Waste + Water Management Australia V43.5 February 2017

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WASTE + WATER MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA FEBRUARY 2017

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Editor's Column

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Industry News

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Cover Feature: Polytrade Recycling

Publisher and Managing Editor Anthony T Schmidt Phone: 1300 EPCGROUP (1300 372 476) Mobile: 0414 788 900 Email: ats@epcgroup.com

16 Company Profile: Butt Out Smoke

Deputy Editor Rex Pannell Mobile: 0433 300 106 Email: rex@epcgroup.com

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National Advertising Sales Manager Yuri Mamistvalov Phone: 1300 EPCGROUP (1300 372 476) Mobile: 0419 339 865 Email: yuri@epcgroup.com Advertising Sales - SA Jodie Chester - G Advertising Mobile: 0439 749 993 Email: jodie@gadvertising.com.au Advertising Sales - WA Licia Salomone - OKeeffe Media Mobile: 0412 080 600 Email: licia@okm.com.au Graphic Design Annette Epifanidis Mobile: 0416 087 412

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ISSN 1838-7098

February 2017 Volume 43 Number 5

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9

Equipment Feature

22 Built Environment 26 Product Focus: Aussie Pumps Pressure Cleaner

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28 Special Report: Disruptive Sustainability

30 Special Feature: Drought-Proofing Australia

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34 Innovative Solutions 36 Waste and Wastewater 41 Technology Feature 46 Energy Innovation

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About the Cover Polytrade Recycling has not only managed to rebuild its business after a number of major setbacks - including a disastrous fire at its flagship Dandenong MRF - it also looks set to reclaim its position as one of Australia's leading recycling companies, thanks to its market driven, fullycoordinated approach to recycling.

Turn to Page 12 for the full story.

EDITORS COLUMN

Securing the future of Australia's power supply Dear Readers, While I try my best, in my role as Managing Editor of WWM magazine, not to indulge in language which may be seen as unnecessarily 'sensationalist', I feel confident that I'm not sensationalising when I describe Australia's current power generation and national grid capabilities as both a 'debacle' and a 'crisis'. And the damage that this horrendous situation is causing across the nation extends well beyond the obvious issues of lost productivity and economic uncertainty that result from an unreliable power supply.

Unfortunately, the current state of affairs also has the potential to be the single most damaging factor in undermining the future potential of renewable energy in Australia.

When an entire state loses its power or, as has been the case several times already this summer, businesses and residents alike have to endure 'rolling blackouts' due a lack of power generation capability, we end up with a lot of angry people. And it's not just those who are losing power that are angry.

Let's face it, in 2017, in a beautiful, modern, technologically advanced, not particularly overcrowded country such as Australia, there is a certain (not unreasonable) expectation that we should have the capacity to provide enough electricity to meet our needs - even at peak demand times when the temperature rises above 40 degrees. And the fact that we now seem unable to achieve that is not only inconvenient, for many, it is a major embarrassment.

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Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

Importantly, there will be those that say we should learn to get by with less power: open a window instead of turning on the air conditioner, get used to the heat, unplug appliances, do washing and drying in the middle of the night. While that might be a nice, albeit somewhat 'utopian' goal, I feel confident that while the majority of people may try to reduce their power consumption in a effort to curb their ever-increasing power costs, on the whole, there is an expectation (again, not unreasonable) that power will be available when they want it.

Not surprisingly, many people's first reaction when faced with a situation such as this, is to 'point the finger of blame'... and unfortunately, that finger of blame is being pointed squarely at renewable energy.

Now, before you prepare to fire off a vitriolic email accusing me of 'falling for political rhetoric', please read on - there are some facts to state and a point I'd like to make: • The general public - many of whom know little or nothing at all about power generation - are faced with a situation where their power is limited or, at worst, not available. • They also see that this situation seems to be getting worse year on year. What's more, they see that coal fired power stations are being shut down, and even though we have a seemingly everexpanding abundance of renewable energy projects, we no longer appear to be able to meet out power generation requirements.

In short, it is from those facts alone that the majority of people will draw their conclusions - everything else is just 'political noise', regardless of its source or content.

My point: people want action, not arguments. They want electricity on demand and they expect it to be available when they need it. Most people don't want to hear never-ending arguments about the viability or suitability of 'clean coal', nuclear energy, gas generation, wind, solar, hydro, thermal - they 'just want the power supply to be reliable'.

Our population is growing, our cities are expanding and our lifestyle demands and expectations constantly on the rise. Sitting around arguing about how long the problem is going to take to fix only means that it will take longer to fix.

Most importantly, there is no single solution. We are going to need to rely on an array of power generation solutions to meet our needs.

With that in mind, what we need is for all sides to work together, genuinely and cooperatively, to build the network capacity that we need, from as many sources as we can - not only for today, but for the future.

After all, Australia's future relies on it.

Anthony T Schmidt Managing Editor

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INDUSTRY NEWS

More powers for Victoria’s EPA The powers of Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority (EPA) will be enhanced with State Government funding of $45.5 million over two years.

The funding was announced on 17 January by Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio, who released a five-year reform program to implement the recommendations of an independent inquiry into the EPA. The EPA Inquiry, headed by an independent Ministerial Committee appointed last year, conducted intensive engagement with the community, industry and government to inform its findings.

Minister D’Ambrosio said the EPA had been a world leader in protecting liveability since it was established in 1971 and the recommendations of the inquiry marked its

first major overhaul in more than 45 years.

She said the reforms that would be put in place over the next two years included: • $6.5 million to hold polluters to account by funding more investigators, environmental protection officers and legal staff; • $4.8 million to pilot a new network of local government environment protection officers to address local noise, odour and dust issues that impact liveability; • $4.8 million to build an expanded, specialist environmental public health team; • $2.4 million to develop a database of legacy contamination risks; • a major overhaul of Victoria’s 46-year-old legislative framework for environment protection, strengthening the independence

of the environmental regulator; and • better access to essential information and data for Victorian businesses and communities, including more online support services.

“These changes will ensure the EPA maintains its status as a world-leading environmental regulator,” Minister D’Ambrosio said.

“We’re building a stronger, more modern and better resourced EPA to protect Victoria’s environment now and into the future.”

A new interim advisory board has been appointed to support the EPA through the reform process and an expression of interest for the EPA’s new Chief Environmental Scientist (CES) has also been released.

NABERS to review its governance framework The NABERS Program has launched a stakeholder consultation process to seek feedback on proposed changes to its governance framework. This follows an 18 month governance review conducted by NABERS to determine a future structure that ensures the appropriate strategic and functional support for the long-term success of the program.

NABERS is a national program administered by the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. It is advised by various industry bodies through a Stakeholder Advisory Committee and Technical Working Groups. Key decisions are made by a National Steering Committee, which comprises representatives from each of the States and Territories and the Australian Government.

Key changes to the NABERS governance structure currently under consultation include: • A new Leadership Group comprised of individuals from industry and government charged with decision making authority on future directions for the program; and • A refreshed Industry Forum whereby new 4

Waste + Water Management Australia | December 2016

industry bodies and markets relevant to NABERS can provide input on NABERS tools and program changes to offer new perspectives.

Carlos Flores, NABERS National Program Manager said that this consultation marks a key point in the evolution of the NABERS program as it grows in size, scope and influence.

“This is an exciting time in the life of our program and we invite all stakeholders of the NABERS Program to be involved in this important discussion as we shape the future decision making framework for NABERS.” “This industry feedback will help us determine to what extent adjustments to the program’s existing governance are needed for NABERS to continue being an agent for sustainable change for years to come,” said Mr Flores.

The consultation process is in line with NABERS’ Stakeholder Consultation Policy and will involve: • A one hour teleconference from to discuss the proposed changes, answer questions and seek early feedback from stakeholders.

• Meetings and briefings will be organised between NABERS, industry bodies and other interested parties following the teleconference; • Written submissions on the proposed changes are invited from all NABERS stakeholders including Assessors, customers, technical working group members and the broader industry.

Submissions are due in writing by 5pm (AEDT) Friday 10 March 2017 when the consultation period closes. Submissions can be sent to: nabers@environment.nsw.gov.au Stakeholders are encouraged to read the accompanying paper titled Proposed Changes to NABERS Governance which can be downloaded from the NABERS website: www.nabers.gov.au

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INDUSTRY NEWS

CDEnviro appoints new Business Development Manager for Australia Waste solutions provider CDEnviro has appointed Diarmaid Connaire as its new business development manager for Australia.

Based in Sydney, Diarmaid will help to raise awareness of the waste solutions CDEnviro can provide.

With a focus on street sweepings, hydro excavation and the waste water markets, he will also endeavour to raise awareness of the company’s unique solutions across landfill diversion, environmental remediation, wastewater and energy from waste. He will work in conjunction with CDEnviro’s Australian team and partner, WasTech Australia.

Diarmaid has over 14 years of industry experience extending across water/wastewater, materials handling, and recycling/waste management, among others.

Originally from Ireland, Diarmaid graduated with a degree in Mechatronics Engineering and began his career with Greenstar Recycling as a Systems Engineer. After moving to Australia in 2005, he initially worked as a controls systems engineer in the material handling sector before making the move into the water/wastewater industry.

Over the past five years, Diarmaid has operated as project manager for a large global leader in the water industry tasked with delivering a diverse range of water and waste water treatment solutions to a broad range of municipalities and industrial customers.

Darren Eastwood, CDEnviro’s Business Development Director, said: “Diarmaid’s appointment in Australia forms part of our business expansion strategy for this region.

We want to bring more of our environmental solutions to this important, growing market.”

For further information, please visit: www.cdenviro.com

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Waste + Water Management Australia | December 2016

Report released into 2016’s ‘extreme weather event’ in SA The independent report into the extreme weather event which hit South Australia in September 2016 contains more than 60 recommendations to the State Government.

The report and its 62 recommendations examines the adequacy of the State’s disaster preparedness and response to the storms of 28 September which triggered power blackouts across South Australia.

The State was impacted by multiple supercell thunderstorms, destructive winds, very large hailstones, locally intense rainfall and at least seven tornadoes.

The impact of this weather damaged 23 power transmission towers and severed three transmission lines, which disabled the power supply.

Led by former Police Commissioner, Gary Burns, it identifies that the “management of the state-wide, complex event was in general, well-managed, with coordinated, effective response and recovery operations put in place”.

Key recommendations include: • the development of a CBD evacuation plan, including the installation of uninterruptible power supply (UPS) traffic lights on CBD arterial roads; • the creation of an education campaign encouraging SA businesses to develop continuity plans; • the review of existing business continuity plans held by emergency service and health agencies along with utility/service providers - back-up power and generator testing protocols should be reviewed.

• the appointment of a permanent State Recovery Coordinator; • that the Office for Digital Government work with telecommunications companies nationally on back-up and priority network connectivity; and • the review of protocols for response to and management of dams which are in danger of losing structural integrity.

The review will be considered by the government, with a response to the recommendations to be provided as soon as possible.

While the review considered the impact of/response to the state-wide power outage, power issues were not within the terms of reference. Several independent reports are being undertaken into the power outage.

The Australian Emergency Market Operator (AEMO) is undertaking an independent inquiry into the technical issues surrounding the power outage and has released three reports so far, with a final report due on 31 March.

South Australia’s Emergency Services Minister, Peter Malinauskas, said the report confirmed that emergency services agencies performed well through what was an unprecedented weather event.

“Our agencies and volunteers deserve high praise, with this event being the most significant in what was the busiest year on record for the State Emergency Service (SES).

“It is important to learn from this event and to continue to build our resilience to natural disasters into the future.”

Former Police Commissioner Burns said in conducting the review it became apparent the event, although complex, was well-managed due to the coordinated response by a number of organisations and individuals.

“The 62 recommendations I have outlined in my report to the Premier highlight that although South Australia’s prevention, preparedness, response and recovery arrangements were largely effective, there are opportunities for continuous improvement.

I’m encouraged by the dedication and commitment of those who were involved in responding to the event, and I’m optimistic their experience will help to improve our state’s approach to future events.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

Seeking bright ideas on energy storage Expressions of interest were due to close on 3 February for the first round of the New South Wales Government’s Advanced Energy Challenge.

The Challenge is looking for what Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy, Anthony Roberts, describes as “bold and smart ideas” that will help New South Wales transition to an affordable, reliable, secure and sustainable energy future.

The first round of the challenge calls for proposals on energy storage. Storage technology can help intermittent wind and solar generators deliver energy constantly.

Minister Roberts said the initiative would stimulate new energy-related ideas and turn them into effective technologies and business models.

He said to stimulate market competition, it was envisaged the Challenge would feature a series of rounds, with each round targeting a different problem or topic.

“The first AE Challenge or pilot round will invite innovative proposals for

transformational projects in the field of energy storage.

If demonstrated to be effective, the Challenge will run further rounds on different topic areas.”

Mr Roberts said the best proposals in the Challenge would receive government support, such as access to government,

industry and research collaborators; leveraging of government assets, access to government data and concierge referral to existing funding opportunities.

The government, Mr Roberts said, would co-design and implement the successful proposal on energy storage with the proponents.

INDUSTRY NEWS

CALL FOR PAPERS Waste Expo Australia organisers Reed Exhibitions has put out a call for abstracts for Waste Summit which will be held as part of Waste Expo Australia 2017.

Waste Summit is the industry’s largest and entirely free-to-attend conference program located within Waste Expo Australia. The conference is open to all industry delegates and provides an opportunity for the industry to share knowledge and insights.

Waste Summit presentations are being sought across a number of areas including anaerobic digestion, energy from waste, e-waste, hazardous waste, infrastructure, landfill, legislation, recycling, new technology and innovations, product stewardship, waste water and more.

If you would like to share a case study, present your ideas and innovations or stimulate thinking and discussion then this is the platform for you.

For more information and to make your submission, please visit: www.wasteexpoaustralia.com.au

Waste Summit @ Waste Expo About Waste Expo Australia Waste Expo Australia is the must-attend business-to-business exhibition for waste, recycling and sustainability in Australia.

Waste Expo Australia brings together Australian and international solution providers in the waste management, recycling, resource recovery and sustainability sectors; showcasing the latest technology, products, services and turnkey solutions.

Waste Expo Australia presents an opportunity to engage with professionals from sectors such as government, corporate, facilities including sporting, hospitality and entertainment venues, transport and healthcare, for whom waste management, recycling and sustainable solutions are increasingly vital.

Taking place at the Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre on 11-12 October 2017, Waste Expo Australia is co-located with All-Energy Australia to form Australia’s most significant showcase for the

renewable energy generation and supply, energy storage, energy efficiency, waste management, recycling and resource recovery industries.

Visit www.wasteexpoaustralia.com.au for more information.

About Reed Exhibitions Reed Exhibitions is the world’s leading events organiser, with over 500 events in 30 countries. In 2015 Reed brought together over seven million event participants from around the world generating billions of dollars in business.

Today Reed events are held throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa and organised by 40 fully staffed offices. Reed Exhibitions serves 43 industry sectors with trade and consumer events. It is part of the RELX Group plc, a world-leading provider of information solutions for professional customers across industries. Visit www.reedexpo.com for more information.

Environmental data in one online portal A single online resource of New South Wales environmental data, the Sharing and Enabling Environmental Data (SEED) portal, has been launched by the State Government.

The portal contains 70 sets of data from nine different government agencies, including information about soil, air and water quality, mining activities and some vegetation data.

More data sets will be added in the next stage of the portal’s development.

Environment Minister, Mark Speakman, said the portal demonstrated how technology could support transparency in government by providing the community with easy access to the quality data it wanted.

“The future vision for SEED is for the portal to become one of the most accessible and richest sources of quality data on the environment, flora and fauna, with powerful visualisation tools that the public can use,” Mr Speakman said.

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Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

“This is the first time people have been able to add successive layers of geospatial information on a map without downloading additional, expensive software and it will enable industry and community groups to add their data to the portal in the future.”

Minister for Industry, Resources and Energy,

Anthony Roberts, said the portal was built in response to community requests for reliable and readily available information about the environment.

“The beauty of this new initiative is that it makes all that valuable information available in a single online resource,” Mr Roberts said.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Consultation begins on fuel emissions The Ministerial Forum on Vehicle Emissions is seeking input from consumers and industry on vehicle emissions.

The forum - chaired by the Minister for Urban Infrastructure, Paul Fletcher – wants to receive stakeholder views on three draft proposals to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and pollution from car, truck and bus exhausts.

The draft proposals are designed to keep Australia in line with international vehicle markets.

The first proposal is for new fuel efficiency standards.

By requiring global automotive manufacturers to supply vehicles in Australia

with more fuel-efficient engines – as they are now doing in many other countries – these new standards could cut consumer fuel spending by up to $28 billion by 2040.

This would translate into annual fuel savings for the average owner of a passenger car and light commercial vehicle of up to $519 and $666 respectively.

The proposed standards could also reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions by up to 65 million tonnes by 2030, with these reductions helping meet the nation’s emissions reduction targets.

Under the Paris Agreement, Australia has a target of reducing emissions by 26- to-28 per cent by 2030.

The second proposal is to upgrade existing air pollution standards for cars, trucks and buses, in line with higher standards which already apply in Europe, the US and many other countries. This could reduce toxic emissions and potentially save $4.2 billion in healthcare costs by 2040.

The third proposal is for a discussion paper exploring options to improve the quality of road transport fuels to reduce noxious emissions.

Current fuel standards expire in 2019 and Australia needs to be ready with new standards to ensure motorists have access to the right fuel for the latest vehicle technology. The right standards will deliver further health and environmental benefits.

The Australian Government will continue to explore other ways to reduce vehicle running costs and emissions, such as the type of information provided to consumers when buying a car, and support for emerging technologies.

The closing date for submissions on vehicle emissions is 10 March 2017.

INDUSTRY NEWS

Landcare Program recognised with extra funding An additional $100 million in funding has been allocated for the National Landcare Program as part of the Australian Government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

Minister for the Environment and Energy, Josh Frydenberg, said the Landcare movement had, for more than 25 years, been protecting, restoring and sustaining soils, water and the diversity of Australia’s plants and animals, and its threatened species.

“The additional $100 million in funding we have delivered is further evidence of the government’s commitment to continue this important work.

“We will continue to support onground community projects that harness local know-how and deliver practical and tangible results, including the work

of Landcare groups and Indigenous communities.”

Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister, Luke Hartsuyker, said Landcare was about communities working together to improve productivity through sustainable practices and looking after the environment.

“This commitment to $100 million in new funding is in addition to the $1 billion the government already provides to the National Landcare Program to improve the condition of Australia’s natural resources and environment.

“The government has a vision for a more profitable, more resilient and more sustainable agriculture sector to help drive a stronger Australian economy.

Ensuring natural flow patterns in the Murray Funding of $12 million is being delivered for a project to restore natural flow patterns in key South Australian branches of the River Murray.

The initiative is designed to support strong and sustainable agriculture and tourism industries in South Australia, and protect the river’s biodiversity and ecosystems.

Agricultural production in South Australia is worth more than $6.2 billion; around $1.8 billion of this is from irrigated agriculture.

Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, said the project would improve the health and resilience 10

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

of two high priority catchments in South Australia – the Angas and Bremer Rivers in the Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges, and support agricultural businesses.

“In addition to generating almost $440 million in agricultural production each year, the Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges is a key tourism destination for South Australia, as well as being home to a number of threatened species and important ecological systems.

“It is vital that we work to secure the longterm health of the river system, while ensuring the social and economic wellbeing of the communities that live there.

“One of the key challenges facing our nation is to boost productivity at the farmgate, while at the same time, delivering better environmental outcomes.

“These are not competing priorities and we can only improve productivity and production if the future of our precious natural resource base is assured.

“Farmers manage over half of Australia’s land mass, and they are some of our nation’s best environmental stewards,” said Mr Hartsuyker.

“Landcare plays an important role in helping connect these farmers with other land carers, with the shared goal of ensuring our land remains healthy and productive for future generations.”

“The Flows for the Future project seeks to restore the natural water flow patterns within the Eastern Mount Lofty Ranges that have been affected by water capture,” Minister Joyce said.

“This will be achieved by shifting the timing of consumptive water capture to higher flow events without any reduction to licence holders’ water allocation entitlements.”

Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Anne Ruston, said it was expected the project would result in additional flows of up to 560 megalitres each year to the Angas and Bremer River systems, and would also increase end-of-system flows to the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth.

“It will involve low-flow bypasses at up to 500 strategically located dams and water course diversions,” said Ms Ruston.

“This will help shift the way water is taken to ensure environmental flows are provided to maintain river health at critical times, while also allowing for water harvesting of higher flows for consumptive use.

“The government is committed to securing the long-term health of the Basin system, but we do not want any more water taken out of Basin communities than is necessary to achieve this.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

Industry leaders empower the NWRIC to begin policy development The National Waste and Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC) has received support from Australia’s largest waste management companies - and has begun operations.

A new body working to create a cohesive national vision for Australia’s waste management industry, the NWRIC has officially formed, following the first meeting of its executive in Sydney on February 13.

The Council will be empowered to begin its work thanks to the support of its national members - Alex Fraser Group, Cleanaway, J. J. Richards and Sons, Solo Resource Recovery, Suez, Toxfree, Remondis, ResourceCo and Veolia.

“The waste and recycling industry needs a national voice to advocate for a fair, sustainable and prosperous industry

for all stakeholders,” said Phil Richards, Chairman of the NWRIC's host association Board.

“Australia’s waste management industry is an essential service, and through the NWRIC, we will be asking the Commonwealth along with State Governments to support our initiatives to take the industry forward.”

The NWRIC will serve waste management enterprises by creating industry led policy. The Council will be led by newly appointed CEO Max Spedding, and supported by Secretariat manager Alex Serpo.

The NWRIC will work in close partnership with jurisdictional Affiliates.

This partnership will allow the Council to represent and canvas concerns from many

of Australia’s 450 small and medium sized waste management enterprises. Together, State Affiliates and the national office will coordinate to create, and advocate for, cohesive national policy.

The Council will commence working to create, share and build support for policy positions which will move the industry forward. Initial areas of focus include better planning, a fair market, the national harmonisation of the regulations governing the industry and effective policing of standards.

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

11

COVER FEATURE

PHOENIX RISING

POLYTRADE RECYCLING RECLAIMS ITS POSITION AS ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S LEADING RECYCLERS Heralding what must surely be considered one of the greatest 'comeback stories' in the history of Australia's recycling industry, resource recovery specialists Polytrade Recycling has not only managed to rebuild its business after a number of major setbacks - including a disastrous fire at its flagship Dandenong MRF - it also looks set to once again cement its position as one of Australia's leading recycling companies, thanks to its market driven, fully-coordinated approach to recycling.

W

hile the name Polytrade Recycling may not be familiar to people not directly connected with the recycling industry, it is one of Australasia's leading recycling companies.

It operates 4 Recycling facilities and 8 MRF’s (Material Recovery Facilities) and employs over 100 staff - receiving, sorting & processing in excess of 500,000 tonnes of recyclables each year.

An Australian-owned company, Polytrade Recycling provides recycling services to a range of domestic and commercial clients - working with councils, authorities and commercial 12

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

collection contractors throughout Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

A Quiet Achiever Established in Sydney in 1995, Polytrade Recycling quickly grew to become a major industry player, exporting and trading plastic scrap sourced from MRF's throughout Australia, predominantly to end-users in the rapidly growing South East Asian market. One of the keys to the success of the business is its 'market driven' approach to recycling, which places as much emphasis on ensuring that there is a market for the sorted materials

as it does on the quality of the materials being supplied. Polytrade Recycling Managing Director, Louie Cheng, explained: "For recycling to be considered truly effective, you not only have to maximise the amount of high quality recyclable material being recovered, you also need to ensure that there is an actual market for those materials. After all, simply collecting and separating recyclables without having a market is not only a pointless exercise, it's also completely unsustainable."

"With that in mind, we have always approached recycling as a 'market driven'

COVER FEATURE

exercise - placing as much emphasis on securing and developing markets for recyclable commodities as we do on the quality of the sorted recyclables," he added.

"Importantly, this approach also provides our customers with a high level of confidence that their recycling efforts are delivering maximum benefit," he said.

This market driven approach saw the company rapidly expand its customer base both throughout Australia and internationally - particularly in the booming South-East Asian market which had developed an almost insatiable appetite for Polytrade Recycling's high quality materials streams with their extremely low levels of crosscontamination.

Expansion into Recyclables Processing Despite the company's outstanding success and growth in these early years, the new millennium proved to be a major turning point for Polytrade Recycling, when in 2000, one of its major suppliers decided that they were going to start marketing and exporting their sorted recyclables themselves.

Not to be deterred - and showing the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation for which it has become renowned - in the 12 months that followed, Polytrade Recycling set about establishing a network of five processing facilities of its own, working with waste companies large and small to buy their paper/cardboard and plastic recyclables direct from the collection contractors.

Building on the success of these processing facilities, the company was

looking to take the next logical step in its business development plan - to establish its own network of MRF's.

That opportunity arose in 2009 when Polytrade Recycling - working in conjunction with a major waste collection contractor - secured its first two council recyclables processing contracts and committed to building its first MRF in Dandenong in Melbourne's outer southeast.

"Opening our first MRF in Dandenong was another major turning point for the company," Louie Cheng said. "While it was clearly a natural progression from our initial paper and plastics processing facilities, it was also a major step forward in terms of commitment."

"Having said that, the key focus of our business has always been on providing high quality materials that meet or exceed market expectations, and we knew that the best way for us to achieve that goal was to control the sorting and separation

Polytrade Recycling's MRF's utilise a range of sorting technologies, including optical sorting and separation, to maximise recycling rates.

system from start to finish. That way we can ensure that all quality controls are being met at every stage of the process" Louie Cheng added.

Not surprisingly, this move into MRF's proved to be an outstanding success for Polytrade Recycling. In fact, in less than 10 years the company has gone on to open a total of 12 MRF's around the country.

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

13

COVER FEATURE

Glass Stockpiles

A DIFFICULT TIME In January 2014 disaster struck Polytrade Recycling on a number of fronts.

The first challenge came in the form of a major fire at its Dandenong MRF. Whilst the fire, which occurred while the plant was operating, thankfully, didn't result in any serious injury to any of the personnel, it did destroy much of the facility - leaving Polytrade Recycling without its largest Melbourne MRF. Needless to say, a major fire is a significant challenge for any business. However, when it comes to recyclables processing, the challenge is further compounded by the fact that the collected recyclables keep coming every day. The only option was to stockpile the source materials and get the MRF rebuilt and back online as soon as possible - a feat which Polytrade Recycling was able to achieve in just 10 months.

Unfortunately, after the New MRF was built, the commodities took a direct hit from the declining demand of crude oil and metal in October 2014, and that caused the price of plastic and mixed paper, steel and aluminium to decrease In one 24 hour period, Polytrade Recycling went from a company that had rebuilt a major MRF in near record time and was successfully working its way through the backlog of recyclables, to a company that was quite literally on the brink of disaster.

"This was undoubtedly the most difficult time in the company's history. The combination of three major events - the fire, the commodities downturn and then having our long-standing processing arrangements unexpectedly terminated really pushed us to the brink," Louie Cheng explained. "But as bad as it was, we were determined that we weren't going to be beaten."

"I'm extremely proud of the team we have.

Their commitment to both our customers and the company, and their determination to find a way to overcome these challenges has not only enabled us to survive these events, but has actually ended up taking the company to the next level," he said.

"Importantly, we also have an excellent relationship with both our local government and collection contractor clients, and with their help we were able to develop and initiate an emergency contingency plan to manage the incoming recyclables while we put other measures in place to process the materials while the MRF was being rebuilt," Louie Cheng added.

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With glass processors reaching their maximum supply capacity in early 2015, Polytrade Recycling was left with no recycling solution for the glass being generated by its Sydney & Melbourne MRF's.

Faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge - especially in terms of what to do with the more than 100,000 tonnes of glass they were taking in each year - the first and most immediate challenge was to work out a way of storing the collected glass while they investigated a suitable processing solution. This task was made all the more challenging by the restrictive stockpiling legislation introduced in NSW in 2014, which requires all metropolitan recycling facilities and storage sites to have an EPA licence if they store 1,000 tonnes or more of material, or receive over 6,000 tonnes of material per annum.

There is a saying that 'necessity is the mother of invention' and this is clearly evidenced in the company's response to the glass stockpiling challenge. Louie Cheng explained: "For us, our first priorities have always been customer service and conducting our business in an environmentally responsible manner.

PICTURED LEFT: Polytrade Recycling established a network of warehouse facilities where they could bag, stack and store the collected glass in a clean, contained and pest-controlled environment while they work to establish a permanent processing solution

It was never an option for us to simply stop taking material - no more than it was an option for us to just create massive, uncontained stockpiles of material that never gets processed."

"With that in mind, our first task was to establish a network of warehouse facilities where we could bag, stack and store the collected glass in a clean, contained and pest-controlled environment while we investigated a permanent processing solution," he said.

The company has established a network of 16 warehouses and yards to store the collected glass cullet from its NSW and Victorian MRF's. The cullet is shipped and warehoused in 'BulkaBags' while the company investigates processing solutions for the collected glass.

To put the size of this task into perspective, it's interesting to note that since the company commenced its glass warehousing operations, it has purchased over 100,000 new 'BulkaBags' for storing the collected glass - a massive undertaking both logistically and financially!

With the warehousing sorted, the team at Polytrade Recycling are now working on options for sorting and transforming the collected materials into high quality, marketable resource streams.

Total Recycling Solutions One of the keys to the company's outstanding success undoubtedly lies within its 'total recycling solution' approach - which not only focuses on developing innovative processing solutions to create extremely high quality sorted recyclables streams, but also places a significant emphasis on establishing stable, reliable markets for the sorted recyclables.

"We look after all aspects of the recycling and resource recovery process

for all types recyclables," Louie Cheng said. "It's a totally seamless solution that helps our clients to ensure that they are maximising recycling and resource recovery and, of course, achieving maximum value."

"Our solutions focus on the entire process - from the time we receive the materials, through processing, marketing the recyclables and shipping the sorted materials to the end-user. Our systems provide our clients with the confidence that their recycling is being taken care of in a responsible and truly sustainable manner," he concluded.

A Bright Future Not a company to 'rest on its laurels', Polytrade Recycling is looking to the future - not only in terms of expanding its national network of MRF's and facilities, but also in terms of developing new recyclables streams and markets.

"We're always looking for new and innovative ways to increase recycling rates. Even to the point where we're developing new markets and solutions for materials that are currently categorised as waste or non-recyclable components within existing co-mingled recyclables streams," Louie Cheng said.

"For us, it's all about sustainability.

We focus on providing our clients with 'total recycling solutions' that maximise resource recovery and minimise landfill residues for all material types," he added.

"That's why we focus on integrating the latest sorting and separation equipment into our facilities."

Importantly, this innovative approach to recycling is already paying dividends, with the company set to launch a number of exciting new recycling initiatives throughout 2017.

Polytrade Recycling also places a significant emphasis on education, with fully-integrated education facilities and tours for school and community groups at each of its locations.

"We believe that one of the most effective ways of maximisig recycling is to proactively engage the community in the process - particularly school students."

"Visiting a MRF and seeing the recycling process close up, gives people, especially children, a complete picture of what happens to recyclables after they have been collected," he said.

COVER FEATURE

“Our solutions focus on the entire process from the time we receive the materials, through processing, marketing the recyclables and shipping the sorted materials to the end-user.�

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

15

COMPANY PROFILE

Providing a front line defence against cigarette butt litter Established in Melbourne in 1994, Butt-Out Smoke Zone was Australia's original supplier of stainless steel wall-mounted ashbins - and the company has been leading the way in Australia's fight against cigarette butt litter ever since.

From its humble beginnings as a manufacturer and supplier of outdoor ashbins, Butt-Out Smoke Zone has grown into a major national business, providing equipment and cleaning / collection services to clients large and small across the country. With public and private sector clients ranging from councils, government departments and commercial businesses, through to shopping centres, retail precincts, building owner/managers and the majority of the nation's fast food chains, there's a good chance that you have seen more than one Butt-Out Smoke Zone ashbin in the past 24 hours!

Indeed, if you're out and about in Melbourne, it's virtually impossible not to pass at least one Butt-Out Smoke Zone ashbin, with the company's products installed at major tram stops and tourist destinations throughout the city.

A genuine 'Australian success story', ButtOut Smoke Zone has also provided temporary

ashbins and cigarette butt litter collection services for many of the country's largest and most prestigious events, including the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

Not surprisingly, this remarkable success and growth has also seen the company win several major awards, including the McCann Erickson Award for small business and the 2008 Victorian Small Business Champion Award.

Addressing a Significant Litter Problem Cigarette butts are a significant litter problem across Australia, with cigarette related litter consistently representing the single most dominant source (by items counted) of litter during national litter surveys and Clean Up days. In fact, research from a range of sources estimates that each year, some 7 billion of the estimated 24 billion filtered cigarettes sold in Australia will end up as cigarette butt litter - an environmental disaster by any measure.

Together with the obvious fire risk (cigarette butts are responsible for between 8-10 percent of bushfires in rural areas, as well the majority of litter bin fires in urban areas), cigarette butts are toxic to the environment (including waterways, native

fauna and birdlife), take an average of 12-15 years to break down and, like all litter, they look bad!

Butt-Out Smoke Zone was the first major company - and is still the biggest specialist company - to remove cigarette butt litter. In fact, each week an estimated 3 million butts are disposed of in Butt-Out Smoke Zone ashbins - preventing a staggering amount of litter from ending up on the ground and in our waterways.

The company's range of purpose-designed outdoor ashbins provide a convenient, attractive and vandal resistant solution to what remains a significant litter issue across Australia. And thanks to Butt-Out Smoke Zone's range of affordable and effective regular cleaning, collection and servicing options, building and facility owners and managers are able address the cigarette butt litter issue at the source without having to allocate time and/or resources to collecting and disposing of the butts.

For further information on the full range of Butt-Out Smoke Zones products and services, please contact Butt-Out Smoke Zone Pty Ltd, Phone: 1800 358 258 or visit: www.buttoutaustralia.com.au

A CONVENIENT SOLUTION TO AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH While in a perfect world, for many people, no one would smoke the truth of the matter is: many people still do smoke.

What's more, most people, now have to smoke the majority of their cigarettes outside and more often than not, that leads to one thing: cigarette butt litter!

Butt-Out Smoke Zone has been leading the way in Australia's fight against cigarette butt litter since 1994.

From purpose designed, vandal-resistant outdoor ashbins and smoker's shelters, through to a range of affordable and effective regular cleaning, collection and servicing options, Butt-Out Smoke Zone can provide you with an extremely convenient solution to the 'inconvenience' of cigarette butt litter.

T: 1800 358 258

E: sales@buttoutaustralia.com.au

www.buttoutaustralia.com.au

EQUIPMENT FEATURE

Developed with a focus on providing maximum versatility, the UG-6 Grab can pick up the full range of MGB's from 80 litres through to 360 litres without the need to adjust the belt.

Bucher Municipal introduces new UG-6 Universal Grab When it comes to emptying MGB's (Mobile Garbage Bins) or 'wheelie bins', the performance of the Grab Arm on the collection vehicle is of paramount importance. It needs to be fast, easy to use, versatile, robust and, perhaps most importantly, it needs to provide good 'positive contact' with the bin during the entire lift cycle.

What's more, it needs to be able to provide this high level of performance and functionality over a thousand times per shift, for a wide range of bin sizes.

And therein lies one of the biggest design challenges for a modern bin lifter... the variety of bin sizes now out in the field.

In the early years of kerbside MGB collection services, the majority of MGB's were either a 240 litre or 120 litre variant, and in the case where multiple sizes were used in one collection area, these were generally utilised for different services and were collected by different vehicles (e.g. 120 litre MGB for general waste and a 240 litre MGB for recyclables).

In recent years, however, the variety of bin capacities and shapes has expanded significantly to include 80 litre, 120 litre, 140 litre, 240 litre, 340 litre and 360 litre variants in a variety of designs. Add to that, the fact that an ever-increasing number of councils now offer ratepayers a choice of service solutions and bin sizes to meet their particular needs, and it's easy to see that the task of designing a Grab Arm that is capable of collecting the wide range of MGB's (often found on one route) is more challenging than ever before.

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Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

With that in mind, the engineers at Bucher Municipal have just released the new UG-6 (Universal Grab) for its range of single operator side loader collection vehicles.

Developed with a focus on providing maximum versatility, the UG-6 can pick up the full range of MGB's from 80 litres through to 360 litres without the need to adjust the belt, thereby also eliminating the need for optional bin lifters to be fitted for collecting the large 360 litre bins. As well as allowing for the collection of the full range of bin sizes, the UG-6's innovative design also delivers an 80mm reduction in arm width on each side of the bin - providing easier access between bins which are positioned close together.

Together with the many operational and productivity benefits, the design of the new

UG-6 incorporates a number of significant engineering and performance benefits, including longer working life and reduced maintenance costs through reduced load and wear on pins and bushes. The improved geometry provides maximum clamping force for less bin slippage and reduced belt wear.

In addition, the UG-6's innovative grab knuckle design provides the narrowest stowed width. This allows the bin lifter and body to be positioned closer to the cab for improved payloads, shorter legal wheelbases and improved operator ergonomics. The truck can also operate closer to the kerb for improved productivity.

For further information, please visit: www.buchermunicipal.com.au or your local Customer Service Centre.

Ph: 03 9271 6400.

The UG-6's innovative design delivers an 80mm reduction in arm width on each side of the bin - providing easier access between bins which are positioned close together.

See the video of the Reverse Smart AEB in action: www.reversesmart.com.au/how-does-it-work

The state-of-the-art Reverse Smart AEB system has been speciďŹ cally designed to reduce the incidents of large vehicles or mobile plant impacting workers or objects while reversing.

1

By providing an additional level of protection, including an engineering control that can stop the vehicle by automatically applying the brakes, the Reverse Smart system can signiďŹ cantly reduce the risk of impacts, injuries and workplace fatalities.

2

Step 1 : Object detected while reversing. Step 2 : Vehicle continues to reverse towards object. Step 3 : Reverse Smart AEB system automatically applies the brakes and stops the vehicle.

For further information, or to arrange a demonstration, please visit:

www.a1reversingsystems.com.au or contact Davin Hamnett Ph: 0419 177 199

or A1 Reversing Systems Pty Ltd Ph: 03 9765 9444

3

EQUIPMENT FEATURE

Nothing goes to waste with Isuzu Environmental Recycling Australasia (ERA) prides itself on finding the treasure in our trash, and sharing the proceeds with those in need.

“We’re not just trying to educate people on how to recycle, but how to give back too,” said ERA Director, James Bartel.

“Otherwise, everything in our skip bins would go straight to landfill.

“A lot of these bins are hired out for deceased estates and it’s amazing what people will throw out,” he said.

“We’re a major partner with St Vincent de Paul and we send them close to a tonne of salvageable goods every week.”

ERA also uses a state-of-the-art wood-chipper that eats recycled timber, nails and all - and whatever woodchips they don’t sell are donated to struggling farmers, for use as road base or stall bedding for stock.

It’s this eye for cutting-edge machinery that led James to choose Isuzu’s FSR 850 for his philanthropic heavy lifting.

The company currently has three FSRs, and a fourth, 2016 model Isuzu will soon join the distinctive green-splashed fleet, bustling around Melbourne’s South East.

Each new truck requires a lifter strong enough to winch a fully-loaded skip and for this, James relies on Isuzu’s partnership with West Trans Equipment and Service.

“Isuzu deals with all of it. They send the cabin and tray over to West Trans and liaise with them throughout the whole process.

“The Isuzu dealers have been great throughout and the trucks are fantastic,” James said.

But he hasn’t always had such a smooth run with vehicles – the demands of the job are great and not every truck is up to the challenge.

“We had another Japanese brand before Isuzu and they just couldn’t cut it. They were unreliable and couldn’t handle the weight.

“Our trucks are taking very heavy loads and getting bashed around at the back - there’s a lot of weight up and down on the springs too.

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Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

“In our previous trucks, the springs were always bending and mechanics would tell us we needed to spend thousands of dollars modifying the trays, whereas the Isuzus never require any modifications.

“We might do 30-40 bins a day, so we need a truck that’s strong and really reliable. The Isuzus do the job with no issues at all,” James said.

The FSR 850 offers 176kW of power @ 2,400 rpm, with torque of 706Nm @1,450 rpm, and has the durability and adaptability to face the grind day in and day out.

This reliability is crucial to ERA, as carting skip bins brings enough challenges without James worrying if his trucks will operate to spec.

“Customers rarely put the bin in an obvious spot – it’s always back around a corner, touching the gate, and on a hill,” he said.

“And Melbourne’s going up, instead of out, so a lot of the time you’re working in an underground carpark at a 20 or 30 degree incline.

“That’ll test anyone’s driving skills, so Isuzu’s assisted hill start is a real help.

“When you have to back up driveways with bins, the reversing camera, amber lights and touch screen are really valuable.”

As well as making the driver’s life easier and more comfortable, these features provide important safety benefits. And safety is a key element when you’re dealing with the weight of a fully loaded skip bin.

“I think every driver’s experienced a chain breaking on a bin. There might be a bit of slack in the chain and someone pulls out in front of you. You brake, and the bin slides,” James said.

“Between Isuzu and the body builders they’ve put bin stoppers in to keep anything from flying into the cabin, as well as a strong cage between the cab and tray, so the drivers are nice and secure.

“The airbags and bullbar give added peace of mind too.”

With such high standards in place, ERA is able to get on with doing their bit to not only remove rubbish, but help save the planet too.

James is constantly evolving his business model – working with the Victorian Department of Sustainability, applying for grants and studying ways to improve his operations – all working towards the holy grail of 100% recyclability.

ERA currently operates at an impressive 92-93% recycle rate and their constant investment in smart machinery and innovation means they raise efficiency every year.

“We really want to be the leading waste company in the next five years,” James said.

“I don’t pay myself a big salary or anything like that. I truly believe that if I invest money back into the business, it will work for us – environmentally and financially – and in ten years, we’ll all be reaping the rewards.”

Isuzu is proud to be a part of ERA’s eco-friendly push – a relationship that looks set to continue well into a greener, brighter future.

“I certainly won’t be changing trucks anytime soon,” James said.

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BUILT ENVIRONMENT

Viega delivers water and heat for “New Work City” groundscraper

Viega’s Sanpress Inox stainless steel and Prestabo galvanised steel pressfit piping systems were utilised in the creation of heavy duty piping networks throughout the entire “New Work City” building. Viega’s Smart Connect-Feature, a patented feature of Viega’s press-fit piping systems, enabled a safer and faster form of connection than welding.

Forget New York City – “New Work City” boasts the largest office building in Germany. “The Squaire” is where modern business meets luxury lifestyle in the midst of cutting edge architecture.

Opened in 2011, The Squaire is located directly on top of a train station that adjoins Frankfurt Airport. The building boasts a length that is twice the height of the Eiffel Tower and 145,000 square metres of total floor area. Known as a 'groundscraper' due to its medium-rise design that spreads horizontally instead of vertically, it embodies the pursuit where buildings ‘communicate' with citizens and the street.

In addition to this, the 20,000 tonnes of steel, 60,000 cubic metres of concrete, 7,000 doors, 2,000 glass panes and 97 lifts and escalators make up the impressive mega-structure that is The Squaire.

Two sophisticated systems that are integral to the smooth functioning of the property are the drinking water installation and heating systems - no small feat considering they’re situated at the heart of Germany’s largest air travel hub.

Such a large-scale project can be a challenge – however Viega, a world leader in press-fit technology, has extensive experience in providing tailored, effective solutions for international facilities such as The Squaire.

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One of the main considerations for such an establishment is that all systems need to cope with 24/7 demand 365 days a year, and be able to work alongside a number of other systems.

Viega’s Sanpress Inox stainless steel and Prestabo galvanised steel press-fit piping systems were utilised in the creation of heavy duty piping networks throughout the entire building – including offices, stores, restaurants, conference facilities, day-care centre and even doctors’ offices.

Viega’s systems are able to not only meet these needs, but also go above and beyond to ensure the long term reliability and consistent quality of the building’s drinking water and heating operations.

Viega’s Smart Connect-Feature, a patented feature of Viega’s pressfit piping systems, enabled a safer and faster form of connection than welding. If a joint has not been pressed, the leak will show up instantly during testing, even with very low pressure, and it can be pressed without draining the line, eliminating possible issues in a later stage of construction.

This means the installation of extensive piping systems such as those inside The Squaire can be coordinated and completed with greater work safety, speed and reliability.

For more information, please visit: www.viega.com.au

viega.com.au/About-us

1,500,000 SQFT OF PREMIUM WORKING CONDITIONS. Thanks to a fast, safe and easy to install piping system.

In the construction of a large-scale project like The Squaire in Frankfurt, you not only count on the highest quality but also the highest efficiency: a combination effortlessly delivered by Viega.

Our high-grade piping systems Sanpress Inox for drinking water and Prestabo for heating installations offer maximum reliability and can be installed with minimum effort.

Viega. Connected in quality.

The Squaire, Frankfurt, Germany Š Architects: JSK; Photographer: HG Esch Photography

BUILT ENVIRONMENT

City living under the microscope A new CSIRO research initiative launched during February will lead the way for the transformation of liveable urban spaces and sustainable cities of the future.

In partnership with property developers Celestino, CSIRO has established its first operational Urban Living Lab at the Sydney Science Park in western Sydney - a place where researchers, industry, government and communities can get together and create, design and test innovative urban development concepts, moving beyond the lab into the real world.

Within the Urban Living Lab’s test environment, researchers will examine the connections between issues such as urban greening, energy efficiency, demands for water, community well-being and health and the impacts of technological advancements, all within a real urban environment.

The research will be critical for developing and renewing our cities and urban spaces to be sustainable in the face of pressures such as population changes and climate change.

Examples of the research topics already under consideration include: • The impact of increased urban greening on local temperatures and ecology, changes in energy and water demand and consumption, and the influence on community well-being and health; • Smart water systems that can efficiently provide different classes of water for different uses on demand; • The influence of digital disruptions and information technology advances on urban structure, industry development and community connectivity.

Assistant Minister for Science Craig Laundy said the new initiative was set to deliver significant urban, environmental and innovative outcomes for the region and beyond.

“The Urban Living Lab initiative offers a new way for researchers, industry, community and government to co-innovate and provide a place to address a range of challenges facing the urban sector,” Minister Laundy said.

“It’s great to see CSIRO engaging in this public-private collaboration which will not only tackle important issues for our 24

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

cities, but also provide a boost to the local economy with jobs and opportunities for STEM students.”

CSIRO Land and Water Acting Director Paul Bertsch said collaborative science initiatives like the Urban Living Lab would enable our cities to move towards a more sustainable future."

“By working with government and industry, our research will enable Australia’s cities to become more economically, environmentally and socially resilient,” he said.

Celestino CEO John Vassallo Celestino said he was thrilled to be partnering with CSIRO on the project.

“We could see people creating new ways to harness solar energy in the workplace and developing novel ideas to store heat and keep homes cool,” Mr Celestino said.

“New sustainable transport solutions will also be encouraged as well as inventions that conserve water and energy and drive down utility bills. The possibilities are endless."

“Once developed, all of these technologies will be tested on the homes, businesses, shops, roads and parks of Sydney Science Park."

“Just like you test new medical technologies in a lab, you need to test new urban-living technologies in a real urban environment.

Sydney Science Park is the perfect testing ground for these inventions of tomorrow.”

Mr Vassallo said the Urban Living Lab would connect inventors to mentors, scientific expertise and importantly, venture capital.

“We don’t just want inventions, we want new prototypes commercialized and rolled out to the market,” he said.

Mayor of Penrith John Thain welcomed the new development.

“The creation of the CSIRO Urban Living Lab embodies the innovative and progressive direction Celestino have set for the Sydney Science Park - located within the Penrith LGA,” Mr Thain said.

“The partnership is a very welcome announcement. The Urban Living Lab fits with Council’s vision to not just build Penrith as a city of the future, but to reap benefits for communities well beyond our own boundaries.”

I NEED WATERTIGHT CONCRETE TO MAKE MY PROJECT MORE DURABLE AND SUSTAINABLE

MasterLife 300D crystalline capillary waterproofing admixture has been used in over 400 major projects to make concrete more watertight. Over 175 of the projects are water or water treatment facilities. MasterLife 300D makes concrete 40% more watertight, extending the service life of the structure.

Hairline concrete cracks self-heal with the unique crystalline technology. It allows concrete to breathe. MasterLife 300D helps keep projects to time and budget. Warranty and technical support now available in ANZ. Call us today on 1300 227 300 (1300 BASF 00) or visit us at www.master-builders-solutions.basf.com.au

PRODUCT FOCUS

Aussie Pump’s new super quiet Hydro ‘Hush’ steam cleaner will revolutionise the cleaning of urban spaces.

While the city sleeps A revolutionary new high pressure steam cleaner has been released by Australian Pump Industries. Built by Hydrotek, with a hefty contribution from API engineers, the machine is designed for high pressure cleaning in urban spaces.

Known as the SCX Hydro ‘Hush’ Series, these remarkable new machines offer 4,000 psi pressure, 121°C steam and all at noise levels of around 74 dBA at 7 metres!

The kit consists of a heavy duty Bertolini triplex pump that delivers a whopping 20 lpm flow at 4,000 psi combined with Hydrotek’s unique diesel powered high pressure boiler system.

The whole unit is powered by a 3 cylinder Kubota water cooled diesel engine that develops 14.4 kilowatts at 3,200 rpm.

The new silenced SCX Hydro ‘Hush’ Series features heavy duty components that make it suitable for use in harsh and even remote environments. An optional 12 volt heating system is dependable and efficient.

It heats up to 121°C to remove stubborn grease, graffiti or chewing gum.

The extra-large stainless steel frame allows for high capacity fuel tanks and easy access to all components. Panel mounted indicator lights monitor engine temperature and oil pressure conditions.

The unit’s outstanding noise reduction is obtained by a combination of multiple 26

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

components. The first is a custom designed muffler that goes on the engine exhaust, significantly reducing the engine dB. The next step is a 3 piece stainless steel panel kit that completely encloses the machine. This panel kit is backed by a very high density insulation that encloses the entire unit. The insulation absorbs the noise, reducing the sound produced by the pressure washer.

Lastly, the insulation is also added to the underside, a key area often ignored to complete the noise dampening process.

All of the above offers easy access to the radiator for topping up the water.

It can be carried out without removing any panels, however a funnel is an extra convenience in the process.

The machine is designed in collaboration with Kubota engineers in the USA. It is claimed that the maximum ambient temperature rating for the unit is 49°C. The Kubota radiator tank top temperature is claimed to run up to 100°C. The machines have been operated by test teams extensively in the Nevada area of the USA at 43°C ambient temperature.

For engine protection the SCX series is equipped with a warning light on the panel that indicates low oil or high water temperature but does not automatically

shut off. An optional high temp shut off is available.

Test documentation is available covering all of the tests on the machine from Australian Pump Industries. API will be in production with trailer mounted versions complete with on-board water tanks to allow mobile cleaning to be carried out quietly.

“The Aussie Hydrotek SCX silenced unit does not look like any silenced pressure cleaner you have ever seen” said Aussie Pump’s Chief Engineer, John Hales.

“The machine looks more like something from NASA and is much more compact than the big sound enclosed cabinets most commonly used to silence diesel engine operated equipment” he said.

“Australian Pump is working on a new version that will run with a 110 volt onboard generator capable of running a vacuum cleaner for “Clean and Capture” versions of the same product."

"We think this is a huge breakthrough!

Contractors, government departments, even the Army have shown interest in a silenced steam cleaner that can operate effectively at noise levels of under 75 dBA at 7 metres,” said Hales.

For further information, please visit the Australian Pump website: www.aussiepumps.com.au

SPECIAL REPORT

BUSINESS LEADERS WORLD-WIDE AGREE AND COMMIT TO DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGIES DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY Disruptive technologies and digital infrastructure have the potential to solve some of the world’s most pressing risks and to transform industries. These include safeguarding the planet's soil and water, and improving inequality and education.

This is the main conclusions of the 2017 Global Opportunity Report, released during January by DNV GL, Sustainia and the United Nations Global Compact. The report also demonstrates the commitment of the global business community towards taking action on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 agenda.

The Global Opportunity Report is an opportunity and solution based response to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report. It enables leaders to navigate new markets, new business opportunities and solutions. For the 2017 edition, 5,500 leaders from within business, government and civil society across five continents provide their insights. They identify and rank 15 sustainability opportunities and in addition showcase 120 practical projects and solutions that already exist around the globe. These range from micro grids that make cities more resilient to climate change, to bacteria that bring depleted soil back to life, to peer-to-peer trading, and inviting ethical hackers to test cyber security.

The 2017 report’s top findings are: • Smart water technology is perceived as the biggest market opportunity.

• Providing e-learning to conflict-affected areas is the secondbiggest opportunity, giving business the potential to contribute to creating more peaceful societies.

• Rising trust in digital technologies such as blockchain[1] technology and artificial intelligence can help combat many of the global risks such as cybercrime and rising inequality.

• Leaders agree that rising inequality is the biggest of the five risks in the report.

Smart water tech uncovers new market opportunities Smart water technology took first place in this year’s rankings, being deemed the most impactful and applicable of all 15 opportunities.

Technology that automatically saves and reuses water protects this scarce resource while creating sustainable options for citizens. This finding reaffirms a tendency that is present in all Global Opportunity Reports to date - addressing issues found in the SDGs, such as providing and managing access to water, can create a myriad of market opportunities for business.

Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact affirms “The Sustainable Development Goals not only provide a clear path to a sustainable world which leaves nobody behind, they also outline new markets and opportunities for responsible business. The Global Opportunity Report demonstrates how companies around the world are developing and deploying innovative technologies and business models to address the needs of our planet and society to achieve the SDGs. It is time for all companies to figure out how their own operations, products and services can play a role in creating the world we want.”

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Dare to think big, digital and new combinations The report’s unequivocal take-away message is that businesses are ready to welcome cutting-edge digital technology and seize opportunities that accelerate sustainable development. For example, 38 per cent of the leaders asked in the survey stated that they are likely to grasp the opportunity of intelligent cyber security, which is driven by artificial intelligence. DNV GL CEO and President Remi Eriksen is not surprised that digitalisation is the common denominator throughout the report. He believes digitalisation makes most things possible and expects to see a rapid technology uptake in the next years. “I am certain that over the next five years, concepts such as automation, machine learning, blockchain and cyberphysical systems will acquire real meaning and scale. Most of the technologies are already familiar to us. What's new is the combination of advanced technologies from previously separate domains - like mechanical, biological, electrical, optical and digital.

New combinations, and the speed of implementation, will be the building blocks of the new era.”

Business can help meet the demand for education in conflict-afflicted areas Delivering digital learning to children in conflict zones was ranked the second-highest opportunity in the 2017 report. This is based on the perceived impact to society and the ability of business to immediately pursue the opportunity. The report reveals that business leaders are ready to step up and enter high-risk areas to bring much-needed digital learning to the children there, despite obvious hurdles such as language barriers, remote users and limited infrastructure. With 50 per cent of all out-of-school children residing in conflict-affected areas, this opportunity illustrates the potential for the private sector to use digital technology to advance a public good. According to Erik Rasmussen, CEO and founder of Sustainia, this discovery is a symptom of a new global business approach. “Technology is currently used by business to streamline existing industries and win new markets. The report’s findings show that business leaders from all corners of the world are ready to use technology for sustainable

disruption – to use technology to deliver on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals”.

A copy of the 2017 Global Opportunity Report - as well as past reports Past reports (2015 and 2016) can be downloaded from: www.globalopportunitynetwork.org

Powering a Sustainable Future

About the Global Opportunity Report 2017 As a counterpart to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report, the Global Opportunity Report enables leaders to navigate new markets that directly address the world’s most pressing risks. This year, the report has focused on five risks: soil depletion, cyber threats, rising inequality, unstable regions and cities disrupted by climate change.

In addition to the 5,500 leaders surveyed, a long range of international experts from eight different countries have shared insight and contributed to creating the Global Opportunity Report.

The report identifies and ranks 15 sustainability opportunities according to public and private sector interest, and their potential impact on societies and business. With the new report, the partners aim to demonstrate how global sustainability challenges and risks can instead be seen as opportunities. The work provides an open innovation platform where stakeholders worldwide can explore and capture sustainability opportunities and solutions across risk domains and regions. Additionally, the report identifies more than 120 readily available solutions.

About the Partners The Global Opportunity Network and Report are the products of collaboration between DNV GL, the UN Global Compact and Sustainia. As the partners behind this initiative, we share a vision of a safer and more sustainable world and wish to inspire collaboration and action towards making it a reality.

Driven by the purpose of safeguarding life, property and the environment, DNV GL enables organisations to advance the safety and sustainability of their business. Operating in more than 100 countries, our 13,500 professionals are dedicated to helping our customers in the maritime, oil & gas, energy and other industries to make the world safer, smarter and greener.

Sustainia is an international sustainability think tank and consultancy working to accelerate action towards a sustainable future. In order to realize this, we partner with companies, cities, and organizations to map their position, navigate the changing landscape, and communicate with impact. Sustainia is founded by Scandinavian think tank Monday Morning and developed in close collaboration with UN Global Compact, Realdania, Regions20, Connect4Climate, and world-leading companies and organizations, DNV GL, Storebrand, and WWF. The United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and to take action in support of UN goals and issues embodied in the Sustainable Development Goals. The UN Global Compact is a leadership platform for the development, implementation and disclosure of responsible corporate practices. Launched in 2000, it is the largest corporate sustainability initiative in the world, with more than 9,000 companies and 3,000 non-business signatories based in over 160 countries, and more than 70 Local Networks.

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Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

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SPECIAL FEATURE

Drought Proof Australia…..

Build the Nation

by Warwick Lorenz, Managing Director, Australian Pump

The story is contributed by Warwick Lorenz, Managing Director of Australian Pump Industries. Lorenz is a veteran of the water industry having been drafted out of an advertising and journalist’s career at what was the old Tutt Bryant Group into managing its water pump manufacturing division, Pacific Pump.

He has lived through the destruction of Australia’s industrial manufacturing sector, experienced the challenges of the “recession we had to have” and tasted the temporary delights of the Australian mining boom. He has worked with farmers, miners, the construction industry, defence, marine and food processing. The story below may excite some people in both the for and against sectors!

A few years ago I picked up a book at a second hand book shop called “Australia Replanned”. Thumbing through it I noted that it was written in 1944 and published in January 1945.

What drew me to the book was a fold-out map of Australia that showed an inland sea in North East South Australia with rivers draining into it fed from the north east sectors of Northern Queensland.

The book was written by a gentleman writing under the name of Veritas. Veritas was a pseudonym for a journalist called Luscombe who also, as I recall as a kid, was writing for The Truth newspaper in Sydney.

The book is a call to arms, warning Australians that they need to get with it and do something with this wonderful huge country of ours. Here’s the key points he makes.

Our Opportunities Luscombe points out that in 1944, the war is effectively over and that we need to start thinking about what to do with our country. He draws a parallel with the United States, a country of some 3 million square miles and a population at that time of around 130 million.

Australia, he points out, is 2.9 million square miles with a population of 7 million. Of that 7 million approximately 1 million are in uniform or working 100% in the war effort.

Luscombe also points out that in the years of the 2nd World War we tripled the productivity of the country and of course asked the obvious question…. what next?

The Dead Heart Luscombe, writing long before climate change, refers to the central regions of Australia as the ‘Dead Heart’. He points out 30

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SPECIAL FEATURE

that this was once fertile land covered with dense and luxurious vegetation, evidenced by the fossilised remains found in the Diamantina and Lake Eyre districts.

Why not build an inland sea that becomes a vast “live heart”?

It should be pointed out that Luscombe wrote at a time when horse-drawn graders were not that uncommon and crawler dozers used cable controls to raise and lower tractor blades!

In spite of that he dared to dream that the parched and arid ‘Dead Heart’ of Australia could be brought to life!

The vision was an inland sea of approximately 50,000 square miles. This sea would be fed by Northern and North Eastern rivers and the flood waters diverted through the Dividing Range to flow along the dry central river beds to the Inland Sea.

Let’s examine this 'hair-brained scheme'?

In 1944 almost 90% of the total land area of Australia was put to very little use. Those huge areas of land, mainly arid, barren and useless, needed water security. The question we have to ask ourselves is, are we ready to carry out projects like that in Australia?

Ion Idriess, one of the great Australian writers of the 20th Century, used the slogan ‘Water is Life’ in a number of his books. Idriess was a believer.

In Luscombe’s plan, an inland sea would be created and connected to the Great Southern Ocean by a canal from the head of the Spencer Gulf via Lake Torrens. The canal would be up to half a mile wide by a depth of around 25 feet! The bed of Lake Torrens might be excavated and locks and pumping stations would be required in order to provide a shipping passage similar to the Panama Canal.

Luscombe, of course, is writing at a time when the greatest civil engineering feats the world had seen were considered to be the Panama and Suez Canals.

He must have been conscious of the Hoover Dam, draining approximately 100,000 sq miles across 7 states and capturing up to 740 billion cubic feet of water from the Colorado River each year.

When you consider that the Hoover was built in around 4-5 years and think of the primitive equipment and methods used at the time, Luscombe’s plan, or something like it, seems absolutely achievable.

Whether the drought proofing of the country, or large sections of it, can be achieved with an inland sea is questionable in today’s world. However our 70 years of additional knowledge should enable us to use that updated machinery to achieve the same goal.

That water storage and water security are essential for the progress of our agricultural industries and to foster population growth is beyond dispute.

'Australia - Proposed Inland Sea and River System'. Illustration from Australia Replanned (1944) by L.H. Luscombe

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SPECIAL FEATURE

“Imagine a drought proof Australia where we brought life back to country towns, provided farmers with water security, built processing plants to value add raw product and at the same time provide the Greens with an environmental wonderland!”

Why bother?

In a world where Australians appear to enjoy higher wages than just about anybody else on the planet, we are sitting on the biggest piece of unused real estate in the world. It's also possibly the greatest opportunity to provide food resources for a growing world population. It seems there’s plenty of good reasons to provide farms and cities with water security.

From a political perspective, governments of either persuasion are and will be faced with financial challenges that must be addressed. The country clearly can’t rely purely on mined commodity prices to maintain our lifestyle, create employment or sustain our welfare programs. In other words, something has got to give!

Imagine a drought proof Australia where we brought life back to country towns, provided farmers with water security, built processing plants to value add raw product and at the same time provide the Greens with an environmental wonderland!

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Dropping back to Luscombe’s dream, he saw forests throughout the centre of Australia with consequential changes to rainfall patterns.

Is there a market for what we produce?

When Luscombe wrote his book in 1944 the world population was three billion. Now we are seven billion and heading for ten so its highly likely there will be a market for top quality food and agricultural produce for at least the next thousand years!

The Prime Minister preaches jobs and growth. Well here’s a package that will deliver both big time!

Okay, I have been talking this up with civil contractors, farmers, irrigation specialists, water well drillers and a whole wide range of folk to test the water. What I got in return was astonishment that somebody had thought on this scale seventy years ago. I got excitement at the possibility of a vision that would change the country forever. I got one hundred percent unqualified support of the vision.

Of course the question everybody asks is “...who is going to do it?”

Gina Rinehart would do it! Barnaby Joyce would do it! Most of the people I talk to in the pump industry would certainly not only support it but would happy to be deeply involved.

Would it rebirth our manufacturing industry? Maybe it would!

Think about these statistics: 1. China had the same sized economy as Australia in 1990.

2. Twenty six years later, their economy is sixteen times ours and they are number two in the world.

3. They have 1.3 billion people, we have 24 million people. We produce approximately 60 million people’s worth of food per year (my rough calculation) and they produce 1.3 billion. In

other words, they produce 22 times more food than we do but from about the same land mass.

Let’s assume we drought proof Australia and can produce 5 times more food than we do at the moment, ie. 300 billion dollars worth.

Wow, that’s bigger than the iron ore business. Not only that but it’s a much bigger employer and there are loads of benefits that we will get from employment, not the least of which is lower taxes for the rest of us!

Let's go!

Luscombe prefaced his book with the comment that if he was wrong in his ideas, he would welcome correction.

He also stated three principles that appear to be just as relevant today as they were in 1944. Here they are: 1. Think clearly… without prejudice 2. Think fearlessly… with regard for nothing but the truth 3. Think big… with the knowledge of the almost limitless possibilities of technology.

As a simple man, I welcome the comments of my peers.

Copies of Luscombe’s map (which is also published here with permission) are freely available from Australian Pump Industries and may serve to inspire some reader comments. I’d love to know what you think.

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INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

DRONES TO MONITOR MARITIME EXHAUSTS Drone company Coptrz has enabled sister company Martek Marine to win an environmental monitoring contract from the European Maritime Safety Agency worth €10m (AUD$14m). Their drones will follow commercial ships to measure the amount of polluting sulphur and CO2 that they emit from their exhausts. The project is expected to start before mid-year.

Coptrz provided Martek Marine, which fronted the bid, with the expert consultancy, strategies, hardware and technical support it needed to put the tender together and clinch the deal. It will also provide the drones.

“Nothing like this has been done before,” says managing director Steve Coulson.

“Coptrz is all about using our expertise to help individuals and organisations ¬deliver drone strategies to change the world. This project is a great example of our philosophy.

“As well as our vast technical know-how, we also offer all the training a company

needs to develop its expertise in-house as the world’s first and only company offering continuous personal development to drone pilots.”

The firm is also consulting on a new large-scale project to monitor European waters for migrants and drug traffickers.

Results are expected soon.

Coptrz’s clients include CNN, Veolia and West Yorkshire Police.

“Our background is 17 years of businessto-business industrial systems solutions,” says Coulson.

“We look at drones and their potential from very much a blue-chip commercial viewpoint. We’re using our vast knowledge to help companies like Martek Marine deliver an amazing contract for a British

company – and we’re very much open for business.”

Coptrz began trading in May 2016 and was created by a group of experienced operators from the global shipping industry who realised the huge potential of drones to revolutionise numerous different sectors.

Coptrz is the world’s first and only company offering continuous personal development to drone pilots. As well as selling the very latest drones, it offers training packages tailored for both individuals and companies looking to continuously develop and expand their drone skills and businesses.

According to consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the commercial drone market will be worth US$127 billion worldwide by 2020.

EVAC DELIVERS COMPLETE CLEANTECH SOLOUTION ABOARD TALLINK MEGASTAR FERRY In keeping with their focus on minimising the environmental impact of their ferry operations, AS Tallink Grupp's new generation LNG shuttle ferry, Megastar, features a complete Cleantech solution from Evac. The state-of-the-art solution includes vacuum collection, waste water treatment, dry and wet waste, fresh water and an array of automation systems.

The Megastar ferry started operating on the route between Helsinki and Tallinn on January 29. The vessel was built at Meyer Turku Yard in Finland and she is planned to carry 2800 passengers.

Green values, including reduction of all emissions, minimizing the amount of waste and increasing recycling utilization, have been very carefully taken into account in the design of the ferry. The ship uses LNG as fuel and she complies with the new and stricter emission regulations for the ECA areas including the Baltic Sea. The provided Evac cleantech systems aboard Tallink Megastar include: 34

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

• Vacuum collection systems: vacuum units, vacuum toilets • Wastewater treatment systems: membrane bioreactor (MBR) • Dry and wet waste treatment systems: incinerator, food waste vacuum collection units, sludge handling system, thermal sterilizer unit • Fresh water generation systems: potable water treatment equipment • Systems automation.

For further information, please visit: www.evac.com

About Evac Group Established in 1979, Evac Group is the world’s leading provider of integrated waste, wastewater-, and water management systems for the marine, offshore, and building industries.

The company has executed over 20,000 marine, 2,000 offshore and 2,000 building projects worldwide. Evac has employees in Brazil, China, Finland, France, Germany, Korea, Norway, Sweden and the USA, and representatives in more than 40 countries.

SEWERAGE

INDUSTRIAL SCIENTIFIC INTRODUCES NEW SENSORS AND LANGUAGES FOR VENTIS™ PRO SERIES GAS MONITORS

THE ULTIMATE RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE In the search for new and sustainable energy sources few people realise that there is a energy source flowing beneath the surface of our cities SEWERAGE! This abundant, free energy source remains mostly untapped.

The “Sharc” is a Waste Heat Recovery & Heat Rejection System suitable for a range of applications including, multi-unit apartments, aged care, hospitals, commercial buildings and district energy.

Industrial Scientific, the global leader in gas detection, is pleased to announce that firmware version 2.1 for Ventis™ Pro Series Multi-Gas Monitors is now available and offers support for additional sensor and language options. Ventis Pro Series monitors, first introduced in April 2016, are small, highly configurable instruments offering LENS™ Wireless and the industry’s only Guaranteed for Life™ warranty.

New sensors for the Ventis Pro Series include a dual-range methane IR sensor, a phosphine sensor and a long-life oxygen sensor. The dual-range methane IR sensor is ideal for use in inert atmospheres and for seal checks, leak detection, and when high concentrations of gas would otherwise damage a catalytic bead LEL sensor. The sensor range is 0-100% volume methane with 0.01% resolution from 0-5% volume and 0.1% resolution from 5-100% volume. The phosphine sensor is commonly required for agricultural and food & beverage industry applications. The long-life oxygen sensor is suitable for most industries and is designed to perform in the field for three to five years.

With firmware version 2.1, Ventis Pro Series instruments are now accessible for more global users with the addition of Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, and Polish documentation and instrument interfaces. The Ventis Pro also supports English, French, Spanish, and German.

To learn more about the Ventis Pro Series visit www.indsci.com/ ventispro

About Industrial Scientific Corporation As the global leader in gas detection, Industrial Scientific provides gas detection products and services that keep workers safe in hazardous environments. The company’s 700 employees in 21 countries are committed to preserving human life, and have dedicated their careers to ending death on the job in this century.

Established in 1985 and headquartered in Pittsburgh (USA), Industrial Scientific also has operations based in Arras (France) and Shanghai (China), and provides technical services to customers from local service centers around the world.

Industrial Scientific is the parent company to Predictive Solutions Corporation (www.predictivesolutions.com). For more information, visit: www.indsci.com.

 Energy savings and primary energy cost reductions  Reduce building CO2 & GHG  Easy Install into New or Existing infrastructure  Trouble free operation & maintenance  Long product life- cycle

HOT WATER SERVICE Using the waste water from the building the Piranha is a self-contained HEAT PUMP specifically designed to extract thermal energy from waste water for Domestic Hot Water Heating.

COP’s of 5.0 for 50-200 Apartments, Aged Care, and Hospitals to produce 7500-15000 litres of Hot Water per Day

www.airsolutions.com.au | info@airsolutions.com.au VIC: 03 9753 2677 | NSW: 02 9979 7299

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

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WASTE & WASTE WATER

The Hydrosmart U-bend waterconditioning system at the Lady Loretta Mine in Queensland.

CHEMICAL FREE WATER TREATMENT CLEANS UP THAI SUGARCANE PROCESSING Computer-generated frequencies are being charged through wastewater to help sugarcane-processing plants in Thailand meet environmental standards.

Hydrosmart is a South Australian company that uses a unique water treatment process to improve water quality without the addition of chemicals. Its microprocessors sit on the outside of pipes and send emit frequency shots to disrupt the bonds of minerals in the water, dissolving calcium, iron and gypsum scale off pipes. It is now being used to reduce algae and improve the chemical oxygen demand (COD) of sugarcane wastewater in the eastern Thai province of Sakeo.

Hydrosmart Managing Director Paul Pearce said the onflow from sugarcane wastewater was a serious environmental threat where large amounts of harmful materials were carried into waterways.

“Thailand has certain regulations as to what they can put out to the environment and COD is one of those they have to get to a certain level of,” he said.

“Our unit allows for the microbes and bacteria to thrive, the beneficial ones, and balance the water to a healthier state by reducing particle size, without the addition of other things."

“After installing the smaller D60EO model, the changes it has made to the quality of the water have been quite significant and it has even helped to remove odours,” he said.

The sugarcane project was initially run as a trial using a smaller waste pond to test the effectiveness of Hydrosmart’s U-bend technology.

The D60EO model used in the trial consists of a 60mm PVC pipe that connects to the pipes that pump water out of the wastewater pond (pictured).

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Using two sets of frequencies, the economy unit was able to successfully treat the water within four weeks of being installed.

The plant now plans to install a full-sized model at its primary waste pond in Thailand.

According to Statista, Thailand exported 7.8 million metric tonnes of sugar in the 20152016 financial year. That figure is expected to rise to 8 million metric tonnes this year.

Pearce said the microprocessor unit was highly efficient and would only use about AU$10 a year worth of electricity in most cases, less than a standard light bulb. He said the device required little maintenance and would work year-round as long as it remained plugged in and activated.

Hydrosmart’s technology is also being applied to textile wastewater in Bangladesh and is improving water quality in the Polynesian sovereign state of Tonga.

South Australia is the driest state in the driest continent in the world and has become a world leader in water treatment and reuse technologies.

Water Industry Alliance CEO Rachel Barratt said non-chemical wastewater treatment technologies were becoming an increasingly important element to meeting international environmental standards.

“Sugar cane as an industry internationally is mammoth now and the expectations about its pollution and run off is becoming more stringent,” she said.

“The processing of sugarcane contains a lot of organic matter and heavy metals so it’s great to see Hydrosmart doing so well internationally and using their solutions to tackle global challenges that have a direct and real impact on other communities,” she added.

WATER UPGRADES ACROSS THE GREAT SOUTHERN Residents and businesses in Frankland, Ongerup and Jerramungup in Western Australia’s Great Southern region will benefit from an $8.2 million State Government investment to upgrade water treatment plants.

Frankland's water treatment plant was upgraded during 2016, with works completed in October.

Improvements are being made to the facilities in Ongerup and Jerramungup, and will be completed in mid-2017.

WA Water Minister, Mia Davies, said all three projects include upgrades to filtration and disinfection systems in the treatment plants, which will improve water quality for Water Corporation customers.

"The projects in Ongerup and Jerramungup will also include upgrades to the power supply to the plants and water transfer pumps."

"It is great to see local expertise being used in this project, with contractors from Albany, Katanning and Mount Barker involved in the upgrade," the Minister said.

Water for Frankland, Ongerup and Jerramungup is sourced from local dams, and then transferred to a water treatment plant where it is made safe for drinking before it is supplied to customers in the towns.

In November 2016, the State Government embarked on an $8 million program to improve water quality in the communities of Cue, Meekatharra, Mount Magnet and Sandstone.

WASTE & WASTE WATER

WATCHING UNDERGROUND WATER ON THE WEB INFILL SEWERAGE PROJECT BEGINS IN BUNBURY

An open access Water Atlas has gone online, giving the general public a 3D view of groundwater data from eastern Australia’s Surat Basin.

Associate Professor Sue Vink of The University of Queensland’s Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry said the tool provided diverse information on the chemistry, water level and geology of water bores.

“The atlas is unique in that it presents quality assured and controlled groundwater data in 3D,” Professor Vink said.

“Interpreted bore, geology and hydrogeology information gives a greater level of analysis and allows people to avoid compiling individual tables from the state government’s groundwater database.”

The researchers believe the general public and corporate, government, research and consultancy sectors will find Water Atlas an effective way to visualise, communicate and analyse hydrogeological data.

Professor Vink said the atlas provided information over space and time, via cross-sections, pie charts and layer visualisations.

“Similar to the State Government’s Queensland Globe, our water atlas shows coal seam gas (CSG) tenements and lot and plan boundaries,” she said.

Professor Vink said the 3D Water Atlas resulted from a joint industry and university workshop in 2011.

“We recognised there was no easy-to-use, single source of groundwater information and hydrogeology,” she said.

“Data from water levels and water chemistry in individual bores will be updated at least every six months. It will be presented in 2D and 3D sub-surface visualisations.

“The atlas can be accessed via any common web browser at no cost."

The project was developed by UQ’s Centre for Coal Seam Gas, Centre for Water in the Minerals Industry and the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering.

It was funded through the UQ Centre for Coal Seam Gas – a research collaboration between UQ, Arrow Energy, Santos, Asia Pacific LNG (APLNG) and The Queensland Gas Company (Shell). The Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines (DNRM, OGIA) advised and assisted.

Visit the 3D Water Atlas at: www.wateratlas.net

Construction has started on a $3.3 million infill sewerage project in South Bunbury, about 170 kilometres south of Perth.

The South Bunbury project will connect 172 residential lots to the central wastewater system and is expected to be completed in July.

The work is part of a state-wide Infill Sewerage Program being undertaken by the Western Australian Government, which has invested an additional $50 million since 2015 to connect properties to the central wastewater system.

Infill sewerage eliminates the need for septic tanks and leach drains, and provides social and environmental benefits for the community.

The South Bunbury project includes installation of 5.1 kilometres of wastewater pipeline and a new wastewater pumping station. Local contractor, Dig Deep Contracting, is undertaking the work.

An $11.2 million program of works completed in July last year connected 432 properties to infill sewerage.

The government's Infill Sewerage Program has enabled more than 93,000 households in Western Australia access to the central wastewater system, reducing leach drain run-off to the environment.

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WASTE & WASTE WATER

WELLINGTON DAM’S $37 MILLION UPGRADE Funding of $37 million has been allocated to combat rising salinity levels at Wellington Dam – the biggest surface water storage in Western Australia’s south west region.

The funding is also designed to expand agricultural irrigation in the region under the auspices of the Myalup-Wellington Water for Food project.

Speaking in mid-January at the dam near Collie, Premier, Colin Barnett, said rising salinity levels meant the water was mostly unusable, limiting agricultural growth in the region.

"This investment builds on the $5.7 million Myalup-Wellington Water for Food project, which is investigating new water supply options for the south west to expand the Myalup Irrigated Agricultural Precinct and the Collie River Irrigation District."

Water Minister, Mia Davies, said the government funding would also be used

for irrigation infrastructure, including a redeveloped Burekup Weir, and a new pipe network.

"The Collie Water solution, an initiative by Harvey Water and Aqua Ferre, was selected following an expression of interest process conducted in late 2015," Ms Davies said.

"The proposal involves the diversion of saline water from the Collie River east branch into a mine void; the treatment of the water in a new desalination plant near Collie; a new weir at Burekup and a gravity-fed pipeline system to replace open irrigation channels in the Collie irrigation district.

The desalination plant would produce between 10 and 20 gigalitres per year of fresh potable water, while the existing Burekup Weir would be relocated upstream to ensure the delivery of gravity-fed water to growers.

"The estimated cost of the Collie Water proposal is $380 million and will require funding from the private sector and the Commonwealth Government," said Minister Davies.

Western Australia is seeking funding from the Australian Government through the National Water Infrastructure fund.

VIEWS SOUGHT ON NEW GREAT ARTESIAN BASIN WATER PLAN The Queensland Government is seeking public input on a draft water plan for the vital Great Artesian Basin and several other regional aquifers.

The draft Great Artesian Basin and Other Regional Aquifers Water Plan has been developed to replace the Water Resource (Great Artesian Basin) Plan 2006 which is due to expire on 1 September 2017.

Minister for State Development and Minister for Natural Resources and Mines, Anthony Lynham, said the draft water plan provided a framework for sustainably allocating and managing the specified groundwater resources throughout the plan area.

“The plan aims to provide a balanced water management approach by ensuring existing users and the environment continue to have adequate access to the resource, while also allowing for potential new development and industries,” Dr Lynham said.

“It encourages water to be used productively and sustainably so that we gain economically, and at the same time, maintain these precious water supplies into the future.”

Dr Lynham said interested parties had until 17 April to make submissions on the plan.

“Public feedback has already played a pivotal role in identifying issues of particular importance to communities within the plan 38

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area or who are affected by decisions made under the plan.

“Additionally, comprehensive information about the draft water plan, to inform the community and encourage its involvement in the planning process, is available on the Department of Natural Resources and Mines’ website.

Dr Lynham said Queensland landholders were also on target to save another 8,538 megalitres of water a year from the Basin’s precious water resources.

He said 27 bore-capping projects were approved last August in the latest round of the joint Federal-State Great Artesian Basin sustainability initiative.

The initiative seeks to address declining water pressure in the Basin.

It provides financial assistance to landholders to rehabilitate water-wasting uncontrolled flowing bores and to replace the associated open bore drains with piped-water reticulation systems.

Dr Lynham said at 30 June 2016, $181 million had been invested under the GABSI program in bore repair, capping and piping works, with the Queensland Government investing $64.3 million.

Under the GABSI and its predecessor programs, 686 uncontrolled flowing bores have been rehabilitated and 14,090 kilometres of bore drains have been replaced with piping.

There are approximately 215 bores remaining to be rehabilitated within Queensland, and about 5,500 kilometres of associated bore drains to be replaced with piping.

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WASTE & WASTE WATER

MINING INDUSTRY’S NEW COMMITMENT TO WATER STEWARDSHIP The International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) has made new commitments on water stewardship to help tackle what it calls one of the biggest global challenges of the 21st century.

The council’s members include 23 of the world’s leading mining companies.

In a statement released on 10 January, the council said with more than 1.2 billion people living in areas of water scarcity and natural habitats under increasing threat, it recognised that industry could play an important role in tackling water stewardship.

Member companies, which account for around a-third of global mining activity, pledged action to support the responsible use of water with the launch of the ICMM’s Water Stewardship Position Statement.

The statement is binding on members and requires them to: • apply strong and transparent water governance, including robust public reporting; • manage water at operations effectively; and • collaborate to achieve responsible and sustainable water use.

Tom Butler, ICMM Chief Executive Officer, said it would continue to develop guidance and toolkits to support effective water stewardship.

The material would be available to the wider mining industry and other industry sectors.

“Our members have shown real leadership in adopting a firm commitment to water stewardship,” Mr Butler said.

“Society will not be able to meet the sustainable development challenges of the 21st century without improving the management and use of global water resources. As an industry, we have a leading role to play in contributing practical solutions to water resource challenges.

“Water is vital for local communities, the natural environment and for businesses so leadership on water stewardship is required from all parts of society.”

ICMM is an international organisation dedicated to improving the safety, social and environmental performance of the mining and metals industry.

It brings together 23 mining and metals companies that employ 900,000 people worldwide and 34 regional and commodity associations.

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TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

Is Your Waste Business Gearing for the Second Machine Age? Content compiled by Terry Daley, Business Process Consultant, Wastedge.com

R

ecent changes in digital technologies are combining a range of amazing innovations that are rapidly being proven in real world situations - bringing science fiction future predictions into reality faster than we may realise. While some of these may not stretch as far into the waste industry, renowned for its slow adoption of technology (compared to neighbouring industries such as couriers and parcel pickup-delivery), these emerging technologies could herald massive changes in business operations processes as the start of a new machine age has potential for a far bigger impact than the original industrial revolution: • Exponential Digital Transformation of businesses, • Automated self-driving vehicles, • Artificial Intelligence, and Nextgeneration robots, • Advances in Mapping & GPS technologies, • the Internet of Things (IoT) and an explosion in connectivity (sensor technology and data capture devices connected by the internet and other networks)

The combination of connections, sensors and data are revolutionising how we might do business!

Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAffee, in their amazing book “The Second Machine Age”, highlight and review recent innovations and advances in a wide range of important digital technologies. Erik and Andrew note that: “...the Second Machine Age will be characterised by countless instances of machine intelligence and billions of interconnected brains working together to better understand and improve our world.”

They propose that “...technological progress in the era of digital hardware, software and networks has 3 main characteristics: that it is exponential, digital and combinatorial.”

Exponential Growth Exponential growth (doubling every year, year on year) was originally noted as Moore’s law, where the amount of integrated circuit computing power you could buy per dollar doubles each year. The authors also note that such “...doubling annually of digital device capacity making them faster, cheaper, smaller and lighter than ever before also

opens up new opportunities for usage that previously seemed out of reach. Some of the innovations we are witnessing are turning science fiction into reality within the space of a few years.”

This exponential doubling also seems to apply to businesses that can digitally transform their business. The more extensive the usage of IT in organisations is linked to a faster growth rate of those organisations. Another analysis by Erik Brynjolfsson and Lorin Hitt found that “...firms that use more IT tend to have higher levels of productivity and faster productivity growth than their industry competitors.”

“Yet for every dollar of investment in computer hardware, firms need to invest up to another 9 dollars in software, training and business process redesign.”

Digital Transformation “We are at an inflection point – a point where the curve starts to bend a lot – because of computers. Transformations brought about by digital technology will be profoundly beneficial ones, as we’ll be able to increase both the variety and the volume of consumption, in an economic sense.”

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

41

TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

Digital network expansion, stabilisation and performance improvements are at the heart of the ability to support wider networks. These stretch from customers’ mobile devices or self-service internet access via web portals, through to mobile field-staff devices, connected vehicles, bin sensors and even linked to sub-contractor or supplier systems.

Cloud systems have also enabled easier internal business app-to-app connectivity helping businesses pass and share data across internal business process support systems, streamlining workflows and dataflow. So it’s critical that these veins and arteries of communication get boosted to maximum capacity with sufficient bandwidth and speed to support the volume and velocity of data being sent and captured.

People have been saying this exponential digital expansion would reach capacity limits soon, even though it’s now been evidenced for almost half a century.

Yet whenever digital communications seem to hit a new performance barrier, some brilliant tinkering (innovation) has opened new thresholds.

For example, when communications traffic threatened to outstrip even the capacity of fibre optic cable, engineers developed wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) a technique for transmitting many beams of light at different wavelengths down the same single glass fibre at the same time.

Lorand). LoraWan is claimed to offer low cost short range device-to-device connectivity. Linked to other Smart City nodes at footpath level such as street lighting systems, this enables street litter bins to send sensor data from binto-bin till it reaches a master node for long range transmission back to your server. This offers unprecedented reach with minimal infrastructure investment.

Already companies supplying such street systems are offering to share the data connectivity, under open standards, to offer free street internet connectivity and facilitate other applications that can be recombined to offer unexpected innovative opportunities.

Bin-full sensors also offer better management of public space waste.

With inbuilt compaction systems, they can hold more waste, so there are fewer bins required and with lower collection frequencies these changes can have a combined impact in decreasing the collection frequency to some 70% to 80%. While this is a reduction for waste collectors, it’s a great customer benefit (be first to supply it).

Sensor Technology and Data Capture Systems on Trucks

Smart City Bin Sensor Networks

There’s also an emerging new set of low power, wide area networks, ready for the Internet of Things (IoT) called Lora (named after its inventor Mozes 42

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

Onboard computer systems can now automate the capture of data such as in validation of residential lifts by either GPS proximity of arm-lift signals or by RFID bin-tag technology that’s getting exponentially cheaper, smaller, lighter and easier to retrofit on waste bins.

Councils rolling out such services are now advising customers that lack of a bin tag means the bin won’t be lifted, resulting in more accurate register of assets. The introduction of more accurate side-lift weighing technology can also result in fairer billing for waste services.

Automated recording of lift data allows drivers to focus more on driving

and street surrounds, helping reduce truck accidents and pedestrian injuries and fatalities. Integrated vehicle data capture and monitoring systems like CANBUS and onboard 360 degree camera systems and sensors are rapidly expanding the volume of data collected and when combined with activity based preventative maintenance scheduling and driver fatigue tracking also help reduce accidents.

In Forbes magazine (Jan 2017) it was reported that Waste Management in the USA has invested US$150 million in IT in the last year alone and has outfitted 16,500 trucks with mobile devices. Suez has also just reported investing US$50 million in Rubicon (an Uber style startup in the USA) “to share its best tech practices” as it prepares to re-enter the US market.

Erik and Andrew note that “...in isolated local regions in the past, ignorance protected inefficient or low quality service sellers from being unmasked by unsuspecting consumers, while geography limited competition from other sellers.” So will new structured supplier comparison style websites emerge for the waste industry, to auction services or to offer a FindTheBest.com or Yelp type marketplace comparison for local waste suppliers/contractors? Or will Uber-style service brokers and systems emerge that offer more waste ecology material auction and recycling options?

One of the intangible reasons people “like” Uber services so much, is actually the integral social ability to Rate-thedriver or Rate-the-passenger. Taxi services have for years had no way for users to report back on a smelly cab or bad driver behaviour or manners, let alone giving drivers any way to identify and flag problem customers.

And the ability to have your ride directed to your unique, exact pickup location, with no need to fiddle with card payment at the end of ride, certainly adds value to the experience.

Letting waste service customers press the software button in an “app” to advise when their bin needs a lift would make the customer experience more efficient.

And a digital feedback satisfaction survey sent with a “thanks for your business” message, could also help differentiate your services.

TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

Advances in Artificial Intelligence and Next Generation Robots Artificial intelligence research has been focussed in recent years on Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) – such as for the process of building up a map of an unfamiliar building or location as you are navigating through it. These and other technologies like LIDAR explained further in the book, contribute to the eventual ability of driverless vehicle systems to recognise and navigate through their local environment safely.

It’s interesting that computerised robots trying to travel down stairs and around obstacles (things humans do without hardly a thought) has been incredibly difficult and complex for robots to do – until recently. Moravec’s paradox is the discovery by artificial intelligence and robotics researchers that, contrary to traditional assumptions, high-level reasoning requires very little computation, but low-level sensorimotor perception and mobility skills require enormous computational resources.

Drones & “UAVs” (Unmanned Automated Vehicles) Significant developments in self-drive vehicles capability over the last few years has progressed with research initiatives by Google, Audi, Daimler and Tesla AutoPilot. Vehicle control is via a combination of Lidar, Radar, GPS, Cameras, Proximity Monitors and IMU (Inertial Measurement Units)

including accelerometers, gyroscopes (for orientation awareness), and dead reckoning calculations of travel from any point of origin) – Gyroscopic and motion sensors are available already in our smart phones when you view a panorama photo by turning the phone around across the face of the view.

Google’s Autonomous Car uses LIDAR (Laser Light and Radar system) that uses 64 separate laser beams and as many other sensors in a device that rotates at ten times per second and generates 1.3 million data points every second, that can be assembled by onboard computers into a 3-dimensional view of one hundred metres in any direction.

There’s also been a range of real world, remote control of vehicles in the mining industry. For instance, look how Rio Tinto now controls its mining vehicles from an operator based in Perth Airport controlling multiple trucks, at 1,500 kilometres from where they are operating on the ground.

On the internet you can also find examples of a Volvo project called ROAR (Robot-based Autonomous Refuse handling), provided proof of concept for a waste collection system that uses a drone on the roof of the refuse truck which scans the vicinity of the truck area and helps the robot to find the bins. To collect and empty the bins, the driver of the refuse truck presses a button which brings the collection robot to life.

Simultaneously the drone lifts off from

The ROAR project - robot and drone in collaboration for autonomous refuse handling

the roof of the truck, flying above or through alleyways to find the location of the refuse bins and communicates their positions to the robot. This is followed by automatic waste collection and emptying by the robot. See the YouTube video at https://youtu.be/fNIV6Dcj29E The objective was to demonstrate how smart machines will soon be able to communicate with each other to perform routine daily operational tasks.

Digital Mapping and GPS Technologies

Advances in route mapping optimisation at a fleet level or single route level now mean the myriad of exponential shortest path calculations can be better planned or discovered by computer. With more traffic data available now from plug in systems like Waze – realtime traffic stream data can be used in calculating optimum routes dependant on time of day. Waze (now owned by Google) converts every smart device using it into a real-time traffic sensor and can use this to better calculate quickest routes.

Software apps can also now record and retro-analyse routes drivers actually drive to create and save best driver routes for use as turn by turn guides for trainee or substitute driver replay.

Yet there are areas in C&D Waste Services Scheduling and Bin Stock Allocation that are incredibly complex for computing algorithms to weigh up the optimum allocation of the next, nearest available bin stock or in-field nearest ready to empty matching bin size, amongst different truck carrying capacity, according to the mix of full or empty bins on the truck, across a range of delivery, exchange or removal service requests.

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

43

TECHNOLOGY FEATURE

The power of recombinant innovation In a Harvard Business Review paper titled Digital Ubiquity: How Connections, Sensors and Data are revolutionising business, Marco Ansiti and Karim Lakhani claim that “...adapting to ubiquitous connectivity is now essential to competitiveness in most sectors of our economy. The paradigm is not displacement and replacement but connectivity and recombination.

Transactions are being digitised, data is being generated and analysed in new ways, and previously discrete objects, people and activities are being connected.” Uber for instance makes money by better connecting nearby drivers together with customers, not by replacing them.

“The new business model is defined by two things: how the organisation creates value for its customers (the customer value proposition) and how it captures

that value (how it makes money). Digital transformation changes both.”

The paper cites GE’s change, in partnership with global energy giant E.ON, to connect all its turbines, through software that allows for dynamic control and real time analysis to meet demand with existing underutilised capacity instead of adding more wind power turbines. “GE creates value extracting data from sensors on turbines to optimise performance, utilisation and maintenance and then captures that value by charging a percentage of the customer’s incremental revenue from improved performance.”

In another industry instance, Domino’s Pizza is combining innovative digital capabilities and mobile technologies to engage new and existing customers and meet consumer expectations regarding service, transparency and speedy delivery with a new app that facilitates the GPS tracking of their order from door to

door. Consider some of these analogies to think about what you could change in waste services delivery, data capture, information consumption and customer communications.

Check that your business processes are reviewed, redesigned and aligned to take maximum advantage of the digital transformation of your business and data captured to gain new perspectives on the efficiency and utilisation of your assets, resources and the profitability of your customers.

ENERGY INNOVATION

Silicon energy storage technology scales up for commercial production

O

ne of the most abundant elements on earth is being used to create an energy storage system that can heat homes as well as store electricity.

South Australian company 1414 Degrees has developed technology to store electricity as thermal energy by heating and melting containers full of silicon at a cost estimated to be up to 10 times cheaper than lithium batteries.

Silicon is the second most abundant element in the earth’s crust after oxygen.

A tonne of silicon can store enough energy to power 28 houses for a day.

Its high latent heat capacity and high melting temperature of 1414°C – make it ideal for the storage of large amounts of energy.

The process also generates large amounts of clean usable heat, which can

46

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

easily be utilised for district heating or industrial purposes.

1414 Degrees has created a full prototype ready for commercialisation in Adelaide, South Australia, of its patented thermal energy storage system (TESS).

The company completed its first trials in September with a small prototype test system using about 300kg of silicon to store about 150kw of energy. It is now scaling up its technology to grid scale thermal energy storage systems with potential to dramatically improve the efficiency of wind and solar farms and will launch the first commercial machines this year.

1414 Degrees Chairman Dr Kevin Moriarty said the company was waiting for AusIndustry, a division of the Federal Department of Industry, Innovation and

Science, to sign-off on the 10MWh project in February so manufacture could begin.

He said the company has two target markets: a device capable of storing 10MWh of energy a targeted at industry while the second 200MWh device was suitable for a wind farm, large solar array or gas-fired power station.

As well as its ability to stabilise South Australia’s electricity supply, which relies heavily on wind power, the system is likely to appeal to northern European countries because of its ability to store the wind energy of a cold Scandinavian night while keeping residents warm and running their computers the next day.

“It’s low cost for very large energy storage,” Dr Moriarty said.

“We’re not really competing with batteries, we’re going to be working in the space of district heating, major

ENERGY INNOVATION

industry, electricity producers and suburb scale residential developments.

“The big problem with renewables is this need to shift the peak – we’ve got wind turbines roaring away at 3am in South Australia when nobody needs the power.

“That problem is huge in Europe as well – you need to match the demand to the generation and that’s not going to be met by lithium, it’s too expensive and you just need vast quantities to handle it.”

The TESS device stores electricity as thermal energy by heating and melting containers full of silicon at a cost estimated to be up to 10 times cheaper than lithium batteries. The high latent heat capacity and melting temperature of silicon – 1414°C – make it ideal for the storage of large amounts of energy.

1414 Degrees has calculated that it can install sufficient storage, capable of supplying hundreds of MW of electricity, at just $70,000 per MWh to provide for a reliable electricity supply with up to 90 per cent renewable sources.

Dr Moriarty said a site had been chosen in South Australia for the first 10MWh system. He said the systems also produced a lot of usable, clean heat, making them ideal for industry, district

heating in the northern hemisphere and food processors.

“The idea will be to position these things near industry or get industry to move near to the very big units because it will be able to offer very clean, cheap heat.

“We don’t have any dirty emissions like you do from gas or coal so basically the heat comes out as hot air and can be used for all sorts of things.

“Also, you can keep using the silicon, it’s pretty much unlimited.”

The company, previously known as Latent Heat Storage, has been developing the technology for the past decade in partnership with Adelaidebased engineering consultancy ammjohn, and the University of Adelaide.

It aims to initially assemble the units at the Tonsley Innovation Hub in Adelaide and have its first 10MWh system operating by mid-year.

Dr Moriarty and Chief Technical Officer Matthew Johnson at Tonsley Innovation Hub. “Then we want to demonstrate the impact of one of our bigger units at a grid level so the search is on right now

for a suitable site – preferably a wind farm,” Dr Moriarty said.

“We’ll pay for it because this will be the commercial test point for the large installation – we think we can build a 200MWh unit for (AU)$5-7 million.

“The plan is that we will then scale it up with further modules to something like 2-3 gigawatts of energy because that would enable you to store several days output and feed it back to the grid as required.

Dr Moriarty said the company had been fielding enquiries about the new technology almost daily.

“People are searching us out and coming to us worldwide and saying can you put one on our solar installation or, in the case of Denmark, to provide district heating,” he said.

“If we can demonstrate we can do that and do it cheaply then it’s going to change a lot of the economics and the reliability. We want to move on it as fast as possible.”

South Australia leads the nation in the uptake of wind energy and roof-top solar with renewable sources accounting for more than 40 per cent of the electricity generated in the state.

“We don’t have any dirty emissions like you do from gas or coal so basically the heat comes out as hot air and can be used for all sorts of things.”

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

47

ENERGY INNOVATION

However, the intermittent nature of renewable energy has been the cause of intense debate in Australia in recent months.

“I think we’re in the ideal place in South Australia because there’s a demonstrable need here,” Dr Moriarty said.

“We have a huge amount of renewable energy being wasted because they can’t match wind generation with the need.

“If we can demonstrate we can do that and do it cheaply then it’s going to change a lot of the economics and the reliability.”

Australian CleanTech Managing Director John O’Brien said energy storage would undoubtedly be a very significant part of the energy system as nations moved towards low or zero carbon targets in the next decade or two.

He said the relatively cheap price of silicon and its ability to be used over and over would help keep the overall lifecycle price down.

48

Waste + Water Management Australia | February 2017

1414 Degrees Chairman Dr Kevin Moriarty (left) with Chief Technical Officer Matthew Johnson at Tonsley Innovation Hub in Adelaide.

“The main alternative at the moment is large-scale lithium batteries – there’s plenty of lithium around as well and there’s some very large companies with massive factories producing lithium batteries,” O’Brien said.

“But if they can scale up what they are doing with silicon then that certainly has potential. Clearly the sun doesn’t shine at night and the wind doesn’t blow all of the time so we have to think a bit more carefully about how we manage it.”

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