The national Waste Collection Services standard created by Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA) sets a sustainability benchmark from the point of collation and collection to a lawful processing or disposal facility, thereby bringing greater transparency and credibility to Australia’s waste industry.
Waste management has not kept pace with the increase in waste generation in Australia, leading to significant impacts on health, local and global environments and the economy. The risk arising out of poor waste management has been acknowledged by both waste generators and waste collection services.
Developed in collaboration with the Better Building Partnership (BBP) and NABERS, the new standard aims to improve the accuracy of waste collection data, resulting in better sustainability performance and supporting service providers’ efforts to minimise their impacts.
GECA's CEO Kate Harris says, “We're so excited that our new standard means that government and private sectors across Australia now have the opportunity to choose certified waste collection. This in turn rewards those doing the right thing, driving good data, cutting contamination and ensuring recycling gets to the right place.”
Sydney-based Organic Recycling Group (ORG) became the first business in Australia this month to become certified under the standard. “The team at ORG are proud to be part of a business that is continually working to exceed our targets; this standard has enabled the team to have further confidence in our abilities to deliver leading waste management services to our clients,” said Jim McBurney, general manager at ORG.
Companies certified under this standard will be able to develop stronger trusted relationships with their existing clients and increase the potential for new clients and contracts. In successfully certifying to the standard, companies will show transparency, quality service, accuracy of data for reporting and credibility.
“If you’re committed to doing things better tomorrow than we did yesterday… then you must get behind the GECA standard. For consumers of waste services, it is a trust marque that says these guys get it and GECA will hold them to account. For waste contractors it is a badge of honour and a market differentiator,” said Esther Bailey, Better Building Partnership.
