The Australian recycling sector Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities January 2012 Report preparation Authors: Christophe Brulliard, Rebecca Cain, Daphne Do, Tim Dornom, Katherine Evans, Brendan Lim, Erica Olesson and Suzi Young Net Balance Project Manager: Rebecca Cain Senior Associate Net Balance Project Director: Guy Edgar Associate Director Net Balance Status: Final Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities (DSEWPaC) The Australian recycling sector 12 January 2012 NB Ref: MMPJ11DWH048 2 Table of Contents Report preparation .........................................................................................................2 Table of Contents............................................................................................................3 Glossary ........................................................................................................................ 10 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 13 1.1 Background .................................................................................................... 14 1.2 Purpose ......................................................................................................... 14 2 Approach ........................................................................................................... 16 2.1 Project scope ................................................................................................. 17 2.2 Our approach ................................................................................................. 17 3 Points of reference ............................................................................................ 19 3.1 Definition of recycling .................................................................................... 20 3.2 Reference data time period ............................................................................ 20 3.3 Inclusion of recyclable materials exported ..................................................... 21 4 Sector overview ................................................................................................ 22 4.1 What is the recycling sector ........................................................................... 23 4.2 Sector participants ......................................................................................... 25 4.3 Quantifying recycling sector participants ........................................................ 27 4.4 Location of the recycling sector ...................................................................... 30 4.5 Australian recycling quantities ....................................................................... 31 4.6 What’s unique about the recycling sector ...................................................... 34 5 Recycling processes and markets ...................................................................... 36 5.1 Plastics ........................................................................................................... 38 5.2 Metals............................................................................................................ 45 5.3 Glass .............................................................................................................. 51 5.4 Paper and cardboard ...................................................................................... 55 5.5 Organics ......................................................................................................... 62 5.6 Masonry materials ......................................................................................... 71 3 6 Economic evaluation ......................................................................................... 78 6.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 79 6.2 Dynamics of the economy of recycling ........................................................... 80 6.3 Turnover ........................................................................................................ 84 6.4 Employment .................................................................................................. 91 6.5 Capital investment ......................................................................................... 92 6.6 Findings and recommendations ..................................................................... 95 7 Environmental assessment ............................................................................... 97 7.1 Typical process stages of recycling and landfill ............................................... 99 7.2 Recycling ...................................................................................................... 101 7.3 Environmental benefits of recycling ............................................................. 102 7.4 Life cycle assessment ................................................................................... 103 7.5 Energy.......................................................................................................... 104 7.6 Greenhouse ................................................................................................. 107 7.7 Water .......................................................................................................... 109 7.8 Landfill waste ............................................................................................... 111 7.9 Mineral/resource savings ............................................................................. 113 7.10 Biodiversity .................................................................................................. 114 7.11 Health impacts and air quality ...................................................................... 118 7.12 Summary of environmental indicators for individual materials ..................... 120 8 Social assessment............................................................................................ 124 8.1 Employment ................................................................................................ 125 8.2 Reducing landfill........................................................................................... 127 8.3 Amenity impacts of recycling facilities .......................................................... 127 8.4 Attitudes and behaviours ............................................................................. 128 9 Regulatory environment ................................................................................. 129 9.1 Roles and responsibilities ............................................................................. 130 9.2 National ....................................................................................................... 130 9.3 Australian Capital Territory .......................................................................... 134 4 9.4 New South Wales ......................................................................................... 136 9.5 Northern Territory ....................................................................................... 141 9.6 Queensland .................................................................................................. 144 9.7 South Australia............................................................................................. 148 9.8 Tasmania ..................................................................................................... 152 9.9 Victoria ........................................................................................................ 156 9.10 Western Australia ........................................................................................ 161 9.11 Assessment of the regulatory environment .................................................. 165 10 Standards and specifications ........................................................................... 167 10.1 National standards, specifications, guidelines and principles ........................ 168 10.2 State/territory standards, specifications, guidelines and principles............... 173 10.3 Issues and needs relating to standards and specifications ............................ 176 11 Barriers affecting the sector ............................................................................ 178 11.1 Location-specific barriers ............................................................................. 182 11.2 Material specific barriers .............................................................................. 186 12 Data collection and reporting .......................................................................... 191 12.1 The data the recycling sector reports ........................................................... 192 12.2 Data the recycling sector collects ................................................................. 203 12.3 Data the recycling sector could collect ......................................................... 203 12.4 Data the recycling sector could report .......................................................... 204 12.5 Data the recycling sector would like to receive ............................................. 204 13 Future outlook ................................................................................................ 205 13.1 Opportunities ............................................................................................... 206 13.2 Challenges