Rethinking refuse

By ED MERRISON
A SHIRE of Yarra Ranges councillor has described his experience at the 2005 Waste Conference in Fremantle as ‘mindblowing’.
Councillor Noel Cliff, who joined councillor Len Cox at the conference from 23 to 26 August, has returned with a sense of urgency, as well as a range of ideas for future environmental planning and waste management.
“We looked at the handling of waste, recycling, what the hell to do with rubbish and how to reduce it,” Cr Cliff said.
Conference attendees were taken to a variety of new ways of solving waste issues, such as an enormous site north of Perth which had been purchased by four councils.
“They’d scooped it out, buried rubbish in it, put spikes in and capped the methane. The gas was fed into a turbine, where they burn it and generate electricity. It’s a bloody eye opener,” Cr Cliff said.
Another innovation that impressed Cr Cliff was a material for suppressing dust which could have a practical application in sealing dirt roads.
“The material comes from the bark of an African tree, which is ground to powder. They add water and reconstitute it. It doesn’t smell too bad, it’s not poisonous, and they spray it on to grade roads,” Cr Cliff said.
Cr Cliff was also impressed by revegetation schemes, where landfill rubbish was compressed and covered with foil, with indigenous plants grown over the top.
“We’ve got to do more recycling,” Cr Cliff said.
“You just can’t keep putting stuff in holes. We’ve got to move on from that mentality.”
Above all, Cr Cliff is convinced that now is the time for action.