30 September 2022
AORA September 2022 News
From the National Executive Officer
With the AFL and NRL seasons basically over and Spring in the air, it can only mean one thing - Christmas is only three months away!

We need to get ready for an onslaught of Christmas advertising and decorations and our supermarkets gearing up with their 2022 Christmas range to entice us to spend early and from their perspective, preferably big.

The final quarter of 2022 will also be very busy for AORA with a range of events and opportunities for our members, sponsors and stakeholders to engage with us and for AORA to communicate with you about what we are doing and the challenges ahead.

I would commend to you to join us for our 2022 AGM and annual Members Meeting in Sydney at The Lakes Golf Club on Thursday 10 November inclusive of the AORA NSW drinks and networking event post these.

Prior to this, AORA will also be attending Waste Expo Australia 2022 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 26 and 27 October where I will be moderating a panel session on FOGO with industry experts. The AORA VIC Year End Event is also scheduled for Wednesday 23 November at the MCG and the AORA SA Christmas Networking Event on Monday 5 December at the Adelaide Zoo. We have a busy few months ahead of us too.

As the AORA National Executive Officer, I will also be attending these events and taking the opportunities, when available, to get out and about more, starting with a visit to Melbourne from 28-30 October to meet with some of our processing members and my first meeting/introduction with Sustainability Victoria.

Three months into this role, I need to start building a greater understanding/relationships with our members and other stakeholders and that means a greater commitment to getting out and about. I am looking forward to meeting in person many of our members and will welcome your feedback to me on AORA.

Lastly, a final reminder for those members who have not finalised their membership renewal. Memberships expire at 11.59pm tonight. Please contact us ASAP to renew your membership.

John McKew
National Executive Officer
Australian Organics Recycling Association
Nominations open for
AORA Board of Directors

Board Members help to shape the strategy and goals of AORA and promote the industry and the beneficial use of organic material. 

You can self nominate or be nominated by another AORA Member
 
Board Requirements
  • Must be an AORA Processing or Associate Member (including National Member).  
  • Must have the time and interest to serve on the Board. Typically, this is no more than 2 days a month. Board meetings are a mixture of telephone and face-to-face meetings. Face to Face board meetings that require travel will be reimbursed.

Nomination deadline
5pm AEDST 13 October 2022
Join us at Waste Expo
Waste Expo is fast approaching (26 and 27 October at Melbourne Exhibition Centre) and AORA is looking forward to meeting industry colleagues at our Booth No. D115.

We are also very excited to be presenting a Panel Discussion on October 27th at 2.50pm titled “Are you ready to FOGO?”

It will be chaired by John McKew, AORA National Executive Officer, with panel members including:
 
  • Lorna Mathieson, Director, Dept of Environment, Land Water and Planning (DELWP)
  • Charlie Emery, Soilco NSW and Director of AORA
  • Sage Hahn, Bio Gro Vic and Chair, AORA Vic Committee
  • Sustainability Victoria (SV) Representative.
 
The main discussion will be around the issue of controlling FOGO bin content – why it is important and what can be done to reduce the contamination that ruins outputs. It is acknowledged that there are householder education plans in existence but the evidence at processing sites shows that those programs are not universally successful. It is important that the processing industry, State Governments and Local Councils running FOGO programs have a shared vision and mutually agreed blueprint for its implementation. Simplicity is the keynote and the message has to be aimed at the food-retailing industry as well as at householders.
Upcoming AORA Events

Why do we need Complete Mixing, Processing and Wood Fibre Lines for Organic products?

Join us on this webinar, to hear from Premier Tech, with its brand “Slootweg”, who are an international leader in delivering sustainable solutions: Complete Mixing Lines, Screening Lines, and complete Wood Fibre Lines.

Learn more about how Premier Tech provide turn-key solutions for a wide variety of products in the substrates and wood-processing markets.
Lock these dates in your calendars now!
AORA Annual General Meeting

The AORA AGM will take place at
10am AEDST on Thursday 10 November
at the Lakes Golf Club, Sydney.
There will also be an option to join online.

Papers for the AGM will be sent to members in the next few weeks.
AORA Annual Members Forum and NSW Christmas Drinks

Thursday 10 November
at the Lakes Golf Club, Sydney
11am - 8pm
(directly following the AGM)


Ticket sales open next week.
AORA VIC End of Year Event

Wednesday November 23
at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Mid afternoon starting time.
AORA SA Christmas Event

Monday 5 December
5pm - 8pm
Adelaide Zoo

AORA recently held a series of six webinars to present the outcomes of the Economic Contribution of the Organics Recycling Industry Report. These were split into state webinars and a national webinar, and were well attended by members.

The report itself, presentations and recordings are all available online in the AORA member portal.
Premier Tech Organics Tour 2023

Premier Tech Systems and Automation is seeking expression of interest to attend PT Organics Tour 2023 in The Netherlands. 

An opportunity to view Continuous Mixing Technology, Wood Fibre Technology – insights with reference sites visits, market trends and benchmarks currently used in Europe for Organic Professional Growers and Consumers.
 
Featuring
  • Mixing & Processing Solutions
  • Wood Fibre Solutions
  • Packaging & Bagging Solutions
  • Connect with IPM Essen 2023

Date: January 22 – 26 2023

Agenda:      The Netherland / TBC

If you are interested, please respond directly to Sam LiRosi lirs@premiertech.com

You can also learn more by attending the webinar as advertised above.
National Environmental Management Plan on PFAS v.3 released for consultation

The draft third version of the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances National Environmental Management Plan 3.0 (PFAS NEMP 3.0) builds on NEMP 2.0 with the inclusion of new and additional guidance and standards on priority areas as set out below.
The new guidance focuses on the following areas:
  • Theme 1: PFAS family – international approaches to grouping of PFASs.
  • Theme 2: Environmental data and monitoring - guidance on ambient monitoring data collection and land use classifications to enable comparability.
  • Theme 3: Water- risk-based criteria and guidance for beneficial reuse of biosolids.
  • Theme 4: Soil - guidance and standards around PFAS behaviour in soil, including leaching and associated ecological and human health guidance. It finalises and reviews two guideline values already in the NEMP and proposes two new guideline values for soil and one for wildlife diet.
  • Theme 5: Resource recovery and waste - guidance on management of risks associated with PFAS in resource recovery products.
  • Theme 6: Site specific guidance - guidance on principles and approaches to remediation and management; guidance on construction water; and guidance on estuarine, coastal and marine sediment.
Job Opportunity: Organics Graduate

AORA Member, Repurpose It, is seeking a full-time, Organics Graduate for an ongoing position, primarily responsible for supporting the various activities within the Organics Business unit. This Graduate will have the opportunity to learn from industry leaders across quality, technical, sales and operations to form the foundation of a long-lasting career at Repurpose It. As a young business with considerable growth, this role is for someone that is inquisitive, eager to learn and passionate about organics.

Applications close: 14 October
Vale Bob Paulin

We have lost a true ‘compost champion’ in Bob Paulin who died on the 31st August in Whangarei, New Zealand at the age of 75.

As a horticultural agronomist, Bob was Australia’s best import of 1975 when he began working with the WA Department of Agriculture. Grappling with the sandy soils of the Swan Coastal Plain led to his deep conviction about the indispensable role soil organic matter plays in sustainable agriculture, and the contribution compost can make.

On retirement in 2011, Bob moved to Canada with his wife Christine, and in 2014, they moved back to NZ where Bob spent his time tending the grounds of their property in Whangarei and enjoying his passions of fine wine and wood working.

Bob will be remembered as an esteemed colleague, good friend and mentor. He was the ‘real deal’ and was always generous in sharing his immense knowledge over a bottle or two of Chardonnay.

We thank Johannes Biala and Kevin Wilkinson for these kind words.
Of interest
Congratulations Sage Hahn!
A big congratulations to our AORA Vic Chair, Sage Hahn, for recently winning the Business Development Success of the Year award at the Women in Industry Awards.


$46 million available to NSW Councils
Go FOGO grants support NSW councils to deliver new weekly food only (FO) or food organics and garden organics (FOGO) services to their communities. These may be households that currently have no kerbside organics bin service or households with only a garden waste collection.


Announcement of $14.26 million for recycling infrastructure in Vic
The grant funding will give another life to 150,000 tonnes of Victoria’s food and garden waste and 30,000 tonnes of soft plastics. Seven organic recycling projects will be funded through the Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund, which diverts up to 3.4 million tonnes of food organic and garden organic (FOGO) waste from landfills across Australia every year.


Green Industries SA offers grants to councils
Grants are now open for the Council Modernisation program and the Kerbside Performance Plus Food Organics Incentives Programs.


Consultation open for Stage 2 of the WA Plan for Plastics
Stage 2 of the WA Plan for Plastics, identifies a second set of single-use or disposable plastic items and materials for phase out from 2023 including items such as expanded polystyrene packaging, degradable plastics, barrier/produce bags, cottons buds with plastic shafts and microbeads.


ACT Government seeking feedback on next tranche of plastics ban
ACT Govermnet is seeking written submissions from businesses, industry and the community on the proposed phase-out of more single-use plastics, including takeaway containers, microbeads, expanded polystyrene products and packaging.


APCO Action Plan to phase out PFAS in Fibre-Based Food Contact Packaging
APCO has recently launched their Action Plan to Phase out PFAS in Fibre-Based Food Contact Packaging and Quick Guide. The action plan sets out a national, voluntary and industry-led approach to phase out per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in fibre-based food contact packaging by 31 December 2023, with consideration for stock run-out.


The Great Aussie Compost Roadshow is coming to a place near you
Funding support from the Federal Government and various industry bodies and companies has enabled the University of Queensland’s Centre for Recycling of Organic Waste and Nutrients (CROWN) to organise and host the Great Aussie Compost Roadshow, which will tour regional Vic, NSW and Qld from 13 -24 Feb 2023. The Roadshow will focus on processing and utilising organic residues from intensive animal industries (layer and meat chicken, cattle feedlots, piggeries and dairy) but will also promote co-composting of urban and agricultural residues in regional areas. 
More information contact Johannes Biala - jbiala@uq.edu.au

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