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Waste = resources

About WRAPP
Waste=resources
How to comply
The WRAPP Loop
Waste auditing
Case studies
Innovations

The shift away from disposing of waste to landfill to managing waste as a resource means we need new ways to buy, use, dispose of and make consumer products.

Moving from disposal to resource management

The Independent Assessment of Kerbside Recycling in Australia

This recent study on the economic benefits of recycling, commissioned by the National Packaging Covenant Council, suggests that current kerbside recycling and collection systems have an average net benefit of $42 per household per year – net financial costs of $26 per household per year versus average environmental benefits of $68 per household per year. Most of the environmental benefits come from either reduced air and water pollution or reduced reliance on natural resources.

Waste is a rich source of valuable resources. Materials such as paper, glass and steel can be ‘recovered’ and used in new products. Use of recovered waste materials reduces demand for virgin resources and can reduce impact on the environment. More effective use and recovery of waste coupled with a greater focus on avoiding waste can significantly reduce the quantity of waste being generated by the community. It is these two principles that underpin the WRAPP.

This shift from disposing of waste to landfill to managing waste as a resource means we need new ways to buy, use, dispose and make consumer products.

Waste can affect public health and the environment via pollution of surface and ground water, air pollution, generation of greenhouse gases, contamination of land, noise, odours and a deterioration of local amenity. The NSW community is also concerned to conserve our natural resources. It has clearly flagged to the government that waste minimisation and management is a significant environmental and social issue that must be addressed.

Australia faces similar challenges to most developed nations in dealing with waste issues. Put simply, waste policy aims to avoid the wasteful consumption of resources and minimise the environmental impacts of treating and disposing of residual wastes.