New scheme rewards Western Australian councils for using recycled C&D waste
By Rachael Ridley 15 September 2022
The Government of Western Australia has announced a scheme to incentivise councils to used recycled construction and demolition waste in new construction projects.
The Roads to Reuse: Local Government Incentives Program provides a payment of $5 per tonne of product used by local governments and sourced from accredited suppliers in civil projects such as road construction. Payments are capped at $35,000 per local government, equating to 7,000 tonnes of product. The program is limited to $350,000 with payments issued on a 'first come first served' basis.
Construction and demolition waste is a priority in the Government’s Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030, which sets a target of increasing material recovery to 80 per cent by 2030. The program will help close the recycling loop on C&D materials, support sustainable markets for the end products, and ‘normalise’ the use of recycled materials in civil construction projects.
Environment Minister, Reece Whitby, said the initiative will play an important role in achieving the State's material recovery targets.
"The use of recycled products can be very cost effective, while delivering time, labour and water savings during construction on top of significant environmental benefits," said Minister Whitby in a statement.
The program is a State Government initiative developed by the Waste Authority and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, in partnership with Main Roads WA, the Department of Health and the Waste and Recycling Industry WA.
Main Roads WA has demonstrated the benefits of using recycled materials in its road construction projects, using more than 100,000 tonnes of 'Roads to Reuse' recycled products in the Kwinana Freeway widening project, as well as the Leach Highway and Tonkin Gap projects.
Roads to Reuse product are independently audited to provide quality assurance around recyclers’ processes and products. Recyclers interested in becoming accredited can access the Roads to Reuse Recycler Support Scheme which supports C&D recyclers with the costs of accreditation, sampling and testing material.
Rachael manages the Business Recycling and Recycling Near You websites. Rachael joined Planet Ark in early 2019 after eight years working in media and publishing as a producer, editor and writer. Rachael loves using her skills in content creation and communication to instigate positive environmental behaviour change. Outside of work, Rachael enjoys spending time in nature, listening to music and patting dogs.
