NuGrow has signed the Waste of Origin pledge, launched by the Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA), as part of the team’s commitment to environmentally-responsible practices.
The pledge is focused on reducing waste, increasing recycling and treating disposal to landfill as a ‘last resort’.
It features three commitments of, “not transporting waste unnecessarily long distances; promoting the principles of the Waste Management Hierarchy; and helping our local communities to manage their waste as close as practicable to its place of generation”.
NuGrow’s Chief Strategy Officer, Peter Thompson, said the team was absolutely committed to the pledge and welcomed the fact that it was highlighting good and bad government policy.
“WMAA gives the example that last year alone, more than 650,000 tonnes of waste was transported from New South Wales to Queensland, or between other southern states, just to save on levies,” Peter said.
“Taking these shortcuts at the expense of the environment and our communities is a fundamentally false economy,” he said.
NuGrow’s four Queensland facilities are specifically located to help reduce waste transport miles, creating hubs where there is greater industry activity generating higher volumes of waste.
“As a team, we also share WMAA’s call for government, industry and community stakeholders to work together far more effectively,” Peter said.
“While we have a lot to be proud of as a country in relation to waste management, Australia can be much smarter through more collaboration and discipline,” he said
“Part of NuGrow’s mission is to prove that better environmental decisions can result in positive social and economic impacts, like Queensland’s first and only kerbside food organics garden organics (FOGO) project being conducted by NuGrow and our partnership with Ipswich City Council.”
WMAA is the peak national body for the waste and resource recovery industry. Click here for more information on the Waste of Origin pledge, including current signatories.
Contact the NuGrow team for industry-leading insight into industry and community waste management strategies.