Following from the recent decision by the government of China to ban the import of most foreign waste materials (recycling, etc.), Australia’s environment minister has now announced that the country will be investing a significant amount of money into the creation of new trash incineration facilities, and also aiming for all packaging materials to be 100% recycled by 2025.
In Australia about 30 waste-to-energy projects are operational, mostly confined to small incinerators and co-generation plants, though a handful of larger projects are on the drawing board.
According to new research performed by the consultancy Blue Environment (commissioned by the Australian government), the ban by China relates to around 1.25 million tonnes of Australian waste per year.
That being a reference to the direction by the government to fund new waste-to-energy projects such as incinerators and landfill gas capture. Australia would like to see waste being reused or recycled, primarily, but waste-to-energy will be a more legitimate source of generation.
