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The Adelaide Hills Region Waste Management Authority (AHRWMA) is delighted to announce the appointment of Rob Gregory as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Rob has more than 20 years' experience in the waste management sector, and joins us from East Waste, where he played a pivotal Role in advancing sustainable waste practices accross multiple councils.

Rob is a well-regarded figure in the waste management industry due in no small part to his commitment to environmental sustainability and community-focussed solutions.His passion for the sector aligns with AHRWMA's mission to deliver best practice waste and resource management practices with the community at the heart of everything we do.

Rob's proven leadership talents, wealth of knowledge and progressive approach will be invaluable as we continue to work closely with our Member Councils to provide cost effective and innovative waste and resource management services.

AHRWMA has an ambitious agenda to be leaders in the transition toward a more sustainable, circular economy. Rob's appointment will ensure AHRWMA continues at the forefront of waste and resource management practices in South Australia.

Adrian Skull

Chair - AHRWMA Board

Enjoying all of the food that we buy can have a big impact on reducing our carbon footprint and the amount of waste we generate. The Saveful app is a tool to assist in saving food, money and time by creating delicious, healthy meals from ingredients that we may otherwise be tempted to throw away. Enter the ingredients that you have to hand and Saveful will suggest chef created recipes. It also allows you to track your efforts for your wallet and our planet on your personal dashboard. Saveful is available via Google Play and the App Store.

https://www.saveful.com/

ONLY AT HEATHFIELD RESOURCE RECOVERY CENTRE 

Now is a great time to mulch your garden before Summer and we are offering FREE mulch!

Offer dates:  Until 30^th November 2023 (unless stock runs out).

Offer conditions:

• Available to everyone (not just AHC residents).
• All loads must be covered prior to leaving the site.
• Mulch will not be provided on Free Green Drop Off Days (due to our limited capacity to load the mulch during this busy period).
• Not available to commercial contractors.

In 2020, South Australia’s Parliament took a bold step towards phasing out the single use plastics that pollute our waterways, oceans and landscapes. The Waste Avoidance Act, 2020 (SA) was the first of its kind in Australia. It stated that year by year, single use plastic items would be banned for sale, supply and distribution in SA. The first to go in 2021 were plastic straws and cutlery. In 2022 we waved goodbye to polystyrene food containers. In September of this year, plastic plates and bowls, cotton buds and pizza savers will be no more. It doesn’t stop there. 2024 and 2025 will also see the banning of items such as single use beverage containers, plastic fruit stickers and little ‘soy sauce fish’. AHRWMA is pleased to promote Plastic Free July. Our role in waste management means that we see all sorts of materials entering our landfill cells that we hope not to see in the future. Plastic Free July is a great opportunity for our whole community to consider what we buy, use and dispose of daily. For more information please see https://www.replacethewaste.sa.gov.au/, https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/ and https://www.whichbin.sa.gov.au/.

The Authority was announced as the major winner for the LGA’s WHS award for our training competency process, where we developed a training Module and Verification of Competency program to assess our employee's competency in operating high-risk machinery.

The judging panel consisted of several experts, and they determined that the development of our Verification of Competency document, along with how it is being implemented was best practice, innovative and demonstrated a commitment in our workplace to eliminate or minimise injury and risk.

We received the award at the LGA OGM,  you can see the highlight video which was played here  LGA Scheme Awards 2022-23 Highlights Reel (vimeo.com)

We would like to congratulate our Risk, WHS and Project Officer Matthew Sharp, and all involved for working together to achieve this.

Few events in waste have captured our attention in recent months like REDcycle’s suspension of soft plastic collections.  It has been dubbed a ‘collapse’ and has been referred to as a ‘crisis’, ‘debacle’, ‘shock’ and a ‘botched plastic bag recycling program’.

Like many things though, the pandemic came along and caused a significant strain for the REDCycle system. With online shopping booming, plastic wrapping and consumer participation soared with collection volumes increasing more than 350 per cent since 2019.

Unforeseen challenges, exacerbated by the pandemic, soon meant that REDCycle’s recycling partners were unable to accept and process the rapidly increasing volume of soft plastics due to lack of immediate access to infrastructure, processing capacity, and most importantly demand for recycled products.  Read more here:  https://redcycle.net.au

Whilst the media is talking about the stockpiling and failings of a company that was single-handedly trying to solve a huge problem, we should be focusing on the real failings of the packaging industry. This being the lack of legislation to mandate recycled content in products and responsibility on producers of plastic packaging to take back the material, through a product stewardship scheme which invests directly in facilities that will accept and remanufacture it into recycled packaging.

But why stop at packaging?  For other major categories of goods – from consumer goods to building materials, fridges to fit-outs. Design products to last and provide access to affordable repair to extend product life as long as possible (including right to repair legislation), design for disassembly and repair, and mandate collection logistics and resource recovery for end-of-life materials.  This is where the most significant economic and environmental gains will be made.

Government and corporate sustainability strategies are moving quickly to include circular economy principles that cost-effectively increase material efficiency and social equality while reducing embodied carbon emissions and regenerating ecosystems and biodiversity - Justin Bonsey – principal consultant, circular economy at Edge Environment

Read more here:  https://www.insidewaste.com.au/the-redcycle-crisis-that-never-was/        

“If it can’t be reduced, reused, repaired, rebuilt, refurbished, refinished, resold, recycled, or composted, then it should be restricted, redesigned or removed from production.”

Quote by Pete Seeger – Folk Singer & Social Activist

The River Murray is returning to regular levels.  Disposal vouchers are available for anyone impacted by flood water to dispose of flood affected materials for free at participating transfer stations.

How do I get my free disposal vouchers?

You can register to get 5 free waste disposal vouchers per property, to dispose of flood-affected materials.

Call Green Industries SA on 1800 302 787 to register your details and get a client ID. Once you have a client ID, you can collect and redeem your vouchers at any participating waste transfer station. You can collect your vouchers at the same time you take your first load. Quote your client ID and staff will cross off one voucher and give you the remaining 4.  Each voucher can be used for a load no larger than an 8 x 5ft caged trailer.

Only flood-affected, water-damaged materials are accepted. No asbestos is accepted. For FREE assistance with asbestos removal, please register by calling 1800 302 787.

Is everyone eligible for free vouchers?

To be eligible, your property needs to have been impacted by flood water. Only materials affected by flood water are accepted. Anyone impacted by the flood water can register for free vouchers by calling 1800 302 787.

What materials are accepted at the participating transfer stations?

The types of flood-affected materials you can dispose of include:

• hard waste (furniture, mattresses, household items, whitegoods)
• garden waste and trees, branches and reeds that may have washed onto your property
• debris from your house and sheds (metal, bricks, timber, piping, fittings)
• plant and machinery (tools, lawnmowers, bikes and similar)
• water sport equipment.

Other accepted items which must be kept separate include:

• electronic equipment and electrical items
• hot water systems
• air conditioners.

Can I bring very wet and/or muddy waste to the transfer station?

Yes, however no liquid waste, septic pump-outs or similar.

Do the vouchers expire?

Yes, the vouchers are valid to 31 July 2023.

Are there any restrictions around how I can bring my waste in?

Yes, the voucher program is designed to enable the use of personal vehicles such utes and standard trailers, up to an 8 x 5ft caged trailer or similar.

How do I dispose of sandbags that are on my property?

Do not place empty sandbags in any kerbside bin, skip bin, or in the river. A collection service for the removal of sandbags from registered properties will be arranged. This will be a separate collection to the removal of flood-affected materials. Local transfer stations will also be able to accept small quantities of sandbags at no cost.  Please enquire with the transfer station prior as to their capacity to receive them.

More information  is on the Green Industries SA website.