial production, the design of products to maximise their recyclability and the manufacturing of products using recovered materials or product components,” he said.

“Recycling already has huge public recognition and support; the challenge is for governments to harness that goodwill to improve the efficient management of products and materials across the Australian economy,” he said.

The new organisation has been created following an extensive review of the previously established Council of Recyclers which represented a small group of major companies in the sector.

“The new ACOR will provide a centre for national collaboration and participation by all companies across the industry, not just those reprocessing secondary materials or scrap,” Welford said.

“That will include companies that provide contracted recycling services for product manufacturers, local governments operating product collection centres and other businesses contributing to the recycling system ‘supply chain’,” he said.

“By providing coverage for the whole industry, governments will have a single point of contact for input and advice on how the industry operates and what is needed to encourage investment in infrastructure to maximise the recovery and recycling of products and materials across the economy.”

While domestic kerbside recycling had been established since the 1990s, Welford pointed out that this accounted for less than 25% of the products and materials disposed of nationally because it did not capture commercial and industrial or construction and demolition industry by-products.

ACOR will represent the industry in discussions with state and federal governments in the design and implementation of programs such as the National Waste Policy and State sustainability programs.