The Australian government is contributing up to $3.2 million for critical recycling and waste infrastructure projects on Norfolk Island.
Waste management is a perennial issue on the small island, which was self-administered until 2016. With fewer than 2,000 tax-paying residents, a lack of resources forced the government to adopt the official strategy of burning garbage and pushing it into the ocean.
Although responsibility for funding now falls to the federal government, many residents still burn their garbage rather than pay what can be prohibitively high local waste-management fees. Due to the high cost of transporting waste to the mainland, garbage was still being officially managed this way until last November.
As of 2020, an estimated 68% of Norfolk Island’s waste is processed by the ‘HotRot‘ — an aerobic composting system that deals with the island’s organic waste.
According to Norfolk Island’s regional council manager of environment and planning Phillip Reid, the island’s geography has made waste management historically challenging.
“Norfolk Island does not allow access to standard waste-disposal and recycling facilities. The small size of the island, and the reliance on groundwater, means that landfill is not a feasible option, and the cost of managing waste is significant when compared to the Australian mainland,” Reid said.
“It’s cost us about a million dollars each year for the last couple of years to export waste to the mainland… we haven’t had the budget to export any routinely received recyclables
“The community don’t want to do this anymore, and the funding we’ll get for processing equipment will make that possible.”
Minister for the environment and water Tanya Plibersek said the funding is a major step towards addressing the significant waste infrastructure gaps on Norfolk Island, while also helping the community to become leaders in managing their waste and recycling in an innovative and sustainable way.
“The funding of up to $3.2 million to the Norfolk Island Regional Council recognises the particular challenges of managing waste in remote locations,” Plibersek said.
Minister for regional development local government and territories Kristy McBain said the Australian government was focused on supporting regional and remote communities such as Norfolk Island through targeted infrastructure solutions.
“Geographical isolation, lack of access to major recycling and remanufacturing centres and a small population mean that communities such as Norfolk Island are often left behind when it comes to modern waste management and recycling infrastructure,” McBain said.
“The new equipment will enable the recycling and reuse of materials on the island, and packaging of some materials for export and processing on the mainland, making sure Norfolk Island has similar waste management options to those on the mainland.”
Phil Reid said the impact of the grant could not be overstated.
“In some cases, this puts us above the capacity [of urban waste management centres]. The $3.2 million is it will go effectively to the point whereby there’ll be effectively nothing else for the immediate term we need to procure. We’re stoked,” Reid said.
“Councils should take the opportunity to explore what’s available through their state based environmental regulator, and how they’re directing funds from the national waste policy or the recycling modernisation fund.
“If you are seeking to get something of use out of what is otherwise waste and causing environmental impact, there’s employment opportunities there, and that’s what we’re seeking to do. We will actually improve the level of employment, through what we’re going to implement.”
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