Save Our Bacteria – Recycle Your Batteries
As we move from the fossil fuel age into the battery-electric age we don’t want to swap one set of environmental problems for another. It’s therefore important that any risks posed by the new materials that will underpin a clean energy economy are identified and addressed. A new finding from the Universities of Wisconsin and […]
The Most Common Batteries You Can Recycle
Q. How many handheld batteries do Australians buy each year A. Over 400 million! Q. What happens to them when they no longer work? A. Most get dumped in landfill. Australia’s overall hand held battery recycling rate is less than 3%. For our most commonly used batteries, the recycling rate is around 2%. Q. What […]
Where Can I Recycle Batteries In Australia?
Each year in Australia millions of batteries reach the end of their working life. Sadly, just 3% of handheld batteries (those weighting less than 5kg) are recycled. The rest, including many that contain toxic components, get dumped into landfill. It’s a sad state of affairs because not only is it possible to recycle batteries, with […]
Why millennials care if your business recycles
Millennials roughly comprise the generation that is now aged between 20 and 35. They are major consumers of goods and services, and are increasingly taking on senior, decision-making positions in business, politics and the not-for-profit sector. In other words, they have clout, and one thing that informs their decision-making is corporate social responsibility (CSR). How […]
Upcycling: Giving New Life To Things We Can’t Recycle
What happens to most of the stuff we drop in our council recycling bins? Glass jars, steel and aluminium cans get be turned back into new glass jars, steel and aluminium cans. Plastics, however, mostly get down-cycled – turned into lower value products that may not be further recyclable. Then there’s all the stuff we […]
Dental amalgam: Reducing mercury pollution from cremations
Even in death, we can still be responsible for mercury pollution. On average, a cremated body releases two to four grams of mercury from the dental amalgam in the teeth. Individual crematoria can release over 5 kg of mercury per year, and in the United Kingdom, crematoria release around two tonnes of mercury every year […]
How X-rays Created An Underground Music Industry
In the age of iTunes and Spotify it’s hard to imagine not being able to listen to the music of your choice. But it was a different story in the Soviet Union of the 1950s. If your tastes tended towards Elvis Presley or Ella Fitzgerald rather than classical or patriotic music, listening to your favourite […]
The Art Of Upcycling: Turning Junk Into Something Useful
Upcycling is the process of turning waste, often of the sort that is usually considered “unrecyclable”, into something that is useful or of value. A popular form of upcycling involves creating art with items of waste, and the results can be spectacular. They can also be practical, as Fennell’s bus shelter made out of a […]
Lighting containing mercury to be recycled under NSW Energy Savings Scheme
Electrical contractors involved in commercial lighting upgrades under the New South Wales Energy Savings Scheme (ESS) need to know about a recent change to its rules. As of 15 May 2016, all lighting equipment containing mercury that is replaced as part of this program must be recycled. The ESS Rule amendments fact sheet can be […]
Marine Plastic To Outweigh Fish By 2050
A report from the World Economic Forum predicts that, on current trends, by 2050 the amount of plastic in the oceans will outweigh all the fish. Think about it for a moment, and let the enormity of that sink in. This year, more than 8 million tonnes of plastic will ‘leak’ into the world’s oceans. That’s […]
What Can I Recycle? There’s An App For That
Are aerosol cans recyclable? What about biscuit trays? How can you dispose of old paint and motor oil? Thanks to an app created by Eleanor Meyer and Stephen Halpin the answers are now at your fingertips. What’s more, the answers are tailored to your location. The story began when Stephen and Eleanor were paired in […]
What Types Of Batteries Can Schools Recycle?
Schools get through their fair share of batteries, and with the start of the new school year fast approaching, now is a good time for a refresher lesson on battery recycling. It’s an important lesson because each year in Australia less than 10% of discarded batteries get recycled. Aside from contributing to the mountains of […]
How apple recovered $40 million worth of gold from unwanted iPhones
Modern prospectors don’t need to head off into the wilderness, shovel and pan in hand, to hit gold – there’s plenty to be found in old phones and computers. In fact, in 2015 alone, Apple recovered a full tonne of gold from items collected via its take-back program. That tonne was just a small fraction of […]
How To Make The Most Of Your Waste
Did you know that between 1996-97 and 2012-2013, Australia’s economic production rose by 69%, but our waste production rose 154%? Instead of becoming more efficient at turning raw materials into economic value, we became less efficient. And what makes up that waste stream? It depends on the source. In municipal (mostly household) waste, food and garden […]
Dental amalgam waste is a prescribed industrial waste (PIW)
Owing to the mercury content, the Environment Protection Agency Victoria (EPAV) defines used dental amalgam waste as prescribed industrial waste (PIW), with the waste code D121 (Equipment and Articles containing mercury). This must be disposed of at waste facilities holding the appropriate EPA licence. What should happen? What does happen? Dental amalgam must be collected in […]
Will Australia Benefit From The Lithium Boom?
Within a few days of launch, more than 300,000 people put down deposits on the Tesla Model 3 electric car. While Tesla may be the highest profile electric car manufacturer at the moment, it is far from the only one. Many major brands are getting in on the act and there are plenty of reasons to […]
Australia’s largest streetlight recycling initiative has been completed
Mercury bonus Ecocycle’s main focus is on preventing the mercury contained in the old streetlights from ending up in the environment. However, the energy savings delivered by the new low-energy lighting provides an additional bonus on the mercury front. Coal-fired power stations are a major source of mercury pollution, so that big reduction in energy […]
Why recycling is a no-brainer for every Australian business
Recycling at home is easy. Just drop all recyclable items in the council-provided bin, and that’s it. The cost is covered by the annual council rates so we don’t give them a second thought. The situation is a bit different for businesses. Recycling is often a net cost and the natural inclination is to avoid […]
E-Waste Recycling: What Actually Happens To Your Old Phone Or TV When It’s Recycled?
When we think of e-waste, most attention focuses on the bits that do all the hard work – the batteries and printed circuit boards (PCBs). We tend to forget about the boring things like steel computer cases, glass and plastics even though they can, by weight, make up over 95% of the e-waste disposal stream. […]
Raising mercury recycling awareness at the 2016 ADIA Victorian Dental Show
The Victorian branch of the Australian Dental Industry Association held its biannual Victorian Dental Show at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on June 17 and 18. Running alongside the popular scientific convention, the show featured more than 40 exhibitors, providing dentists with the opportunity to stay abreast of developments in the industries underpinning their […]
