The waste and recycling sector cops a fair bit of stick from the likes of Four Corners and War on Waste leaving the marketing departments busy creating the image they desire. It seems every company in the industry has “Environmental” or “Recycling” stitched to their names regardless of what they do. It has created a facade of sustainability across the industry, to both the deserving and undeserving. So how is marketing impacting the waste and recycling sector?
The waste industry is in the current state of chaos due to years of the industry neglecting recycling and reuse whilst they shipped a poor quality product offshore. Managing the logistics of moving waste from a bin to a tip has been an extremely profitable enterprise and has been the driver of profit for many years. State governments have attempted to make recycling more attractive by increasing the price of landfill via levies which is shifting the balance.
The levies are designed to be reinvested into improving the infrastructure for recycling to reduce the need for landfill in the future. NSW in particular are re-investing large sums into programs such as BinTrim and Circulate to move the industry toward community expectations.
One provider, Bingo Industries is famous for moving thousands of tonnes of waste from Sydney to Ipswich to avoid paying the landfill levy. This helps them to undercut their competitors whilst collecting the levy from customers rates and not passing it through to the government. That provider now has “Proud Partner of Planet Ark” plastered on their website and on their trucks to provide the notion that they are a sustainable company.
Planet Ark proudly state:
Planet Ark is one of the most trusted names in Australia, having been listed in the top five most reputable brands for environmental, sustainable and ethical performance six years in a row. (Mobium Group, 2015 Living LOHAS 5 ‘Lifestyles Of Health And Sustainability’).
How Planet Ark could think partnering with Bingo Industries is a good idea is beyond us and we think it is important that the public, and potential customers of this company can see it for what it is, blatant green washing.
The waste and recycling industry needs a thousand new businesses focussing on productive uses of current recyclables so we can create a truly circular economy in Australia. We don’t need Planet Ark promoting a company that is actively exploiting loopholes and avoiding sustainability programs in order to dump waste more cheaply 900km away. Planet Ark do so many amazing things – why this?
So if we can’t trust Planet Ark to provide a clear lens into the industry, who do we trust next?
It seems any business can buy a ticket onto this particular Ark and tickets are starting to look cheap.
Garbology will be providing regular comment on the good and the bad of the industry via garbology.com.au and all major social media.