What is EPA doing about waste?
EPA works across the community – households, businesses, other government bodies – to deal with wastes made by the products and services we all use. A waste minimisation policy for industrial waste is in place in Victoria and this includes a list of preferences in industrial waste management options:
- waste avoidance
- re-use
- recycling
- reclamation
- treatment and disposal.
Waste minimisation means reducing the amount of waste we produce at home, at work and in industry. In Australia we produce one of the highest levels of waste, per head of population, in the world. To lower our impact on the environment and save our natural resources, we need to change our existing patterns of consumption and make a big effort to reduce waste.
Waste minimisation by industry through resource efficiency
Industries are encouraged to use resource efficiency techniques and to use recycled or recyclable materials in production processes.
Resource efficiency has a strong emphasis on prevention rather than cure. It includes changing management practices, processes and product design to prevent or reduce the production of waste. EPA programs promoting resource efficiency began in the late 1980s. The Cleaner Production Partnerships Program fosters partnerships within industry, and between industry and government, providing funding to actively encourage the development of resource efficiency opportunities.