Australia dumps around 20 million tonnes of waste into landfill every year, and in the process of dumping and burying it is blown into the boundaries of these sprawling sites. The amount of waste generated across the country is expected to increase with population growth and consumption increases.
There is a little-known specialist industry for the maintenance and replacement of towering fences around landfill sites and recycling plants that store our old chip bags, scraps of paper and old supermarket bags.
Incredible new images highlight the unsung role of these sprawling waste networks. They were adopted by Litter Nets Australia, one of two companies at this year's Waste Expo in Melbourne, which demonstrated the importance of these fences.
Spokesman Vahan Tchilinguirian said the company is often called in to find a solution when the Environmental Protection Agency receives a complaint. His company has installed more than 10,000 kilometers of fencing across the country.
“If they weren't there, there would be trash on farms and roads. Birds and cattle would potentially suffocate and die,” he told Yahoo News.
Litter Nets Australia alone has around 10,000 km of nets in Australia. Source: Vahan Tchilinguirian
Most people don't think about what happens to their trash after it goes to the landfill. Source: Vahan Tchilinguirian
Can the nets be used for other purposes?
The Waste Expo will showcase high-tech equipment like FOGO bins that can turn food scraps into soil or unused paint into concrete in hours. But in over 20 years, little has changed when it comes to waste control nets installed around landfills and transfer stations.
“There is a complaint. We come in, diagnose the problem and find a solution,” Tchilinguirian said.
The nets can withstand wind speeds of up to 100 km/h because they are weighted with anchors to prevent them from falling over.
The holes in standard nets are 40mm in diameter around landfill sites, but recycling centers require a smaller diameter to catch microplastics. And the companies that make waste nets often have a part-time job in catching golf balls on driving ranges, and then a thickness of 20mm is required.
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