It’s National Recycling Week this week (9 – 15 November) and here at NuGrow we’re excited to celebrate the ways in which we’re contributing to recycling efforts.
This week is an important opportunity to raise awareness of the need for recycling, to improve knowledge of recycling and to build better recycling habits.
This year’s theme for the week is ‘Recovery – A future beyond the bin’, and it’s a theme that NuGrow wholeheartedly supports. Giving waste products a new and useful life is a core tenet of our business, and we encourage everyone to rethink how they deal with organic, green, solid and liquid waste.
Our planet desperately needs alternatives to traditional waste management, as population growth prompts unsustainable rates of waste production and disposal. Here are some alarming statistics:
- In 2017–18, Queensland produced nearly 11 million tonnes of waste, with the increase in waste generated over the last decade outstripping population growth by 19%.
- In 2017–18, the amount of resources recovered or recycled in Queensland was only 4.9 million tonnes, or around 45% of all waste generated.
- Australian households produce 540kg of waste per year, of which only around 37% is recycled.
- Approximately 45% of residents’ red top bin contents could be sent to composting facilities for recycling.
Landfills cannot keep up with the soaring levels of waste being dumped, and the impact of our throw-away society on the environment is staggering.
The great news is, we have a solution! Recycling is big news at the moment, and many innovative ways to recycle, reduce and reuse are being developed. As Queensland’s leader in recycling and revegetation excellence, NuGrow is ideally positioned to deliver innovative and sustainable solutions that help us make the most of what we already have.
NuGrow is Queensland’s largest organics waste recycler by volume and geographical reach. We convert a diverse range of organic and inorganic wastes into beneficial products such as high-grade compost and soil. We review clients’ current waste management practices and help identify processes to save them time and money.
NuGrow’s waste recycling facilities accept a wide range of waste streams, including:
- Liquid waste
- Solid waste
- Food organics
- Garden organics
- Green waste
Keeping waste out of the bin and using it in other ways offers many benefits to the environment and society.
Recycling saves energy
Making products from recycled materials uses far less energy than making them from raw materials.
Recycling reduces greenhouse gas emissions
When organic waste is dumped in landfill, it produces methane and other gases dangerous to the earth’s atmosphere. Recycling means a direct reduction in greenhouse gas emissions – which is beneficial for both us and the environment.
Recycling means less waste going to landfill
Dumped organic waste ends up in landfill, losing any remaining value in the material. Landfill is an unsightly and inefficient treatment of resources, which could realistically be of use to other people.
Recycling creates jobs
In these tough economic times, job creation is extremely important. For every 10,000 tonnes of waste that is reused or recycled, it is estimated that there are more than nine jobs created.
Numerous companies look to NuGrow to support their ongoing waste management of organic waste streams and while we’re excited to celebrate the ways in which we’re contributing to recycling efforts, we’re not stopping here. We’re not just here to keep pace with what’s already being done – we’re here to lead the way. We strive to help our clients change their mindset and start thinking about waste as a resource, rather than something merely to be disposed of. Any alternatives to tossing something in the bin should be considered and explored. Recycling is a key part of keeping our planet healthy and creating value for generations, and we strive to continually come up with new ways to support recycling efforts – not just this week, but every week of the year. Will you join us?
For more information about NuGrow’s resource recovery and recycling services, get in contact with our expert team today.