Recycling

For decades, Australia and other wealthy nations have relied on developing countries to export a large portion of our waste to. However, recent import bans have encouraged us to look for a home-grown solution to lessen our global waste crisis and take responsibility for handling our own recycled waste. The bans have affected approximately 1.3 million tonnes of the 67 million tonnes of waste Australia produces each year.

It began with China, who were once the world’s largest recycled waste importers. In early 2018, China placed stricter regulations on what waste it would accept, which resulted in the ban of 24 types of recyclable materials and affected a majority of the recycled waste it received from Australia. Since then, India, Malaysia and Indonesia have also placed strict bans, sending some the waste it once accepted back to its countries of origin.

These regulations are significant in reducing pollution, improving human health and protecting the environment. Many industry leaders agree that it is most ethical to handle our own waste here in Australia to protect the environment and people of countries that are already struggling.

As a leading Australian waste management provider, we at Nationwide Waste Solutions, take these regulations seriously and have revised the way we do business to act most ethically and responsibly. Our waste is sent to reputable, local resource recovery facilities.