The New South Wales Government has warned Greater Sydney is on the brink of a waste crisis.
If urgent action isn’t taken, New South Wales will run out of landfill space by 2030.
If the problem is not addressed, rubbish would have to go to regional areas or interstate for disposal.
Transporting waste outside Sydney or NSW would also raise council rates and slow down the construction industry.
The Government is considering immediate solutions including mandating food and organic waste bins.
Environment Minister Penny Sharpe will unpack Greater Sydney’s waste future at the NSW Circular Economy Summit on Friday.
“Sydney is running out of landfill space and our recycling rates have stagnated. We are at a point that if we don’t take urgent action our red bins won’t be able to be collected in a few years,” Sharpe said.
The City of Sydney area produces more than 5,500 tonnes of waste every day from homes, workplaces, venues and events, construction and transport infrastructure. More than 2,000 tonnes goes to landfill each day, while the rest is recycled.
In 2012, the City of Sydney was among the first group of councils in Australia to separate food waste.
According to the City Council’s ‘Leave nothing to waste’ 2017-2030 report, food waste is separated to produce compost for mine and landfill remediation. heThe report wrote, “This helped us divert 69% of waste from landfill in 2016.”
The issue extends to Greater Sydney, and recycling rates in NSW have stagnated at 65 per cent since 2015, below the state’s goal of 80 per cent.
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