In Australia the high volume of CGT produced poses a significant
burden to the industry. Since the conventional practice of
burning trash has ceased, many cotton ginneries are still developing
suitable management practices. Current practices for managing
CGT vary greatly across the industry but for most handling, storage,
transport and disposal options add considerable cost to the cotton
ginning process. According to a 2005 report (Hassall and Associates, 2005) on waste management, the current methods for
disposal of CGT as a ‘solid waste’ include: dumping and landfilling,
composting for ground cover/mulch and spreading on uncropped
lands. These management practices not only require large areas
of land (approximately 50 hectares per ginnery) but have an
estimated annual cost of $3.40 million per year (Hassall and
Associates, 2005).