News and Media

Indian board directed to dispose of compact fluorescent lamps responsibly

An Indian NGO, Toxic Links, has had success in its efforts to tackle mercury pollution from lighting waste. Presenting a case to the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Toxic Links contended that current treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs) were not adequately equipped to deal with compact fluorescent lamps and other mercury bearing lighting. The result is that the NGT has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB ) to consider the upgrade of TSDFs. The CPCB must take …

Why it’s important to have and maintain an amalgam separator

Amalgam separators are simple, non-mechanical devices that sit within the drainage systems of dental practices. As their name implies, the purpose of an amalgam separator is to trap waste dental amalgam and separate it from wastewater that can then be safely discharged to the sewers. With mercury contamination a big enough problem to give rise to a United Nations convention, amalgam separators play a critical role in reducing mercury pollution. While there are dental clinics already fitted…

Why is Aussie mercury waste being sent overseas?

Are you an Australian business looking to recycle mercury locally? As Australia’s largest and most experienced recycler of mercury, Ecocycle is ideally placed to help local resource companies develop transparent, effective and safe solutions for handling mercury-contaminated waste. Would you like to know more? Call us on 1300 32 62 92, or fill out the form below and one of our recycling experts will get in touch. …

How to convince your boss to get on board with workplace recycling

Many people think that the sole purpose of a business is to make money for its owners, and that anything that gets in the way of this goal, such as spending money on non-compulsory workplace recycling efforts, should be ignored. If that sounds like the attitude of your boss, here are some tips on how to convince them that recycling at work is actually good for business. 1. Appeal to their better nature Yes, bosses are human too, with concerns for their future and for their children and gran…

Recycle locally and reduce the carbon footprint of your company

You’ve probably heard of ‘food miles’ – the idea that transporting food over long distances gives it a huge carbon footprint relative to locally produced food. Those out of season Californian grapes and Peruvian asparagus spears may be delicious but they come with much bigger clouds of carbon dioxide emissions than locally grown, in-season produce. Recycling miles It’s a similar story when it comes to recycling. Large amounts of recyclable materials are shipped around the globe, racking up …

What can Australian warehouses and factories recycle?

Industrial equipment A range of industrial equipment from transformers through to thermostats can potentially contain mercury, and therefore need to be disposed of safely. Depending on the size and nature of the equipment, specialist help may be required to assess the risks and to design effective solutions. Batteries Batteries, including tiny button cells and batteries bigger than shipping containers, are playing an increasingly important role in today’s energy mix. Battery recycling not onl…

5 waste management tips for sports clubs and recreational centres

Sports clubs and recreational facilities are all about promoting health. And sport and exercise aren’t just about physical fitness: they also provide important psychological and social benefits. So, with all this focus on creating wellbeing, it would be a real tragedy if sports clubs and recreational centres undid some of that good work by contributing to environmental damage. Let’s face it. We all generate waste in all sorts of ways by just going about our normal activities. It’s the same…

E-waste in Australia: How businesses can recycle old computers

With e-waste in Australia growing at a faster rate than other types of waste, it’s important that we all do our bit to recycle old computers. As big users of technology, businesses are major creators of e-waste, and there are both moral and economic reasons as to why organisations need to have clear and effective policies when it comes to recycling e-waste. On the one hand, e-waste represents a major risk to the environment. On the other, it’s a source of valuable materials. And while t…

A win (and a loss) for local mercury recycling

Ecocycle recently achieved a small victory in helping to prevent the unnecessary shipment of mercury-containing waste overseas. A major natural gas producer voluntarily surrendered its hazardous waste export permit the evening before an Administrative Appeals Tribunal hearing was set to revoke the permit. The proceedings were instigated by Ecocycle, Australia’s only fully licensed mercury recycling company. It was, however, only a partial win for the environment. Two foreign-owned co…

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 Minnesota illustrates what one of those risks may be. Professor Robert J. Hamers and his team discovered that a key component of lithium ion batteries spells trouble for …

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 types of batteries are most commonly recycled? A. By number and by battery size, AA batteries the most commonly recycled battery. Next come AAA batteries then button cells (…

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 hundreds of battery collection points around Australia, it’s also simple and convenient. So what are the options for battery recycling in Australia? Small Batteri…

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 big an issue is this? A Cone Communications study, suggested that when it comes to making purchasing decisions, deciding on…

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 can’t put in the recycling bin, things like toothpaste tubes, plastic bags and old electrical goods. The majority of these just end up in landfill. Upcycling The Un-Recyclable …

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 (pdf). With death being a growth industry, total mercury emissions from cremations are set to rise. Push for regulation Not surprisingly, demands are being made for action to…

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 songs could get you arrested. Some Of The First Pirated Music The risk of imprisonment wasn’t enough to deter a small band of inventive music lovers from creating an underground industry prod…

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 real school bus shows. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, fashions change with the wind and exceptional artists are few and far between. Many bits of junk simply get “up…

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 downloaded here. It stipulates that mercury-containing lighting “must be recycled in accordance with the recycling requirements of a product stewardship scheme such …

Plastic is expected to outweigh fish in oceans by 2050

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 the equivalent of one garbage truck per minute. By 2030, on current trends, it will be two garbage trucks per minute. By 2050, if we don’t do something drastic, it will be equivalent to fou…

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 a competition run by Monash University and Oxfam a couple of years ago. Now Sustain Me, the free app that resulted from their collaboration, has gone national. Download it, set your…

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 waste going to landfill this also represents a waste of valuable resources, particularly when recycling batteries is both simple and convenient. By weight and number si…

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 the 27,800 tonnes of total recovered material but at current gold prices it is worth about US$40 million. In comparison, the value of recovered copper and aluminium was about US$6.5 million a…

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 waste make up nearly half of the volume, followed by paper. Paper is also a major component of commercial and industrial waste, along with met…

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 compliant separators and disposed of to a facility that holds an EPA licence to be retained and recycled. Amalgam fil…

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 believe that the future of motoring will be electric. The explosion in electric vehicle production is going to drive a massive expansion in lithium battery production, begging the question: does the wor…

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 demand for street lighting leads to a similar reduction in mercury released into the atmosphere. Upgrading your lighting? Lighting the Regions i…

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 it. But there are many reasons why businesses should recycle as much as possible, and, as it happens, a major reason is to improve the bottom line. 66% of customers prefer socially respon…

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. That means much of the electronics recycling process is relatively easy, and in the early stages involves some pretty basic methods. Reusing And Repairing Electronics How many electronic …

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 practices. The Ecocycle team was kept very busy fielding enquiries from old friends as well as dentists who were una…

Mercury Vs Microbeads: A Tale Of Two Pollutants

The cosmetics industry is acting to phase out microbeads, but dentists are slow to clean up their act on mercury pollution. Microbeads Microbeads are tiny particles of plastic that are used in facial scrubs, soaps and toothpastes. The beads are made from the common plastic, high-density polyethylene. They are not intrinsically toxic, but when flushed down the drain they pass through sewage treatment plants and end up in the environment. There, birds, fish and other marine animals can ingest th…