OPTIMAL RECOVERY OF RESOURCES A CASE STUDY OF WOOD

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WASTE IN THE GREATER SYDNEY REGION

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3953

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University of Sydney

2004

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CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS III

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . IV

GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS USED IN THIS THESIS . VII

CONTENTS. IX

FIGURES . XI

TABLES XII

1 INTRODUCTION.1

2 CONTEXT TO THE PROBLEM – RESOURCE RECOVERY AND MANAGEMENT IN THE

GREATER SYDNEY REGION4

2.1 A SHORT HISTORY OF WASTE IN NEW SOUTH WALES .5

2.2 WASTE POLICY SETTING IN THE GREATER SYDNEY REGION – 1970S TO THE 1990S.5

2.3 FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE – 50% WASTE REDUCTION BY 2000 5

2.4 THE WASTE CRISIS – ESTABLISHMENT OF THE NSW WASTE BOARDS.6

2.5 REVIEW OF THE NSW WASTE MINIMISATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT – THE

“DISESTABLISHMENT” OF THE WASTE BOARDS 8

2.6 CURRENT GOVERNMENT AGENCIES WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES9

2.7 OTHER STAKEHOLDERS – INDUSTRY AND NON GOVERNMENT.13

2.8 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION OF THE CONTEXT TO THE PROBLEM OF RESOURCE

RECOVERY IN THE GREATER SYDNEY REGION14

3 SYSTEM DRIVERS AND CONSTRAINTS FOR OPTIMAL RESOURCE RECOVERY16

3.1 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .17

3.2 CURRENT LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK.21

3.3 NET PRESENT HIGHEST RESOURCE VALUE 26

3.4 SOCIAL ISSUES AND CONCERNS 28

3.5 POLITICAL ASPECTS32

3.6 TECHNICAL ASPECTS32

3.7 ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS.33

3.8 GENERAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS36

3.9 DECISION MAKING .38

3.10 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION ON SYSTEM DRIVERS AND CONSTRAINTS FOR OPTIMAL

UTILISATION OF WASTE38

4 SYSTEM MODELS AND AVAILABLE INFORMATION TO ASSIST DECISION MAKING FOR

OPTIMAL RESOURCE RECOVERY.41

4.1 INDUSTRIAL ECOLOGY AS A MODEL FOR WASTE GENERATION AND RESOURCE

RECOVERY 42

4.2 SUPPLY - SOURCES OF WASTE IN THE GREATER SYDNEY REGION.45

4.3 TRANSFORMATION – TECHNOLOGY INTERVENTIONS FOR PROCESSING WASTE INTO A

RESOURCE.49

4.4 SINKS – MARKETS FOR WASTE IN THE GREATER SYDNEY REGION.51

4.5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION OF WASTE GENERATION, TRANSFORMATION AND

UTILISATION IN THE GREATER SYDNEY REGION 54

5 EVALUATION OF OPTIMAL RESOURCE RECOVERY IN THE GREATER SYDNEY REGION:

STATUS QUO - THE INQUIRY INTO ALTERNATIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES

AND PRACTICES. 55

5.1 FRAMEWORKS FOR DECISION MAKING IN RESOURCE RECOVERY AND MANAGEMENT

56

5.2 OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INQUIRY INTO ALTERNATIVE WASTE

MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES AND PRACTICES 57

5.3 METHODOLOGY FOR TECHNOLOGY COMPARISON USED IN THE INQUIRY INTO

ALTERNATIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES AND PRACTICES . 59

5.4 ASSESSMENT OF THE RESULTS OF THE INQUIRY INTO ALTERNATIVE WASTE

MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES AND PRACTICES . 64

5.5 CRITICAL EVALUATION OF INQUIRY METHODOLOGY . 66

5.6 SUMMARY OF THE INQUIRY INTO ALTERNATIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES

AND PRACTICES . 73

6 CASE STUDY: OPTIMAL RESOURCE RECOVERY OF WOOD WASTE IN THE GREATER

SYDNEY REGION. 74

6.1 CONTEXT TO THE PROBLEM – WOOD RECOVERY IN THE GREATER SYDNEY REGION 75

6.2 SYSTEM DRIVERS AND CONSTRAINTS FOR OPTIMAL WOOD RESOURCE RECOVERY 77

6.3 SOURCES, TRANSFORMATION FLOWS AND SINKS FOR WOOD IN THE GREATER

SYDNEY REGION. 80

6.4 OPTIMAL RESOURCE RECOVERY - ASSESSMENT OF WOOD RECOVERY OPTIONS. 88

6.5 DISCUSSION AND REFINEMENTS TO THE APPROACH 102

7 CONCLUDING SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS 105

7.1 SUMMARY 105

7.2 CONCLUSIONS 109

7.3 RECOMMENDATIONS. 110

8 REFERENCES. 111

9 APPENDICES. 118

9.1 APPENDIX 1 – LOCAL COUNCILS IN THE GREATER SYDNEY REGION 118

9.2 APPENDIX 2 – RIO DECLARATION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES.

119

9.3 APPENDIX 3 – CONFIGURATION OF WEIGHTINGS USED TO TEST THE SENSITIVITY OF

THE ALTERNATIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT TECHNOLOGIES AND PRACTICES INQUIRY

ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK 122

9.4 APPENDIX 4 – SURVEY OF CURRENT SINKS, ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOOD

WASTE IN THE GREATER SYDNEY REGION 123

9.5 APPENDIX 5 – RAW AND WEIGHTED SCORES FOR CRITERIA AND ATTRIBUTES USED IN

THE ASSESSMENT OF OPTIMAL WOOD RESOURCE RECOVERY 124