Liquid Waste Assessment & Waste Classfications in Australia reports available

The Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities has released two new waste policy reports: the Liquid Waste Assessment Report and Waste Classifications in Australia.

The Liquid Waste Assessment Report brings together and assesses Australian data on liquid waste, especially liquid hazardous waste, to gain a national picture of its generation and fate. Data in the report was obtained from readily available information sources such as the National Performance Report 2009-10 Urban Water Utilities and reports related to the National Environment Protection (Movement of Controlled Wastes between States and Territories) Measure.

Information covered in the report includes:

• The availability of liquid waste data and any significant data gaps.
• The different definitions and classifications of liquid waste.
• The key liquid waste management pathways (from generation through to recovery or disposal).
• The extent to which liquid waste is counted in solid waste data.
• The amount of hazardous liquid waste in solid hazardous waste data.

The Liquid Waste Assessment Report can be accessed on the department’s website:
http://www.environment.gov.au/wastepolicy/publications/pubs/liquid-waste.pdf.

The Waste Classifications in Australia report is a comparison of waste classifications in the Australian Waste Database with current jurisdictional classifications.

This report expands on work done by the Department in Australian Waste Classification - Roles in Decision Making 2011 and in the National Waste Report 2010 to document the waste classification systems used in each jurisdiction. Waste Classification in Australia compares each jurisdiction’s classification systems to the National Waste Classification System developed in the early 1990s as part of the Australian Waste Database project. This database was an early attempt to develop a national classification system and database for waste.

The study found that most jurisdictions are using more than one classification system and these differ depending on the specific function for which they are used, such as waste management, recycling activities and reporting. These different classification systems may or may not align with the Australian Waste Database. The report also provides a brief overview of the reasons why the Australian Waste Database was not widely adopted by jurisdictions. It also describes how waste-related data are collected and reported within each jurisdiction.

The Waste Classifications in Australia report can be accessed on the department’s website: http://www.environment.gov.au/wastepolicy/publications/pubs/waste-classifications-comparisons.pdf.