The CSIRO’s Water for a Healthy Country Flagship and the Smart Water Fund have announced that they have developed a practical, robust, sustainable method for testing whether greywater treatment technologies meet Australian standards.

Currently, there is no standard national testing method; states and territories each have their own legislation for greywater collection, treatment and use.

CSIRO Land and Water scientist, Melissa Toifl, says the protocol could be used to establish a national greywater treatment testing regime. “With this protocol we are anticipating a national approach in the way greywater treatment technologies are tested and regulated,” Ms Toifl says. “This would simplify the process for manufacturers with the aim of increasing consumer adoption rates of greywater technologies.”

Environment Minister, Peter Garrett, has opened Australia’s first automated e-waste recycling plant at Villawood, Sydney.

Australians produce and estimated 140,000 tonnes of e-waste, including computers, TVs and mobile phones, each year. The new plant is capable of recycling 20,000 tonnes of that waste per annum.

Currently Australians recycle only about 4% of their e-waste compared to 80% in Europe and some parts of America.