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Unit 5, 13-15
Stokes St 23 September 2025
Ms. Heidi Tait
info@tangaroablue.org
Dear Ms. Tait
References: 1. The lifecycle of plastics, a modern wonder that is choking the planet - SMH - Bianca Hall August 17, 2025 2. We have everything we need to fix the climate crisis. But we need to do it now SMH - Miki Perkins and Nick O'Malley - March 21, 2023 3. Our last climate chance: Act now on ‘everything, everywhere, all at once’ - SMH - Nick O'Malley - March 21, 2023 4. Recycling isn’t enough — the world’s plastic pollution crisis is only getting worse - The Conversation - Stephanie B. Borrelle - Sept 18, 2020 5. The tipping point - The Monthly - James Bradley - Environment
This Writer retired from working at CBA (for 37 years) in 2007, the latter half in Infrastructure Finance. He studied for 10˝ years part-time at Macquarie University from 6pm onwards mid-week and attained two Economics degrees, his second degree being a Master in Applied Finance received in 2001. Most bankers will not lend their employer's deposit holdings unless a Conforming Cost-Benefit Analysis forecasts a positive NPV and favourable IRR on a newly marketed infrastructure project that Macquarie Bank et al seek debt providers to finance. I have written to amongst others, our Prime Minister dated 20 January 2023 beseeching the Federal Govt to require Australia’s six State Govts to have to provide to the Commonwealth Productivity Commission a Conforming Cost-Benefit Analysis (prior to Financial Close) for each new major infrastructure project, because of the horrific cost blowouts of recent rail tunnelling projects, that were approved because there were votes in it. Below is an extract of my request letter to Anthony Albanese dated 20 Jan 2023 sent on DVD, USB and A4 paper:
Most single-use plastic containers cannot be recycled into a useful alternative plastic product cost-effectively. Over all, it costs more to convert old plastic packaging into alternate plastic usages than to produce new plastic packaging. Sorting glass, aluminium, steel and plastic from within Yellow Lid Recycling Bins, often also holding cardboard and paper in too many Sydney Councils, is a significant starting cost for recycling. Cardboard and paper seemingly accounts for between 65% and 70% of recycled waste in Lane Cove Council where this writer resides. Glass bottles and jars, single-use plastic food containers, aluminium cans and sometimes polystyrene packaging account for the remainder of recyclable waste. Hunter’s Hill Council, Inner West Council, Mosman Council, Northern Beaches Council and Lane Cove Council provide Blue Lid Recycle Bins for cardboard and paper waste. Some councils, incl City of Sydney Council, Canada Bay, Campbelltown Council, Hills Shire Council require residents to also place cardboard, books and other paper waste in with aluminium cans, glass bottles/jars and plastics in their Yellow Lid Recycle Bin/s. Unfortunately, some residents dump polystyrene (protective packaging for say a new computer monitor or TV) in their Blue Lid Bin or Yellow Lid Bin. The cost alone to effectively separate (after collection) aluminium cans, glass bottles and jars, single use plastic food items and cardboard/paper) would be considerable. Australia has a comprehensive ban on cigarette advertising from legislation that began phasing out broadcasts in 1973 and was fully implemented by 1992, prohibiting print, broadcast, outdoor, and event-sponsorship advertising. Australia needs to similarly prohibit single use plastic food packaging. Cardboard packaging was one of its predecessors and must be its successor, because of the exorbitant cost of recycling the multitude configurations of single use plastic packaging. All local councils in NSW should provide a Blue Lid Recycle Bin solely to contain cardboard, books and other paper waste including cardboard milk cartons for recycling. As named above, a minority of local councils across Sydney only provide a Yellow Lid Bin and have refrained from providing a dedicated Blue Lid Bin, when the cost savings of not having to separate/sort multiple different waste items are patent, particularly as too often polystyrene waste is also jettisoned in a council recycle waste bin. I live in a home unit at Lane Cove North and see a welter of recycling items thrown in the Yellow Lid Bin at apartment blocks in my neighbourhood for recycling, that unfortunately occasionally include – a) large white slabs of polystyrene that protected a newly purchased TV, computer monitor or the like; and/or b) hundreds of small white polystyrene balls used as light weight ‘filler material’ to protect on-line purchases (during postage) of delicate items. The cost to remove such light weight polystyrene protective packaging to try to recycle an array of fine/thin plastic food containers greatly exceeds the cost to remake those food containers from new materials – either in plastic or cardboard, with the latter taking immeasurably less time to decompose. · Packaging by wholesalers of food, including milk, for retail sale is a recent development in the history of mankind. Woolworths and Aldi package 1 litre milk in cardboard cartons at their Lane Cove retail stores. Coles at Lane Cove sells milk in 1 litre plastic bottles that would take up to 100 times longer for the plastic to ‘breakdown’, than for a cardboard carton to decompose. Milk containers do not need to exceed 1.5 litres. If a consumer has a large family and needs a bit more, then buy 2 or more @ 1.5 litre cardboard milk cartons. Or perhaps 1 @ 1 litre cardboard carton and 1 @ 600 ml cardboard carton. In summary, my research indicates that single-use plastic packaging of food items, particularly milk cartons and ready to eat meal wrapping is a relatively recent development in food preparation and detrimental to cost-effective recycling. That doesn't need to continue. To quote Professor Sarah Dunlop , "...to reduce our reliance on plastic we should start being more frugal and thinking more like our great-grandparents who didn’t live with single-use plastic. We also urgently need safe and sustainable alternative materials that don’t contain toxic chemicals." Federal, state and local governments as well as industry continue the charade by providing the public with nonsensical and uneconomic asserted recycling efforts. Yours sincerely
Philip J Johnston |
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