There is a need to deliver tailored waste management solutions across the entire waste value chain, including collection, separation, recovery and disposal.
The Australian Government recently introduced a Recycling Modernisation Fund57 to build the local recycling industry through co-funding with state and territory governments and industry.
When planning these facilities, the priorities should be:
• increasing source-separation and processing infrastructure to expand the end market for recycled materials.
• planning co-located or adjacent facilities to avoid the transport and environmental costs associated with facilities being far apart, and to facilitate collaboration and sharing of materials.
• integrating the domestic logistics networks linked to these facilities.
" There is a need to deliver tailored waste management solutions across the entire waste value chain, including collection, separation, recovery and disposal. "
Australia's diverse geography does not allow for a one-size-fits-all waste infrastructure planning model. European models could be applied in metropolitan areas in southern states, but they are much less relevant in decentralised large states and territories such as Western Australia, Queensland and the Northern Territory.