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The Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP) which is tracking microplastic pollution along Australia’s waterways has been selected as a finalist for the 2021 Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources Eureka Prize for Innovation in Citizen Science. 

Total Environment Centre welcomed the final decision on the “More sun for everyone” reforms proposed by TEC and ACOSS, as a balanced and fair approach.

Containers for Change - the 10cent refund scheme - has failed to meet its 2020/21 target of 79% recycling. COEX, the scheme manager tried to hide this by removing all reference to the target on its website.  

Environment groups are calling on the NSW Government to include best practise mandatory standards for tree canopy cover, climate action, parkland and urban heat mitigation in a new planning policy due to take effect for all urban areas by the end of 2021.

TEC has proposed 9 critical principles on which Greater Sydney Parklands agency should be based covering - more protection of the environment; no sale; extensive public consultation.  See our submission here.

With the boom in rooftop solar and other distributed energy resources (DER), the opportunity exists to change the dominant paradigm of centralised control of the energy system to one based on local resources and democratic governance — but this opportunity must be recognised and acted on quickly to prevent new energy being stuck in the old model. TEC’s Designing DERtopia discussion paper is intended to get the ball rolling. 

An appallingly bad proposal to give developers flexibility over environmental standards for all urban areas in NSW is condemned by Total Environment Centre.  The proposed Design and Place State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) must go back to the drawing board.

For the first time, hard numbers on the benefits of offgrid energy systems in meeting the challenge of climate change, are now available.

It’s not well known that 98% of cigarette butts are made from plastic and they are the most littered plastic pollution item breaking up into billions of pieces of microplastics in the ocean. They also contain toxic chemicals.

TEC is calling for legislation agreed by the NSW Liberals and National Party to be withdrawn from the Parliament. 

The Western Australian Container deposit scheme, launched today, will need a lot more work to be accessible and maximise recycling, said TEC on releasing a new briefing today.  Claims it is the most accessible in Australia are simply wrong.

At a time when the NSW government needs to fully focus on managing the COVID crisis, the National Party’s ‘’split’’ from the Coalition over the koala protection is one the most irrational moves seen in many decades and will do a great disservice to the community, TEC said today.