Building recycling rates

A NEW ‘toolkit’ has been launched to assist construction companies improve their recycling rates and reduce the amount of material taken to landfills.

Western Australia currently lags behind all other states in terms of construction waste recycling rates, reusing just 21 per cent of inert waste, which contributes 55 per cent of all waste to landfill in WA.

In comparison, New South Wales recycles 71 per cent, South Australia 67 per cent, and Victoria 54 per cent of their construction waste, which includes bricks, cardboard, metals, plastics and mixed rubble.

The toolkit, Recycling Works, prepared by Encycle Consulting, is designed to assist construction companies and builders plan for and implement on-site separation of waste materials for more efficient recycling.

Brookfield Multiplex introduced similar initiatives in Melbourne during its construction of the $450 million Melbourne Convention Centre.

Multiplex’s goal was to recycle 80 per cent of waste produced on-site; through the use of separation techniques, it exceeded the target by recycling 93 per cent of the waste.

“The recycling works pack basically documents that a bit more care needs to be taken in the preparation of construction and demolition waste, which turns it from a waste into a resource,” C&D Recycling managing director Adrian Lester told WA Business News.

“As soon as you mix all of the waste together, it’s no longer a resource, it’s just waste.

“Plastic can go off to recycling, paper can go off to recycling, the wood can go off to recycling, steel could go off to recycling, bricks and concrete and sand can go off to recycling and you’re not left with a hell of a lot that needs to go to the tip.

“But the WA building industry is so attuned to just throwing it all into a skip or a pile.”

Mr Lester said the biggest barrier to recycling construction waste in WA was the availability of cheap landfill.

Although the landfill levy for construction waste was increased by 300 per cent on January 1, from $3 per cubic metre to $12/cu m, Mr Lester said the hike had not resulted in an increase of recycling.

“The landfill levy has increased just recently, and it’s been a good increase, but what’s happened is the landfill levy hasn’t been increased by the landfill operators, they are absorbing some of the increase,” he said.

“The three main landfill operators in Perth are Happy Valley Landfill at Bibra Lake, Eclipse Resources at Wanneroo, and Waste Stream Management at Thomas Road in Kwinana.

“All three operators compete for market share and while some of them wanted to increase by the full amount, they didn’t all pass it on,” Mr Lester said.

“Therefore, the one that was the cheapest would get the biggest market share, so they all went back down to that operator’s increase, which is just $6.

“If the government wants the recycling rate of construction and demolition waste to increase then the only way it can happen in a meaningful way is to move the landfill levy up.

“Without moving the landfill levy up significantly, then it’s not going to happen.”