Background
Incinerators produce toxic emissions which reduce air
quality, generates highly toxic ash residual and establishes a market for
non-renewable waste as fuel stream.
Incinerators
using waste as fuel produce more CO2-e
than coal and gas.
Waste as fuel is non-renewable and plants elsewhere in
the world have struggled to source a fuel stream which makes this technology
unreliable as an energy stream and contradicts avoidance, reuse, recycling and
a circular economy.
Sydney is basin
shaped which means it traps pollution making it an unsuitable for Incinerators.
The toxic emissions from incinerators include Dioxins, Furans, Heavy Metals and
Nano Particulates. The business case for incinerators is based on 24/7
operation 30+ years!
There was a time when Sydney waste was
simply barged out to sea, until it was discovered washed up on beaches.
Next burning the waste became popular. There is a
Burley Griffin designed Incinerator on Blackwattle Bay in Glebe which is now a
meeting room and interpretative centre. The Balmain Power Station included a
large incinerator. The heat from burning the city's garbage was used to
generate electricity. Leichhardt also had an incinerator but even in 1904, the council had difficulty
sourcing garbage to burn and what to do with the "clinker" residual
which did not burn.
The Waste Levy
was intended to encourage recycling and resource recovery by imposing fees on
material going to landfill. Kerbside Collection systems were established which
relied on the consumer to separate out certain types of “recyclable
materials” into Yellow, Blue,
Green and Maroon bins. Householders dispose of the rest of their waste into the
red “landfill” bin.
Despite billions collected nationwide in order to
finance the recycling industry, most relevant levels of authority in Australia
have strangled any chance for success in this space by diverting recycling levy
funds mostly on other, totally unrelated matters. In fact in NSW, less than 20% of the levy goes to
fulfil its original purpose. The result is the industry is driven to lowest
cost solutions, and this has been aggravated by China's waste export ban. We are therefore seeing a genuine boom in
the 'waste to energy' (a euphemism for incineration) industry.
In 2018, China set stringent “maximum
contamination thresholds” and limited the number of import permits. A
contamination threshold 0.5% means that China is no longer accepting material
from kerbside collections with a 6-10% level of contamination.
Systems like “Return and Earn” could
reduce contamination levels and produce more valuable materials. Though Coca
Cola is still only aiming for 7 out of 10 plastic bottles from recycled
material by the end of 2019.
Backyard burning and unauthorised incineration are
prohibited at all times in all council areas in the Sydney, Wollongong and
Newcastle regions, and in other NSW council areas listed in Schedule 8 of the
Clean Air Regulation. https://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/your-environment/air/open-burning- reducing-pollution
In July 2018, the Independent Planning Commission
refused a proposal for an Incinerator at Eastern Creek finding:
• predicted modelling was based on data that is not representative of
the actual waste streams proposed to be treated at the EfW Facility;
• insufficient evidence that the pollution control technologies are
capable of appropriately managing emissions from the project and would be
agnostic to the composition of the project’s waste stream
• uncertainty in relation to the air quality,
and the relationship between air quality impacts and water quality
impacts in the locality,
• uncertainty in relation to the human health risks and site suitability,
• was not satisfied that the project is consistent with those objects
of the EP&A Act,
• project was not in the public interest
The Next Generation Pty Ltd v Independent
Planning Commission NSW, https://www.ipcn.nsw.gov.au/projects/2018/04/eastern-creek-energy-from-waste-facility-ssd-6236
Addendum: Hobart City Single-Use Plastics By-Law Information
"On Monday 9 March 2020, the Hobart City Council resolved to enact the by-law banning the provision of single-use plastic takeaway food packaging and related items(PDF, 2MB) .
Enforcement of the by-law will commence in 2021, following a period of trader and community education and awareness."...
https://www.hobartcity.com.au/Business/Food-and-beverage-businesses/Single-Use-Plastics-By-Law-Information