OPINION: Opportunity as recycling laid to waste

Are waste to energy projects the light at the end of the tunnel?

WELL so much for recycling.

There has been a lot of talk about big steps forward for reducing waste, such as the elimination of plastic bags from major supermarkets.

But with all our recycling about to go to landfill, you must wonder what the point is.

All it has taken is for the Chinese to stop accepting our recyclables and the whole plan seems to have fallen into a heap very quickly.

If Ipswich City Council's information is correct, many residents have already given up on recycling, with the rates of contamination of recyclables doubling since a Four Corners program on our nation's waste and recycling industry aired earlier this year.

It's poor form by some Ipswich residents if that's the case, but by the same token it doesn't really matter if there's no plan B. Seems like a lot of effort for nothing.

If there is a light at the end of the tunnel, perhaps it is that this crisis will bring about an opportunity in the field of waste to energy projects.

But these could be a long way off yet.

Originally published as OPINION: Opportunity as recycling laid to waste