Recycling crisis
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Plastic
How the NSW plastic strategy could change your daily takeaway coffee
Forcing cafes to accept reusable cups, banning the release of helium balloons and phasing out plastic lollipop sticks are among ideas the government is considering.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Latest
‘Insidious pollutant’: The microplastic hotspots in Sydney Harbour revealed
Manly Cove is one of the worst hotspots in Australia, with every square metre of sand containing more than a thousand tiny particles of plastic.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
‘We can no longer limp along’: Plans for plastic packaging shakeup
More than a year after the collapse of REDcycle, Australian industry and government can’t agree on how to collect our sea of soft plastics, let alone what to do with it.
- by Bianca Hall and Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Exclusive
Recycling
Big business calls on government to police tide of plastic packaging
The companies behind Australia’s biggest consumer brands are calling for regulation of recycling and packaging to ensure consistency between the states and territories, and ensure laggards don’t benefit from cheaper costs.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
‘A lucrative business’: Why 730 tonnes of tyres have been seized in Australia in the past year
Illegal exports of Australia’s waste, including tyres, are in high demand by international manufacturers, to create fuel oil for further plastics manufacturing.
- by Amber Schultz
‘I’ve still got my mother-in-law’s Mixmaster’: Inside Sydney’s dying breed of repair shops
As tinkers and cobblers dwindle in number, and goods are easier to replace than repair, some businesses are bucking the trend.
- by Julie Power
Exclusive
Recycling
Cycling’s dirty secret: 300,000 bikes a year dumped in landfill
The frenzy of bicycle purchases during the early COVID-19 pandemic is about to make the problem even worse. But one Sydney group has rescued almost 11,000 bikes from landfill.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
Test results are in on asbestos in parks as reports continue to rise
The environmental regulator has revealed more reports of potential asbestos, this time in Williamstown, Altona and Sunshine West, with priority testing under way.
- by Melissa Cunningham
NSW, Victoria ‘laggards’ as WA races ahead in banning plastic coffee cups
While Western Australian imposed a ban on single-use coffee cups on Friday, eastern states are being accused of dragging their feet on reducing plastic waste.
- by Nick O'Malley and Hamish Hastie
Concrete replacement: The Melbourne invention turning toxic soil into bricks
Scientists say the chemical polymer can not only turn toxic waste into harmless bricks, but it could also be cheaper and stronger than normal concrete.
- by Chris Vedelago
Inside the bunker under Melbourne Park where waste cops a serve
Every patron through the gates at the Australian Open produces about 750 grams of waste, but a huge effort is underway to sort through the mess.
- by Madeleine Heffernan
Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/topic/recycling-crisis-1n4t