Those Aussies know how to collect garbage!

Sep 28, 2008 by melissa    1 Comment     Posted under: The 3 R's

I’ve become somewhat of a “green” nazi. Not in a crazed, militaristic way, but in a I-will-go-back-out-to-the-car-for-my-canvas-bags way. I have about 20 of them in the trunk of my car, and if I forget to take them into the store, I will gladly pay .99 for another one. They are just so damn handy.

But I digress. I wanted to post this amazing diagram of a Sydney trash collection site. Per the article from “Wired” magazine:

…a facility in Sydney that combines every trash-sorting technology imaginable–wind sifters, optical scanners, magnets, electrical currents. It diverts 75% of the city’s waste stream to recycling, conserving landfill space and cutting down on greenhouse gases.

Yes, you read that correctly. 75% in Sydney, Australia—the most densely populated city in Australia. We’re talking around 4.2 million people who, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, average 1 tonne of solid waster, per person, per year. So, 4.2 million x 1 tonne = 4.2 million tonnes / 75%…I can’t even do that kind of math. Where’s my abacus?

The process is truly amazing:



click to enlarge and read

Pretty awesome. Too bad we can’t do something like that over here.

1 Comment + Add Comment

  • I like the picture…

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