Episode: Six
Date: October 4th
Story: The importance of recycling
Presenter: Trevor Cochrane

Australia has one of the lowest recycling rates in the world and it’s about time this changed. This week viewers are encouraged to play a role in reducing the amount of rubbish that goes to landfill. Recycling is simpler than you’d think and it all starts at home.

Facts

• Every week the average house in Australia produces 250 litres of rubbish.
• We bury 20 million tonnes of waste in landfill every year.
• As much as 50% of what we send to landfill is organics which could and should be recycled.
• If we stopped organics going to landfill we would save 13 million tonnes of greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere.
• Kitchen scraps and garden waste when buried in landfill ferment and as they breakdown produce a number of gases including the potent greenhouse gas Methane which is 21 times more potent than CO2.
• For every kilo of this type of waste buries, one kilo of greenhouse gases is produced. This is dramatically reduced if it’s allowed to breakdown through an aerobic composting system or via worm farms.

What happens to your rubbish?

• Rubbish is delivered to waste transfer stations such as the SITA Environmental site.
• There the waste is sifted for any recyclables which are sorted.
• Currently Australians only have a 48% recycling rate which means we lose so much

What you can do

• By sorting out your waste so organics are recycled, you can make a big difference in reducing the amount of waste being buried in landfill and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Featured product

Sita

Our Services

SITA Environmental Solutions (SITA) industry knowledge and experience combined with our comprehensive service range enables us to provide ‘cradle to grave’ environmental and sustainable waste management solutions.

With operations in all mainland States and the Australian Capital Territory, we provide integrated waste management solutions for more than 43,000 commercial and industrial customers and more than 800,000 households each week.

Our commitment to our customers, existing and potential,
is to be the "First and Only Choice for Waste Management", be it for:

• Recycling
• Transport
• Equipment
• Disposal
• Consultancy
• Assessment
• Information and Knowledge

As part of our commitment to customers, we offer integrated waste solutions managing all forms of waste, such as:

• Solid (general, commercial/industrial, building/construction, domestic)
• Recycling (paper and cardboard, plastic, glass, timber, steel)
• Hazardous (Prescribed)
• Landfill (domestic, inert, putrescible, prescribed hazardous, soil, asbestos)
• Liquid (grease traps, triple interceptors, prescribed, oils, photographic)
• Security Disposal
• Product Destruction
• Builders’ Bins
• Temporary Bins
• Hygiene Services
• Medical (sharps, pathology, pharmaceutical, clinical)
• Low level Radioactive
• Fluorescent Tube collection and recycling
• Printer Cartridge collection and recycling

With this type of waste coverage and availability to resources and technology, the decision for the customer is made easy.

Contact
Mailing address:
SITA Environmental Solutions
PO Box 3500
Rhodes Waterside
RHODES   NSW   2138
Phone: 13 13 35
Website: www.sita.com.au