Grants worth $1 million for WA's recycling and waste management program [Audio]

23/12/98

In a significant boost for Western Australian recycling and waste management, Environment Minister Cheryl Edwardes today announced Government grants totalling nearly $1 million for a range of innovative community, business and education projects.

The Waste Management and Recycling Fund, the State's first environmental fund, is financed by a landfill levy which came into force on July 1 this year.

It is used to sponsor innovative recycling and waste reduction projects throughout WA.

The grants will support research, community education, pilot programs and initiatives in projects including local government co-ordination, business efficiency and innovation and secondary and tertiary education.

Individual projects include marine waste management, a school waste project, Skyworks rubbish recycling, farm waste recycling, turning used car tyres into industrial fuel, establishing a waste Internet site, a South-West waste management office, dealing with hazardous household waste, an index of kerbside rubbish collections, business waste management and recycling at mine sites.

Mrs Edwardes congratulated the successful applicants who would share in $915,316.

She said while the number of applications received were excellent she was disappointed that only a few applications came from community groups.

"In many remote areas community groups are the leading bodies in recycling and waste reduction," she said.

"It is obvious to me that we need to do more to encourage and advise community groups in regional areas of the fund's existence."

Mrs Edwardes said she had asked the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a special education package to show community groups and other organisations ways in which to improve their chances.

The education package would be distributed widely and would be supplemented by special workshops held in country areas.

Mrs Edwardes said this latest round of grants brought the total amount of funding provided this year to nearly $1 million.

"Each year, an expected $4 million raised from the levy will provide financial assistance to local communities, industry and local government with new and innovative ideas on reducing or recycling all types of waste," she said.

"I believe this fund is an incentive to Western Australians who are dedicated to recycling and waste reduction. It will help provide the impetus to reduce the State's waste by half.

"The quality of the applications received by the Advisory Council on Waste Management supports this. Generally grants are made on a dollar-for-dollar basis."

The advisory council selected 35 successful grant applicants in the following six categories:

Cleaner Production and Industrial Waste Reduction

·      John Curtin International Institute and Curtin University of Technology, Centre of Excellence in Cleaner Production - $86,625.

Public Education

·      Kids Helping Kids Green Teams project - $7,500;

·      Keep Australia Beautiful Council, Skyworks clean-up - $25,000;

·      South Metropolitan College of TAFE, marine waste management plan - $15,800;

·      Princess Margaret Hospital for Children Foundation, Ruggies recycling program -  $5,000;

·      City of Melville, resident recycling information pack - $2,336;

·      Southern Metropolitan Regional Council, household hazardous waste research $10,000;

·      WA Municipal Association, waste Internet site - $10,000;

·      Cleanaway, school recycling education program - $25,000;

·      State Recycling Advisory Committee, State Recycling Blueprint (1993) review - $40,000;

·      Murdoch University Institute for Environmental Science, lectureship in waste management and pollution control - $79,160.

Regional Recycling and Waste Processing

·      South West Waste Disposals Pty Ltd, research and modifications to recycling truck lifting equipment - $5,000;

·      The Household Hazardous Waste Cooperative Group, collection of household hazardous waste - $70,000;

·      The Australian Plastic Recycling Company Pty Ltd, recycled pipe project - $61,765;

·      Eclipse Resources/Allan Tingay & Associates, possible use of tyres as fuel in cement kilns study - $14,745;

·      Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council Research Project, recycled demolition and building waste - $10,000;

·      Serpentine-Jarrahdale Lions Club, purchase of a recycling trailer - $2,995;

·      Bioscience Pty Ltd, vineyard compost project - $30,000;

·      Stable Fly and Compost working groups (Agriculture WA): stable fly project - $15,000, marketing of composted organic waste - $84,640, and agriculture marketing survey - $20,000;

·      South Metropolitan Regional Council development of a recycling index model and composting trials - $28,500; and

·      Curtin University School of Engineering, simultaneous extraction of hydrocarbons and heavy metals from contaminated soil - $23,000.

Waste Classification and Information

·      City of Joondalup, divided cart recycling program - $20,000;

·      Glass Merchants of WA and Recycling Company of WA, glass recycling project - $5000;

·      City of Fremantle, household cone digesters trial -10,000.

Regional Recycling

·      Town of Albany, organic waste recycling farm pilot - $15,000;

·      South West (WA) Local Government Association, recycling project co-ordinator - $32,000, South-West (WA) Regional Waste Management Authority Business Plan - $30,000, and regional waste minimisation programs - $18,500;

·      Shire of Denmark, kerbside mulching of greenwaste - $8,100;

·      Shire of Chittering, community awareness project and transport of recycled goods -

$6,650; and -

·      Administrative Training Services (ATS): Recycling of roadside litter - $48,000.

State Co-ordination of Local Government Recycling and Waste Reduction

·      Western Australian Municipal Association, State co-ordination of local government recycling and waste reduction - $40,000.

An additional category of Municipal Recycling Services will be included in the 1999 funding grants. This will provide a performance based incentive to support local government kerbside collection systems.

The levy applies to landfill sites in the Perth metropolitan area and is costed at $3 per tonne for domestic and commercial waste going to putrescible landfill and $1 per tonne for inert waste from the building and construction industry going to inert landfill. It is paid by all those who generate waste and use landfill sites.

Grant applications are invited every six months. The next grant round will be advertised on January 9, and will be open for a six-week application period. Application forms and details are available from the DEP by telephoning (08) 9476 7407.

Media contact: Nicole Trigwell 9421 7777