Waste export targets noble, but mandated recycled content essential: NWRIC

The National Waste Recycling Industry Council has said last week’s export ban targets were commendable, but not practical without strengthening markets and infrastructure around waste processing.     Last week the meeting of state and federal environment ministers set targets to ban glass exports by July next year, mixed plastics by July 2021, and whole and…

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Motherson Innovations to make ground communications modules

By Stuart Corner of IoT Australia South Australian company Motherson Innovations is to manufacture the modules that will transmit user data to the IoT nanosatellites being deployed by Adelaide based Myriota. The Myriota Module is a credit card sized device that accepts input from sensors and communicates direct to Myriota satellites. According to Myriota’s web…

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Effective ways to help reduce fuel consumption

Member viewpoint by Australian Manufacturing Forum member Greg Newham As efficient transport is a key factor in the cost of manufacturing, rising and unpredictable fuel prices represent an ongoing challenge to Australia’s manufacturing sector to remain competitive. The ability of Australia’s transport industry to service the needs of the market continues to be impacted by…

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Another COAG meeting, another limp swing at the waste problem

By Trevor Thornton, Lecturer, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University A meeting on Friday between state and federal environment ministers to discuss Australia’s recycling and waste crisis has been disappointingly inconclusive. Some targets were set for banning the export of various used materials: glass exports will be banned by July 2020 and mixed…

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Smaller manufacturers and the big challenge of digitalisation

It’s been said that Australia’s population of enterprises has a “missing middle.”    Within manufacturing, there is certainly a heavy weighting towards the smaller end of town. A count published in the Australian Industry Group’s Australian Manufacturing in 2019 report found that of 47,530 employing companies, 87 per cent were between 1 and 19 employees…

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