It is understood that unemployment rates have also risen in other countries in the world. One of these countries is Australia. There the government took various steps to help the residents financially. One of these measures is the creation of 10,000 new jobs related to waste recycling in the country. The idea behind this project is to take advantage of the opportunity to change the country's waste treatment and recycling industry and the way it deals with waste of resources
Six months into the corona crisis, there are many things we still do not know about the epidemic and its effects. What we are sure of today, is that the crisis that afflicts us does not only affect health, but also affects society, the economy and affects almost all areas of our lives.
according to Employment outlook report 2020 of the OECD published last July, Israel is the second country in the rate of increase in the number of unemployed (including unemployed) in the Corona crisis among the developed countries (the United States is the first). The report also predicted that the unemployment rate in Israel would rise in the event of a second wave. Predictions confirmed when According to Bank of Israel data As of the beginning of August, the unemployment rate in Israel was about 12 percent.
It is understood that unemployment rates have also risen in other countries in the world. One of these countries is Australia. There the government took various steps to help the residents financially. One of these measures is the creation of 10,000 new jobs related to waste recycling in the country. The idea behind this venture is to take advantage of the opportunity to change the country's waste treatment and recycling industry and the way it deals with waste of resources.
"Many bodies in the world look at the corona crisis in terms of an opportunity. The general perception is, there is a catastrophe here, but as part of it there is also a decrease and a change in the resource consumption patterns of the human population", says Prof. Ofira Ilon, Head of Environmental Quality and Energy at the Shmuel Na'aman Institute, the Technion, and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Management at the University of Haifa. "That's why you should take advantage of the crisis and make lemonade out of lemons."
stop exporting waste
As part of the project, The Australian government announced for an investment of 190 million Australian dollars (equivalent to 130 million American dollars) in establishing a recycling fund in the country. A need that arose even before the Corona crisis.
Australians produce every year About 67 million tons of waste, and as in many other countries in the world, a large part of it is sent abroad, mainly to China (as of 2017, about 43 percent of the metal waste, 70 percent of the plastic, and 43 percent of the paper and cardboard were sent for processing overseas). However, following the Corona crisis, China and other countries following it announced that they are banning the import of foreign waste into their territory.
Therefore, Australia decided to change its own waste management policy. Starting from January 2021 Regulations and bans on the export of various types of waste will come into force, and by mid-2024, the Australian recycling industry will handle an additional 650,000 tonnes of plastic, paper, glass and tire waste each year.
According to the authorities in Australia, the cessation of the export of waste overseas and the change in waste recycling processes in the country will reshape the waste industry, lead to the creation of additional jobs and return important materials to the economy.
"One of the conclusions from the corona crisis is that a more significant investment in infrastructure is required all over the world, because we know that the current crisis is small compared to the crisis that will probably be bigger and that we expect in the future, the climate crisis," says Dr. Uri Sharon, VP of the Israeli Association for Ecology and Environmental Sciences and a lecturer in law and policy at the Faculty of Law at Bar Ilan University. "We understand that at the global and local level we are not prepared for crises at all. Therefore, if we want to get out of the economic crisis we are in, we must make changes that will lead to accelerating the economy and increasing systemic resilience for the future."
"We must take an approach where we create and implement green rescue plans from the crisis. For example, production of renewable energy. This is how we reduce the dangers of the climate crisis, increase the durability of the system and create immunity, and also create additional jobs for the labor market," adds Sharon.
Round up the economy
The Australian Recycling Fund's initiative plans to divert more from 10 million tons of waste from its regular route to a recycling system within Australia - this is part of an overall strategy to reduce the total waste that is landfilled by 10 percent, and to increase the use of existing resources in the field in Australia from 58 percent in 2017 to 80 percent by 2030.
"The project planned in Australia deals, among other things, with the implementation of a circular economy model," explains Sharon, "in a circular economy, the by-products of one process can be used as ingredients in another process. This way we can increase the immunity of the system, reduce the dependence on external factors and use the resources that exist in it".
The great potential of the circular economy to create green jobs is recognized and talked about around the world and the European Union which named the subject The economy and the green jobs At the heart of his plans for recovery from the economic crisis of the Corona crisis.
is also The report on the future of nature and global business of the World Economic Forum identifies the transition to a green economy as a catalyst for annual business opportunities worth $10 billion, which could create 395 million jobs globally by 2030.
"Our approach in Israel is slightly different from that of the Australians" explains Dr. Eric Rivkin, manager of the foodtech and circular economy field at the Industries Administration of the Ministry of Economy and Industry. "It is not always certain that the more environmental, efficient and economic thing would be to take waste and treat it within the country. In the case of Australia, for example, it may be more correct to transport certain waste to New Zealand for recycling, for example, and treat other New Zealand waste within Australia."
"We try to help the market find the most economic and also the most environmental solutions. I mean, we're trying to understand why companies don't implement a circular economy, because if it's economic they should implement it and that's where the process starts. Based on the feedback from the field, we set ourselves the goal of exposing the industry in Israel to the environmental and economic benefits of a circular economy," says Rivkin. "In Israel there is not enough knowledge on this subject, and we hope that the accessibility of circular practices in combination with the removal of regulatory barriers will allow the Israeli market to exploit the full potential inherent in this approach."
"The packaging law in Israel can be an example of a circular economy," says Rani Idler, CEO of the Tamir Packaging Recycling Corporation. "Starting from the stage of packaging production, separation and sorting of packaging in the resident's home, a suitable infrastructure for collecting packaging waste, sorting and recycling and returning to the beginning of the circle with a packaging design adapted to optimal sorting and recycling. The purpose of the law is to reduce the amount of waste generated from packaging, to prevent its landfilling and to encourage the recycling of packaging instead of sending it to the landfill."
"The law imposes responsibility first and foremost on manufacturers and importers in Israel, to recycle 60% of the packaging produced, through a recognized body," adds Idler.
The manufacturers and importers are obliged to enter into a contract with Tamir, as a recognized body that received recognition from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, to submit a detailed periodic report on the amount of packaging sold, and to pay Tamir handling fees for the packaging. "The handling fees are used by us to finance the entire packaging cycle process, which includes, among other things, the deployment of recycling bins, a packaging waste collection system and information to residents in the local authorities, in the last five years we have transferred to the authorities about half a billion shekels to finance the process", explains Idler. "After the packages are collected, they are transported to sorting stations, sorted into the various materials and sent to recycling plants in Israel that produce new products from them, such as recycled plastic for planters, dolubs and pallets."
So will recycling solve the economic crisis?
"One thing that is important to emphasize is that there is no single solution. Promoting the recycling industry in Israel is important, but it cannot solve all the problems," says Elon. "Only through a mix of solutions containing a set of tools that can be used, a consistent policy and the right incentives can we reach significant goals and change. The point is to create opportunities and above all to create employment and industries that are better from an environmental point of view and more efficient in terms of performance."
"The challenge in creating a functioning circular economy is changing the linear method in which we currently work," adds Sharon. "Each company deals in its own way and there are no connections. It is difficult, because our economic infrastructure is not built in this way, and very deep changes are required in the structure of the market, the players and the regulation. We understand that we are at a point where reduction measures will no longer stop the problem, prevent the next crisis and help us get out of the current crisis. Therefore, we must invest in initiatives that will yield a high return and allow us to cover the hole."
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