Introduction to the Waste Management Sector
These pages provide an overview of the Waste Management Sector including:
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Imported units of competency in waste management qualifications |
Sector workforce
The Waste Management Sector of the property services industry is a growing sector with more than 1,200 private and public trading businesses providing waste management services in Australia. Waste management services include collection and disposal of domestic, commercial and industrial waste, resource recovery and recycling, landfill operation, processing of organic materials into compost and renewable energy facilities.
The majority of businesses and organisations in this sector are involved in the collection and transport of waste related to solid waste with the two major sources being commercial, industrial, construction and demolition waste, and domestic and municipal waste. The sector covers a wide range of occupations and services and can be categorised into the following broad service areas:
§ Collection and disposal of waste – collection and transportation of waste including bulk construction and industrial waste, domestic and municipal waste, electronic waste, geen waste, and special waste such as quarantine waste, asbestos and hazardous liquids and materials.
§ Resource recovery and recycling – recycling of glass, plastics, metals and paper for new product, and construction waste such as bricks, tiles and concrete for road base and construction materials. Electronic waste is dismantled in order to recover materials such as cabling, aluminium, copper, glass and plastics. Composting facilities retrieve and process waste as recovered materials, with the organic products redistributed for horticultural and agricultural use, whilst helping to reduce Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.
There is an estimated workforce of approximately 20,000 with the majority working on a permanent basis, with a projected workforce of 26,700 by the year 2014/15.
Emerging trends in the sector
The generation of both industrial and household waste in Australia is closely linked to growth in the population and in private consumption, industrial production and building activity. Population growth, smaller households, economic growth have together acted to increase the level of waste generated and hence demand for waste management services. Waste volumes will be positively affected by a rise in per capita consumption of highly processed and packaged foods, and a rise in home delivery of goods which tend to involve high levels of packaging. Demand for waste services will be bolstered by an increase in disposable or short-life products, increasing legislative requirements, voluntary industry waste reduction agreements and growth in recycling activity.
Traditionally the Waste Management Sector has been viewed as having four main areas: generators (waste sites), waste transport, treatment of waste and disposal. New areas such as recyling and waste prevention have emerged as a focus in recent years. Sophisticated waste management services are being introduced to reduce simple collection and landfill and move to high technology recycling and specialist services in waste minimisation, going back to manufacturing production, packaging and logistics. There is an increase in the capture of energy from waste treatment and processing, with landfills being developed to generate their own energy which can be harvested for local recycling purposes or distributed. Energy is currently predominantly converted to electricity, but there is also scope for the production of biofules. The capture of methane gas for conversion to energy will be further encouraged by any introduction of a carbon tax in future years.
Strong cultural awareness regarding the impact of waste on the environment has shifted community focus to waste prevention strategies and promotion of environmentally sustainable activities. State and territory governments around the country are reviewing environmental and waste legislation in the face of increasing community and environmental pressure, a squeeze on landfill space and advances in technology. For example, under the Federal Government's Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme, landfill operators will be required to use National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting System Methods 1-3 to estimate the proportion of legacy emssions arising from landfill sites.
The Waste Management Sector is a growth area with increasing technological and legislative impact. The waste management industry is a highly complex business requiring a new generation of skilled personnel to lead, direct and work with some of the most important issues facing communities. The challenge for the VET system is to accommodate the needs of the future workforce.
The sector is affected more by recuitment and retention issues than skill shortages although there are skill gaps to be addressed by on-the-job training. Language and literacy limitations of the workers and prospective recruits is also a factor and needs to be dealt with through enhanced trainining given the safey issues affecting many aspects of the work. There are also skill drivers from increased use of mechanisation and IT that require more sophisticated process plant and operator skills. For example, new compacting technology that enables mechanised sorting to take place has necessitated operators to be more technically savvy.
The key issues affecting training in the sector include:
§ the importance of resource recovery to the sector
§ growing importance of balancing technical skills with understanding, and providing service to, the customer
§ shortage of drivers, difficulty in finding experienced drivers with the right endorsements on the licence required for waste management operations such as garbage disposal, fork-lift operator etc
§ a higher demand for supervisory roles in more sophisticated waste management facilities
§ demand for business development managers with the right mix of environmental and sales experience
§ bridging the gap between vocational practice and higher education 'environmental science'.
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Waste management training demands focus on the importance of understanding environmental risk and contingency management plus meeting increasing demands for OHS compliance and new technology. The most recent review of the nationally endorsed units and qualifications for the Waste Management Sector has addressed the current needs of the sector and enhances emerging skills in the industry.
Qualifications framework for the Waste Management Sector
There are four qualifications for the Waste Management Sector, ranging from Certificate II through to Diploma. The packaging rules of qualifications provide a great degree of flexibility. In general, they allow the selection of elective units from both within the CPP07 Training Package, and other endorsed Training Pacakges, as well as from one AQF level above the qualification.
The individual qualifications structure including packaging rules for the Waste Management Sector is shown below. Remember to check the NTIS website for the latest version of the qualifications and units of competency they contain.
Qualification | Qualification title | AQF alignment |
CPP20409 | 2 | |
CPP30709 | 3 | |
CPP40909 | 4 | |
CPP50809 | 5 |
Units of competency for the Waste Management Sector
The Waste Management Sector has been redeveloped with 69 sector-specific, and 92 imported units of competency. These provide greater coverage of industry functions, and also accommodate emerging skills needs.
Click HERE to view a complete listing of Waste Management Sector units and the individual descriptor and statement of workplace application for each. To view the individual units of competency, visit the NTIS website.
Imported units of competency in waste management qualifications
Within the Waste Management Sector qualifications, extensive use has been made of endorsed units of competency drawn from other Training Packages. The imported units of competency cover generic cross-industry functions. These units are accessed from the following Training Packages which can be accessed via the NTIS website:
§ BCC03 Civil Construction Training Package
§ BSB07 Business Services Training Package
§ LGA04 Local Government Training Package
§ MEM05 Metal and Engineering Training Package
§ PRM04 Asset Maintenance Training Package
§ RTE03 Rural Production Training Package
§ TAA04 Training and Assessment Training Package
§ THH02 Hospitality Training Package
§ TLI07 Transport and Logistics Training Package
Click HERE to view a summary of the imported units of competency from these Training Packages, and the Waste Management Sector qualifications that they have been packaged within.