Australian Government Scheme to Cut Landfill Extended : BLOG: Bin Trim – Landfill Diversion for Businesses Down Under

As round two of the Australian Bin Trim initiative comes to a close MRA’s Leslie Mallinson and James Ellinson reflect on progress made in New South Wales (NSW) and the continued State Government commitment.

Bin Trim is a NSW EPA funded program that aims to assist businesses in reducing waste to landfill. The program is part of the AU$465.7 million (360 million) Waste Less Recycle More (WLRM) initiative which is funded by the NSW landfill levy.

Bin Trim provides funding for trained assessors to condua visual waste assessment for small and medium businesses (SME). These assessments are undertaken in order to assist SME reduce waste, improve recycling and potentially save money.

Bin Trim Assessors provide:

Tailored action plans that outline how businesses can divert particular waste streams, decrease contamination and improve recycling rates;

Resources such as bin stickers to aid in identification;

Advice and support on the importance of diverting waste from landfill and the associated environmental and economic benefits; and

Rebate assistance in applying for Rebates through the Bin Trim Program, that will assist the business in improving recycling performance (up to $50,000 matched funding).

To date, MRA and its project partners have assisted in the delivery of over 5,000 Bin Trim Assessments across NSW, leading to the diversion of over 10,000 tonnes of waste from landfill.

MRA has a 100% success rate in applying for rebates for our clients through Bin Trim. Rebates are available from $2,000 - $50,000 in matched funding. Successful rebates have included assistance in the purchasing of new bins and infrastructure to improve recycling practices,

In-House Commitment

MRA has been making a difference in-house too. Both our Sydney and Melbourne offices are dedicated to reducing, reusing and recycling in every way possible. Employees have taken the initiative to gather all soft plastics from home and in our office, a very tricky waste stream to recycle, to take to a Coles plastic film bin.

If countless non-reusable resources are going to be used to create this durable, soft plastic film, then it just makes sense to equally have recycling systems in place to recapture those resources and repurpose them into new products. Meanwhile soft plastics may be light in weight, but they are heavy in environmental impacts if disposed of or handled incorrectly.”

As round two of Bin Trim comes to a close, the recent news announcing Phase 2 of the Waste Less Recycle More initiative is to be welcomed. Another $22.5m has been earmarked for investment in business recycling, including for the continuation of the Bin Trim grants.

The continuation of funding will maintain support for the very successful Bin Trim program and keep the momentum and knowledge rolling.

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