Unfair Gaps🇦🇺 Australia

Wholesale Recyclable Materials Business Guide

38Documented Cases
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All 38 Documented Cases

Qualitätsmängel und Rücksendungen durch unzureichende Kontaminationsbewertung

Quantified (logic): If a recycler sells 30.000 t/a of baled commodities at an average AUD 250/t (AUD 7,5 Mio Umsatz) and 5 % of this volume is downgraded or rejected due to contamination issues linked to poor grading, with an average price penalty of AUD 40–80/t and extra handling costs of AUD 10–20/t, annual quality-related losses are ≈AUD 75.000–180.000 p.a. (discounts) plus ≈AUD 15.000–30.000 p.a. in additional logistics/processing, totalling ≈AUD 90.000–210.000 p.a.

The Australian standard specifies that waste-derived materials cease to be waste only when a market exists, a specific purpose is defined, and the materials fulfil technical requirements and meet legislation and standards applicable to products.[4] For paper and cardboard, Australian recyclers describe grading by fibre quality and contamination before pulping.[3] If contamination is underestimated at grading, resulting outputs may not meet end‑user specs and cannot be marketed as intended, forcing sellers to accept lower prices or reprocess material. Sensor-based sorting providers in Australia promote near-perfect sorting results and high-quality fractions for plastics, metals, wood and paper, implicitly contrasting this with poorer quality from conventional methods.[2] Logic: Regular rejections or downgrades by mills, foundries or construction material buyers typically translate into direct revenue loss (discounts) and extra transport/reprocessing costs.

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Delayed Accounts Receivable Collections

AUD 20,000-100,000 annual cash flow drag per AUD 1M revenue (industry avg. 60-90 debtor days); up to 50% cost savings via outsourcing[3]

Manual AR management causes delays in issuing invoices, sending reminders, and collecting payments, tying up cash in receivables and risking bad debts.

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Produktivitätsverlust durch manuelle Exportdokumentation und Genehmigungsprozesse

Estimated: 50–300 hours/month of skilled labour on manual export documentation and licence evidence, at ~AUD 60/hour fully loaded = AUD 3,000–18,000/month or AUD 36,000–216,000 per year in opportunity cost.

The RaWR Act export rules require that before exporting regulated waste, such as plastics and from July 2024 mixed paper and cardboard, exporters must demonstrate that the material has been processed to certain specifications (e.g. sorted into a single polymer, processed ready for remanufacture), nominate waste specifications, and provide supporting information with licence applications.[1][2] They must also submit export declarations for each consignment to DCCEEW and Australian Border Force.[1][3] Senate evidence indicates that the process for obtaining exemptions or licences is considered ‘unclear and cumbersome’, especially where businesses export multiple commodity types and must manage multiple exemptions or licences.[3] This complexity implies substantial time spent per container preparing documentation, reworking applications when buyers change orders, and coordinating between compliance and operations. Industry practice for comparable regulated export documentation suggests 1–3 hours of skilled staff time per container to compile supporting evidence, update specifications, and prepare WELD/ICS entries, plus additional rework time when rules or buyer orders change. For an exporter handling 50–100 containers per month, this equates to 50–300 hours of labour monthly. Valued at AUD 60 per hour fully loaded, that is AUD 3,000–18,000 per month (AUD 36,000–216,000 annually) of capacity tied up in documentation tasks instead of dealmaking or logistics optimisation.

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Low Recycled Content and Quality Non-Compliance

Recycled plastic content at 8% vs 50% target (42% shortfall); industry rework costs estimated 2-5% of AUD 1.2B market value.

Current recycled plastic content in packaging is only 8%, below 50% target, due to inadequate processing quality in baling/shredding, leading to rework and non-compliance.

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