One must ask the question after watching an explosive documentary about the criminal elements responsible for the waste dumping in Queensland and New South Wales. Fraudulent businesses that collect waste and dump it on private property are making millions of dollars. Over a million tons of waste have already been dumped on a former golf course at one location, and more are being added every day. Other locations include, for example, closed coal mines.
Most people take pride in recycling plastic, paper, and glass in the council-provided bins. The recycling pickup truck has a sign on it stating that a certain number of plastic bottles will generate enough energy to run a home for six hours. By doing the right thing, we feel good about ourselves.
I’m concerned about what will happen to the waste in the Australian Capital Territory and elsewhere after learning what actually happens to it in NSW. Mountains of glass fragments are not recycled; instead, they are placed in enormous plastic bags and transported to Melbourne, where they are kept in warehouses. It is now too expensive to sell on because the price has dropped from $200 per tonne to $25.’
What is going on, and where are the governments and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) during this time? Because there is so much money at stake, many whistle blowers fear for their safety because there are corrupt people in every branch of the government and local authorities.
The amount of material that needs to be removed from these dumping grounds, including mountains of plastic and industrial waste as well as piles of asbestos, keeps expanding daily. To help pay for it, hefty fines must be imposed. In the meantime, we’ll be wondering why waste should be recycled.