INSIDE WASTE April/May 2018

Official Publication of the

ISSUE 83 | APRIL/MAY 2018

www.insidewaste.com.au

INSIDE 17 Contracts - where to from here?

34 A time for leadership 50 Working smart

National Sword: support packages released To commemorate the world’s first Global Recycling Day, Aussie environmentalist and role model Laura Wells made waves as a plastic mermaid in a dress made entirely of litter collected from Sydney’s beaches. The project seeks to highlight the importance of recycling and protecting our oceans following NSW’s CDS. Image courtesy of TOMRA. (Credit: Nic Walker photographer, Marina Debris - artist and dress designer, and Laura Wells - model)

Queensland to re-introduce waste levy

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The Queensland government has announced that it will reintroduce a waste levy after considering a report into the interstate transport of waste.

While there are few details as yet, it is understood that the levy, which is part of a larger, more comprehensive waste and recycling strategy, will likely sit in the $60 to $70 per tonne range, making it less enticing for transporters to truck waste from NSW to Queensland.

The Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA) congratulated the Queensland government for answering industry’s and the public’s call for action to stop the interstate transportation of waste and said it will continue to work nationally with all state governments on a national harmonised approach to waste and resource recovery management.

Waste management company, SUEZ, also welcomed the government’s announcement and focus on sustainable waste management, which CEO Mark Venhoek said would drive innovation and investment in resource recovery and recycling.

WRIQ meanwhile is cautiously optimistic about the strategy, warning that “lessons of the past cannot be repeated.”

CEO Rick Ralph welcomed the announcement for a whole of state waste review but cautioned levies will not create jobs unless confidence is restored in the sector and industry investments can be made securely and with confidence in the regulatory and planning process.

Noting the government’s

announcement was about creating jobs and investment in Queensland and greater reuse of secondary products, Ralph said: “The current anti-development sentiment being expressed by elected representatives to all industry applications where companies want to invest millions is a showstopper unless someone steps up and leads and is prepared to have confidence in what industry is putting forward is right to more effectively manage the community’s wastes.

“It is critical the conversation emerging from this announcement is about Queensland business and its economic outcomes and not simply linked to peripheral issues such as interstate waste.

More on page 32.

THE NSW government will offer a $47 million one-off support package to local government and industry in response to China’s National Sword policy.

The announcement comes after NSW Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton met with industry and government stakeholders to find out how the current global challenges to the recycling market in NSW can be addressed.

Funded by the Waste Less, Recycle More initiative, the one-off package will provide a range of short-, medium- and long-term initiatives to ensure kerbside recycling continues and to promote industry innovation. It aims to enable councils to offset some extra costs associated with kerbside recycling collections subject to guidelines; improve council tendering processes to increase the production and use of recycled products; and fund community education initiatives to reduce kerbside recycling contamination.

A month before NSW’s announcement, Victoria revealed that it had developed a $13 million rescue package to support councils and industry affected by the China’s National Sword policy.

Provided till June 30, 2018, the package will assist councils in continuing with kerbside collection of household recyclable waste in the interim, giving them time to develop longer-term solutions, including re-negotiating contracts.

To assist the recycling industry reset in the medium to long-term, the Victorian government will also establish a recycling industry taskforce to develop a strategic plan for industry transition.

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Editor’s Note // Source: Messe München Official Publication of the

5,083

Senior Editor: Jacqueline Ong (jacqueline.ong@mayfam.net) Journalists: Jan Arreza (jan.arreza@mayfam.net) Patrick Lau (patrick@mayfam.net) Advertising: Alastair Bryers (alastair.bryers@mayfam.net or 0431 730 886) Marketing and Customer Support: Benjamin May (ben.may@mayfam.net) Creative Director, Patterntwo Creative Studio: Toni Middendorf Subscriptions: subscriptions@mayfam.net

Moving forward one step at a time THESE are challenging times for the waste and resource recovery sector and while the expectation is that there will be more pain before things get better, it is heartening to see that steps are being taken to press on.

Rescue packages to support industry and local government in the interim have been released in SA, Victoria and NSW, while taskforces have been established in some states. The next step, and one that hopefully happens sooner rather than later, is the release of details on how stakeholders can access the funding. In NSW, Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton has also encouraged industry to speak to the EPA about their Authorised Amount limits. While the advice is to embark on these discussions now, there are some legal considerations to be aware of. More on page 20.

As we continue to watch with bated breath how the impacts of China’s National Sword policy will play out, and it is all good and well that state governments are offering much-needed financial assistance, the time is now

to challenge the way we manage waste and recyclables in Australia. This is an opportune time to do things differently, to push the circular economy agenda, to think about alternative collection systems as well as contracts, and to drive local reprocessing. On page 24, ATC Williams principal Rowan Cossins discusses a range of solutions, almost all of which are a variation on resetting the rules. Meanwhile, on page 17, Impact Environmental consultant Katherine Driscoll takes a deep dive into Australia’s current municipal recycling contracts, offering compelling reasons to consider shaking things up from here on out.

The National Sword policy’s impacts will be far reaching but over in Queensland, WRIQ CEO Rick Ralph believes that the state will not be hit as hard as its neighbours on the eastern seaboard and this puts Queensland in positive position, particularly with the announcement of a waste strategy in March. The government has also revealed that it will be reintroducing a landfill levy as part of the strategy, after considering a report into the

Bringing the world home to you Novel and future-proof technologies are vital today more than ever in light of the current challenges and resulting opportunities facing Australia’s waste and resource recovery sectors. The good news is, we do not need to reinvent the wheel but can turn to our international counterparts for many a solution.

In May, the Inside Waste team will be travelling to Munich, Germany, for IFAT and we want to be your eyes and ears, bringing you the highlights, trends, and technologies that matter to the sector. From the latest in plastic sorting systems, to electric vehicles, to what’s new in safety systems, our aim is to bring the world home to you, reporting live from the show at www. insidewaste.com.au and of course, giving you the lowdown in the August/ September issue of the magazine.

Before we go, we’d like to hear from you - what would you like us to see, explore and ask at the show? Drop us a line at jacqueline.ong@mayfam.net or alastair.bryers@mayfam.net

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INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

interstate waste transportation issue.

It is all happening in Queensland at the moment, with these announcements alongside the roll-out of a CDS in November and a new Environment Minister sworn in at the end of last year. Could Queensland come out on top? More on page 32.

Inside Waste also speaks to Pete Shmigel, the industry veteran who has re-entered the sector as CEO of the Australian Council of Recycling. On page 34, Shmigel, who writes poetry in his free time, reflects on a number of areas, from encouraging governments to change their procurement policies to ways to keep community engaged in recycling.

Published by Mayfam Media Phone: 0400 868 456 Web: www.insidewaste.com.au Publisher: Ross May (ross@mayfam.net) COPYRIGHT WARNING All editorial copy and some advertisements in this publication are subject to copyright and cannot be reproduced in any form without the written authorisation of the managing editor.

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How much waste does Australia export?

CONSULTANCY Blue Environment has released preliminary estimates of the scale of waste exports from Australia.

The figures come as part of research conducted by Blue Environment, in preparation for the National Waste Report 2018. The consultancy has been involved in preparing the government report for a number of years.

According to Blue Environment, “the most recent national data (2014-15) had Australia generating 64 million tonnes (Mt) of waste, sending 35Mt (54%) to recycling, 4% to energy recovery and 42% to disposal in landfill and incineration.”

“In 2016-17 Australia exported (to all countries) 4.23Mt of recycled materials including 1.27 to China (30%). Of the recyclables Australia sent

to China, 1.25Mt (99%) are affected by the new restrictions.”

Probably least affected will be the metals trade. In 2016-17, Australia sent 203,000 tonnes to China, only 9% of scrap metal exports (or 4% of the total 4.569Mt recovered that year).

However, Australia sent 920kt of paper and cardboard to China - 29% of all paper and cardboard recovered, forming a significant 63% of exports.

Total volume of plastics was low, at 125kt, but the Chinese market absorbed a massive 68% of all plastic exports from Australia in 201617: more than a third (36%) of the 346kt recovered.

Blue Environment emphasised that the data is likely to change as further analysis is conducted.

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

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News //

Profile | Patrick Lau Patrick Lau joined the Inside Waste team late last year, covering everything that interests our very broad readership: from equipment and facilities, to politics and regulation, to research and innovation.

He will also be taking the reins on this year’s Inside Waste Industry Report as well as focus on our inaugural awards in August that honours our industry’s outstanding achievers. The awards will also include the annual Consultants Review.

What attracted you to Inside Waste?

Waste management is such a critical nexus of our society, economy and environment that it’s fascinating to cover - especially at a time like this. But I also couldn’t pass up the fantastic working environment and culture at the magazine, coupled with the opportunity to benefit from the team’s skills and knowledge.

Favourite part of your job?

It’s always a pleasure to conduct interviews. With Inside Waste, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with world-class business and operational leaders about their passions. But waste management is such a universal topic that politicians, academics and the community all pop up in our pages.

What is the strangest thing you have had to do (or found)?

I’ve found huge amounts of unworn, undamaged clothing just chucked out.

What are some of the key issues/trends that stand out over the time you’ve written for Inside Waste?

The Chinese import policies are paramount recently, but discussions about it always reveal underlying factors. A lack of harmonisation seems to be a key one.

What are some of your achievements that you are most proud of?

I was recently sent a press release about a waste issue, referencing some of my own research on the topic. It was inspiring to see my work start to have an impact.

Best advice ever given to you?

Stay hydrated.

WMAA introduces new directors AS part of a board renewal, WMAA has selected four nominated directors from a pool of candidates.

Members were asked to nominate their interest in the nominated directors vacancies and the four directors who were chosen were: • Adam Faulkner - Faulkner served on the WMAA Board previously and is an active member of the South Australian Branch. He is currently the CEO of the Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority.

• Georgina Davis - Queenslandbased Davis has extensive experience in waste innovation and professional experience in various levels of government as well as academia.

• Jade Barnaby - the most recent recipient of the WMAA Women in the Environment Award, Barnaby

is the national accreditation and compliance manager for Tyre Stewardship Australia and was the program manager for Victoria’s household battery recycling program, Batteryback.

• Tim Youe - Youe has strong experience in the local government sector and is currently the CEO of the Southern Metropolitan Regional Council, managing a significant integrated resource recovery system in Western Australia.

They will be affirmed as directors at the WMAA annual general meeting on May 11 and their two-year term will commence thereafter.

At press time, WMAA was calling for applications from eligible members for the elected director vacancies of one elected director and one elected director as vice president.

HZI signs 20-year supply agreement A consortium led by Hitachi Zosen Inova (HZI) has signed an agreement with the Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council (EMRC) for the supply of waste to the East Rockingham Resource Recovery Facility (RRF) for a minimum of 20 years.

The RRF will convert approximately 330,000 tonnes of waste per year into clean, renewable energy, producing 28MW of baseload electricity - enough to power 36,000 homes. It will divert from landfill 95% of waste it receives from the EMRC. The project represents a $400 million private sector investment in the Perth metro area, creating 300 jobs during construction and 50 full-time jobs throughout its 30-plus-year operating life.

The agreements set a benchmark in the Perth market for waste to energy projects in terms of flexibility and value for money. This marks the evolution in the contracting model from a potentially punitive ‘take-orpay’ structure in favour of a ‘service provider’ model that supports higher order utilisation or recovery of waste resources.

Under the term of the agreements, the EMRC’s participating member councils will supply their residual waste to the RRF on a ‘waste arising basis’, 6

INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

i.e. they’ll only pay for the capacity they use. This means there is no penalty for councils who successfully implement landfill waste reduction schemes, such as introducing a third bin for compostable organic waste.

The alternative ‘take-or-pay’ structure can lead to financial penalties for customers if committed volumes are not met. That model has been adopted by some councils in the Perth metro area, but was considered less attractive to the EMRC, its participating councils and their ratepayers, for their own tender process.

Enzo Gullotti, New Energy chairman, said they support waste minimisation and composting, should councils choose to do that.

“It’s an important part of our social licence to operate our RRF over the long term,” Gullotti said.

“We’ll deliver the EMRC the best possible environmental outcome for residual waste streams and certainty of price over the period of the contract.

“This presents a real opportunity to divert waste from landfill and deliver value for money to

the ratepayers of the EMRC councils.”

The project also received another significant milestone on March 8 when it was accepted as the preferred tenderer by the City of Cockburn for a 20-year waste supply agreement.

“The energy from waste process is environmentally favourable to landfill in that valuable materials are converted for energy production,” said Lyall Davieson, spokesman for the City of Cockburn.

“There is also potential for the City to purchase the electricity produced by processing waste.”

HZI’s other partners in the project are New Energy Corporation, a Perth-based waste-to-energy business, which has been developing the East Rockingham site since 2013, and Tribe Infrastructure Group, an international advisory and investment firm specialising in the development and financing of complex infrastructure transactions.

The consortium is now working through pre-engineering and the update of the site environmental approval. The project is scheduled to start construction in Q3 2018.

Proposed facility design. (Source: New Energy)

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

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News // TOMRA’s new LOD system.

Profile | Brentwood Recycling Systems When was the company founded and why?

Brentwood started in 1975 manufacturing heavy duty trailers to carry large industrial equipment. In 1979, we saw a need for the shredding and disposal of tyres, amongst other products. Looking at existing shredding technology then available, we found significant improvements could be made, directly related to maintainability and durability.

We then created completely new machine designs, such that we now have the leading design of shredders.

What are the core machines that Brentwood offers?

Heavy duty industrial shredders, trommel screens, sorting and conveying equipment. We are the Australian distributor for METSO Shredders, CK International Horizontal Balers, MBH Bronneberg Cable Strippers, Avangard EPS Foam Densifiers, and Cushion Pack packaging void fill cardboard shredders.

How does Brentwood work with its customers to create tailor-made solutions?

Brentwood is a leading Australian manufacturer of solid waste recycling systems, when you talk to us, you are talking to the people who make the machines.

With nearly 40 years of experience, giving us an unrivalled capacity to create cost-effective customised solutions from a single machine through to complete turnkey plants. We have built plants for various types of solid waste processing including paper, green waste, C&I/C&D, food/organics, tyres and fuel production.

What are some of Brentwood’s goals and plans for the next 12-18 months?

Our goal is to always continue to develop better products which reduce maintenance costs, balance cost versus quality, and provide an extended life for the machinery by drawing on our experience from our machines operating in different industries. We have a desire to eliminate reliance on landfills as much as possible and develop new possibilities for material reuse, recycling, and waste to energy using our leading technology.

More: www.brentwood.com.au or 02 4271 7511

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INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

TOMRA unveils laser object detection system TOMRA Sorting has launched a new Laser Object Detection (LOD) system, which it says when used in combination with AUTOSORT and FINDER, will allow waste and scrap recycling operators to reach final product purity levels “never before possible”.

The system features TOMRA’s laser technology that sorts based on the feed material’s spectral and spatial characteristics, with the LOD being able to detect material that near infrared technology (NIR) is incapable of identifying.

“NIR technology cannot detect items such as black plastic and rubber, glass, and other waste items,” explained Carlos Manchado Atienza, regional director, Americas for TOMRA Sorting, Inc. LOD gives recycling facilities a low energy, cost-effective solution for meeting tough customer purity requirements. The new TOMRA sorting system boosts final product purity by as much as 4% without

sacrificing circuit productivity. Its modular design enables the flexible LOD system to be added onto the same platform as existing latest generation TOMRA sorting equipment. Alternatively, it can be added to the circuit as its own standalone sorting stage.

Developed for simple and fast installation and programming into existing plants, the LOD is mechanically mounted to a platform. Unlike other systems, this arrangement allows for both large and small feed material to pass under the laser without blockage.

“LOD is the perfect complement to existing TOMRA equipment within a circuit to give purity levels a boost to meet ever-tightening final product purity requirements such as the China National Sword standard,” commented Ralph Uepping, technical director of recycling at TOMRA Sorting.

“Increasing product purity levels expands market potential and increases the profit potential for customers.”

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

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News //

Bingo’s network capacity grows BINGO Industries has released its half year results for the six months that ended on December 31, revealing a 43% growth in revenue and 40% increase in pro forma EBITDA. Net revenue and pro forma EBITDA have increased to $142.4 million and $43.8 million respectively, which Bingo said reflected ongoing business momentum and increased market share alongside new customer contributions and the early impact of completed acquisitions. Some of these acquisitions include NRG, a building and demolition waste and recycling business operating across NSW and Victoria, AAZ Recycling, Resource Recovery Victoria and Konstruct Recycling.

“We have grown our network capacity by 70% since listing in May 2017 to 1.7 million tonnes per year and remain on track to double our footprint by 2020, to meet the growing demand for recycling,” Bingo CEO Daniel Tartak said.

Bingo also said it continues to generate strong free cash flow, with operating free cash flow increasing by 27.8% from $27.8 million to $35.5 million.

In terms of performance by segment, Bingo reported a 29.1% increase in revenue in collections to $78.5 million while pro forma EBITDA rose by 18.9% to $18 million.

Turning to post-collections, revenue increased by 53.4% to $81.8 million and pro forma EBITDA grew by 53.2% to $24 million as Bingo captured further market share in NSW with half year contributions from the St Marys, Kembla Grange and Revesby facilities.

The company said the positive momentum has continued into 2H FY18 and reiterated that it remains on track to deliver its recently upgraded FY18 pro forma EBITDA guidance of approximately $93 million, with completed acquisitions expected to contribute more materially in 2H FY18.

Cleanaway reports “strong organic growth” CLEANAWAY has also released its FY18 half year results, reporting an 8.4% increase in revenue. The company said all its operating divisions had increased their revenue and earnings, resulting in continuing strong organic growth.

Gross revenue for the first half of the financial year was $785.5 million, representing an 8.4% increase compared to the same period last year. Net revenue was $722.2 million while EBITDA was $154.2 million, marking a 2.8% increase compared to 1H17. Meanwhile, net profit after tax rose by 60.7% from the same period last year to $45 million.

“Each of our three operating divisions - solids collections, solids post collections, and liquids and industrial services - increased revenues and earnings in the period,” Cleanaway CEO and managing director Vik Bansal said.

“During 1H18, we started the roll-out of a number of major new contracts,” he added, “development of our resource

recovery footprint continues. During the half, we commenced construction of our Sydney post collection assets, which we expect to have completed by the first half of FY19.”

In the solid collections division, net revenue was $441.7 million, increasing 9.3% compared to the previous corresponding period. EBITDA increased 5.3% to $85.3 million.

Turning to solid post-collections, net revenue increased 15.3% to $107.9 million while EBITA rose to $53.9 million, marking a 13% increase.

On the Toxfree acquisition announced in December, Cleanaway confirmed that it will be completed in the second quarter of this calendar year.

Integration of the Toxfree business is expected to deliver some $35 million in annual synergies, realised over a two-year integration period. Total synergy benefits are expected to be fully realised in FY21.

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// News

CDS update: 150M collected; roll-out pushed back IN March, the NSW EPA announced that more than 150 million drink containers had been refunded through Return and Earn. Over in Queensland, the roll-out date of the state’s CDS has been extended.

It’s been about three months since NSW’s container deposit scheme was implemented and today, there are more than 500 collection points open across NSW. “More than 150 million containers returned in the first three months is a great result and we expect this momentum to continue as more collection points are rolled out and people get into the habit of exchanging their containers,” NSW EPA acting chair and CEO Anissa Levy said. More on page 46.

Turning to Queensland, Minister for Environment Leeanne Enoch announced in February that the timeframe for the introduction of the CDS will be extended to November 1 from July 1.

“It’s important we get the scheme

right from day one so that its full community, environmental and recycling benefits are realised,” Enoch said.

“Extending the timeframe for the scheme’s introduction was requested by stakeholders to ensure Queensland did not run into the same roll-out issues experienced in New South Wales when its scheme started 1 December last year.

“While our scheme is not run along the same lines as that in New South Wales, it’s clear there are valuable lessons to be learned from the problematic introduction of their scheme.

“These include ensuring there are enough container refund points from the outset, so people have the ability to get the 10c refund.”

A new not-for-profit company Container Exchange (CoEx) has also been appointed as the product responsibility organisation (PRO) to administer and run Queensland’s container refund scheme.

CoEx will be governed by a board of nine directors, made up of beverage industry and independent representation, and will include an independent chair.

As the PRO, CoEx will work with the government to ensure the scheme is a success, and that it remains efficient and delivers positive outcomes for the public, community groups and the environment.

“I am pleased that two of our largest beverage manufacturers - Coca-Cola Amatil and Lion - are involved in CoEx,” Enoch said.

“This is fitting as these entities represent around half of the beverage brands on the Queensland market.

“This approach has the support of environment and community groups, as well as the beverage sector, and will provide balance, transparency and equity

in how CoEx and the scheme itself is run.”

Enoch said CoEx was required to ensure an adequate number of container refund points were in place when the scheme started so its benefits would be available across Queensland.

“We’re looking to have more than 200 refund points across Queensland ready to operate by 1 November this year, and CoEx will ensure they are located where as many people as possible in our de-centralised state can access them.

“CoEx has already started this process by putting a request for proposal into the market, seeking interest from individuals and organisations that want to run container refund points.

“CoEx will also work to ensure the scheme’s running costs are minimised, with as small an impact as possible on the beverage industry and the community.”

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Routine inspection leads to $1.6M fine

Soaring premiums?

WHAT started out as a routine EPA visit to a Sydney construction and demolition waste recycler has resulted in a hefty fine for breaches of the Heavy Vehicle National Law under the Chain of Responsibility provisions.

A source told Inside Waste that during the inspection at Metropolitan Demolitions’ site in St Peters, the EPA officer uncovered irregularities in the operation of the company’s weighbridge. These observations were passed on to Road and Maritime Services’ (RMS) heavy vehicle division, which conducted an investigation.

RMS successfully prosecuted companies Metropolitan Demolitions and Metropolitan Demolitions &

Recycling Pty Ltd as well as an executive officer for inaccurate record with companies in the Local Court.

Magistrate Greenwood of the Downing Centre Local Court convicted the defendants of a total of 138 mass breach offences, three offences of knowingly providing false documentation, and 14 executive officer offences.

She imposed a fine $1.63 million and ordered the payment of $50,000 in costs after the accused pleaded guilty.

A supervisory intervention order was also made against the operator, and a prohibition order has been made against the director, Chris Giannikouris.

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

A string of high-profile claims events at major waste management and recycling plants has led to increasing insurance premiums for businesses in the sector.

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// News

China takes “special action” against foreign waste CHINA’S Blue Sky 2018, a 10-month program of inspections of waste imports, commenced on March 1 and will run till December. It follows the country’s National Sword policy that was implemented on January 1 and the crackdown will focus on the 24 materials added to the Imported Solid Waste Prohibited list last year.

China’s Customs Authority made the announcement on March 6 and at the time, also announced that it had seized more than 500 tons of smuggled waste paper in Qingdao and were investigating 7000 tons of smuggled waste paper from Russia.

Spokesperson for the General Administration of Customs, Zhang Guangzhi, told letsrecycle.com the organisation is “fully committed

to investigating a number of largescale smuggling cases of wastes, eradicating a number of smuggling gangs and cutting off a number of smuggling routes and chains of rubbish, and resolutely blocking ‘foreign rubbish’.”

The Customs and Excise Department said it will also work with relevant local authorities during the operation to promote “comprehensive anti-smuggling work in a concerted manner”.

Turning to local government organisations, Zhang said Customs would strengthen its links with relevant law enforcement departments including environmental protection and quality inspection to stop illegal operations and “foreign garbage” shops.

$65M offered to clean up NSW TO make NSW a cleaner state by 2021, the state government has released an updated NSW Illegal Dumping Strategy, backing it up with a financial commitment of $65 million.

The update strategy, which will be delivered by the EPA, builds on the work of the previous strategy. It outlines key actions for combatting illegal dumping through education, collaborative partnerships, enforcement and infrastructure.

Key actions and funding include:

• $9 million for RID programs and squads to support local government to prevent and clean-up local illegal dumping.

• $3 million for the Clean-up and Prevention Program for land managers and community groups.

• $1 million to the Aboriginal Land Clean-up and Prevention Program.

• Expanding RIDonline - an illegal dumping database the community can report to.

• Expanding the Community Recycling Centres network.

New insurance scheme launched THE increase in fire incidents at waste and resource recovery sites over the last five years has made obtaining insurance more challenging and many would have heard or noticed that a large number of insurers have pulled out of the sector as underwriters have become less willing to grant insurance.

The result is operators being left with gaps in cover or large increases in premiums.

In August last year, IAG hosted a forum to discuss the prevalence of these fires and presented industry stakeholders an opportunity to collaborate on potential solutions.

Rob Kelman, who wears many hats in the sector including executive officer of Container Deposit System Operators (CDSO) and executive officer of the Australian Tyres Recyclers Association (ATRA), was at the forum and has since launched a new insurance scheme.

Kelman told Inside Waste he has partnered with a broker, an underwriter, and an auditor to set up Recyclers Insurance Scheme (RIS), which he said is largely driven by “regular insurers’ unwillingness to do property insurance - the biggest ticket item for the sector.”

Kelman said at the moment, a few companies are going through the

membership process and the aim is to grow the premium pool over time to make the scheme more attractive.

The membership process Interested companies will need to first pass an initial audit before they can be invited to become a member of RIS. This audit is done to provide insurers with the assurance that the site in question is properly managed, including proving that staff are adequately trained, and there are best practice fire risk management strategies in place.

Companies will also need to pay an annual fee to RIS in consideration of their membership. This fee will be determined by RIS once the company has passed the audit and it is based on the size of the company and its annual turnover.

In addition to the initial audit, members must also agree to ongoing audits conducted twice a year over the length of their RIS membership.

The cost of the audit is borne by the member and is non-refundable if it is unsuccessful or if membership is cancelled at any time.

For more information, contact Rob Kelman on 0423 573 278.

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

APRIL/MAY 2018 INSIDEWASTE

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Enviropacific’s SOLVE facility in Altona will soon commence the commissioning process.

News //

Managing closed landfill risks EPA Victoria has published a tool that will help local government identify the risks of closed landfills to better inform land use planning decisions.

The Local Council Self-Assessment Tool for Closed Landfill Environmental Risk enables councils to conduct closed landfill environmental risk assessments in their municipalities and was developed following the Victorian Auditor-General Office’s (VAGO) review of the management of landfills by councils and EPA. One of VAGO’s recommendations in its 2014 report was that: “Councils work with the Environment Protection Authority and the regional waste and resource recovery groups (WRRGs) to identify closed landfills, assess their risks and prioritise actions at a regional scale to address these”.

The self-assessment tool will help councils fulfil their legislative obligations to manage closed landfills.

It was developed by the Loddon Mallee Waste and Resource Recovery Group and EPA North West.

How it works The tool is designed as a simple

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desktop assessment. A site can be assessed in as little as an hour, with the results providing a snapshot of the possible risk that a closed landfill may have on the wider environment. It has been trialled by both regional and metropolitan councils in Victoria.

The tool allows councils to identify the levels of risk - high, medium or low - associated with each site within their municipality. They can work with EPA, if necessary, to address any issues.

The tool is a user-friendly, easy method of providing a basic assessment of the level of risk to public health and the environment from closed landfills. It is designed for assessing closed landfills that don’t currently have regulatory instruments on them, e.g. Post Closure Pollution Abatement Notice (PCPAN) or other regulatory tools.

The EPA strongly suggested that councils take photos throughout each assessment, as these will be useful during further assessments and assist EPA to provide advice.

Local councils are under no obligation to use the tool and can choose to engage environmental consultants to assess risk.

Soil and waste treatment facility close to commissioning ENVIROPACIFIC’S SOLVE Altona soil and waste treatment facility in Melbourne’s west is close to completion and on schedule to open later this year, with the commissioning process expected to start in weeks.

The thermal desorption treatment facility offers waste owners and generators certainty in the disposal of prescribed industrial wastes and contaminated soils. It offers an alternative outlet for the treatment and disposal of Category A and B classified soils - diverting waste from landfill.

Under construction in a heavily industrialised area of Altona, it will operate under strict state and local government guidelines using the latest high temperature clean-up technology

with EPA-approved continuous emissions monitoring systems in place.

Using internationally recognised thermal desorption technology, the facility essentially cooks the soil and destroys contaminants in the soil in a fully enclosed system to ensure that emissions fully comply with regulatory limits.

“The process breaks down contaminants into carbon dioxide and water,” Enviropacific’s Victorian state manager Jared Roberts said.

“Acidic gases that are formed are neutralised using a slightly alkaline solution to capture the gases in the form of common salt. In addition, dust that is generated is collected by special filter bags and returned to the process to help form the final products - clean soil.”

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// Equipment News

A game changer ASTEC is a global manufacturer of equipment for the mining, aggregate, infrastructure and energy industries. Astec was initially founded in 1972 and has over time incorporated businesses with more than 100 years of manufacturing history. Today, Astec manufactures more than 220 products and its goal is to design, manufacture and provide the most innovative and reliable equipment for the industries served, coupled with unparalleled customer service, training, education and support.

Astec’s drive for innovation has produced a stream of new patents and

meant that the Astec Industries businesses have become leaders in the respective markets, giving customers the means to be more productive and profitable.

One such game changing product has been the GT205 Hybrid Multi-Frequency track screen. The GT205 has the ability to run on both mains electricity and diesel power when required. The multi-frequency screening technology provides up to 50% higher screening capacity on the bottom deck and is the perfect solution for aggregate, recycling, construction and mining markets. The GT205’s multi-frequency

The very first Fuchs MHL350 material handler arriving at Onetrak.

Fuchs receives design award and announces new dealer in Australia FUCHS products are renowned for power and high quality with the company being at the forefront of efficiency, reliability and innovation within the material handling industry.

The equipment range offers tailor-made solutions for all applications including waste, scrap, port and timber handling.

In 2017, Fuchs released the new F-series cabin and won the worldrenowned iF design award. The Fuchs MHL390 F with its unique sliding door, skylight and downward-facing windshield won over the 58-member jury of independent experts from all over the world. The Fox Cab has been specifically designed for material handling machines and did not have to be subjected to any compromises as a result. This provides the operator with great benefits in terms of ergonomics.

As of 2017, Terex-Fuchs has appointed Onetrak as the official dealer for Fuchs Material Handling equipment in Australia.

“With Onetrak taking over distribution of the brand, Fuchs customers now have

nation-wide support with a network of sales, service and parts departments all managed by one dealer Australia-wide.

Through specialist product training led

by Fuchs representatives from the factory in Germany, Onetrak has upskilled all departments and we’re now ready to support the brand in Australia. We’re excited to now have Fuchs included in our product portfolio and look forward to working with all existing and future Fuchs owners,” David Hazell, Onetrak managing director, said.

In 12 years, Onetrak has grown from a single construction equipment franchise in Brighton, Tasmania and extended its reach into the earthmoving, material handling, forestry and quarry and mining industries. Today, Onetrak has a national network of outlets in Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania.

In addition to new and used machines sales, parts and service, Onetrak offers rental machines and attachments.

More: www.onetrak.com.au or 1300 727 520.

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

The game changing GT205 Hybrid Multi-Frequency track screen.

screen features include: • better performance than a conventional incline; • lower operating angle than a high frequency screen; • rotary tension design allows quick screen cloth changes; • screen cloth won’t blind; and

• versatile for almost any application.

To ensure localised support, availability of parts, and access to factory trained personnel, Astec Australia is a single source of support for all Astec products in Australia.

More: www.astecaustralia.com.au or 1300 278 322

Rowland expands to meet demands ROWLAND Engineering’s range of balers continues to get broader as customer requirements continue to change. A year ago, the company had some 50 different models of balers and now, that list has extended to at least 100, including the different types of metal recycling balers Rowland Engineering now offers. Its spare parts and engineering support has also expanded to accommodate this and the company has the support of major new suppliers which will further support new customer demands.

“In the last year, we have diversified the business and invested significantly to address the expansion needs of our major customers. Due to requests we have had on liquid waste, medical waste and metal balers, we secured new agency arrangements and are now working on major new projects across these areas,” Rowland Engineering managing director Sean Monaghan said.

This includes Gient, one of the largest global suppliers of medical waste equipment and the largest supplier in China with over 70% market share.

Rowland is the exclusive agent for Huahong Group’s metal balers, including the Q43 Series Alligator Hydraulic Shear pictured.

Gient exports primarily to Asia, Europe, and the US and Rowland Engineering has established a partnership for Australia. Apart from medical waste machinery, Gient invests and supplies equipment for liquid waste and various waste treatment systems.

Rowland Engineering is also the exclusive agent for the metal balers manufactured by Jiangsu FII Technology Co., Ltd which is part of the Huahong Group. The Huahong Group is the largest manufacturer of metal recycling equipment in China and manufactures 4000 pieces of equipment each year.

More: www.rowlandengineering.com.au or 07 5574 4588

Enviroweigh by Garwood international VIA the partnership between Garwood International and Vehicle Weigh Solutions, Garwood is able to supply underbody load cell systems, available in a four- or six-point configuration. It also supplies the European licenced-for-trade EnviroWeigh system, able to accurately weigh individual mobile garbage bins.

The system allows for accuracy of 0.5% or better during the normal loading cycle amd there is no need to stop the lift cycle. The Enviroweigh system is: • European licenced for trade accuracy; • European approved for pay by

The EnviroWeigh system.

weight services; • able to reject overweight bins; • track profitable or loss-making customers; • able to track the performance of each collection route; and • able to optimise and streamline routes without compromising service.

Enviroweigh will be showcased at Waste 2018 in Coffs Harbour.

More: www.garwoodinternational.com.au or 02 9756 3756.

APRIL/MAY 2018 INSIDEWASTE

15

news

Waste Management Association of Australia: Suite 4.08 | 10 Century Circuit | Baulkham Hills NSW 2135 | t: 02 8746 5000 | e: info@wmaa.asn.au | w: www.wmaa.asn.au

From the CEO’s desk The Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA) welcomes the Queensland Government’s announcement of a reintroduction of a landfill levy. Government has answered the call for action, in part, due to a small number of waste industry operators continuing to use irresponsible and dangerous practices including transportation of waste over many hundreds of kilometres to avoid paying levies and gain a commercial advantage.

In 2017 WMAA, Australia’s peak national body for the waste and resource recovery industry, called on members, operators and stakeholders in the sector to sign a Waste of Origin Pledge in order for the industry to voluntary cease this practice, while conversations about solutions with Government were being held.

The ultimate goal of WMAA is to achieve sustainable and environmentally sensitive waste and resource recovery management across the entire industry, to ensure a level playing field for all organisations, and develop the jobs and investment we need in this essential industry. We can only do this with the correct regulatory settings and when we have community confidence.

WMAA was the only Association that actively called on the Queensland government at the recent election to develop comprehensive waste and resource recovery strategies and policies that included a landfill levy. We need to incentivize diversion and create an environment that industry could invest with certainty within Queensland. WMAA absolutely agrees that a landfill levy is only one part of a comprehensive approach required to waste management and resource recovery in Queensland.

WMAA wants to see waste seen as the commodity it is and managed in accordance with the waste management hierarchy. We need to see support for new resource recovery infrastructure being developed as close as possible to where it is produced.

This is a real opportunity for Queensland- to create local jobs and investment.

Upcoming WMAA Events

However, this is not just the opportunity in Queensland however. All states (not just Queensland) should be focused on utilizing levy funds to develop planning and financial support for industry to develop resource recovery infrastructure where it is required through respective states.

Whilst the policy changes in China are causing immediate stress on the sector, this must be seen and acted on as the opportunity it is for Australia (not just our industry). WMAA welcomes the announcement from both New South Wales and Victorian Governments to provide funding towards the MRF and Local Council Sector whilst the markets readjust to the financial impacts of reduced markets and reduced commodity process.

China’s National Sword in disrupting our industry is forcing the necessary change we need that will drive the creation of a true circular economy in Australia. We must keep resources “circulating” at the highest and best value for as long as possible, this is not optional!

WMAA has developed a list of priority actions that it believes are required to address this issue in the short term, and in the longer term to achieve the structural changes required to both decouple the Australian recycling industry from global markets, and achieve the jobs and investment required to make this industry sustainable into the future. At the forefront of these must be the creation of secondary markets for recycled products in Australia, if need be Government may need to step in and mandate recycled content in industries such as manufacturing, packaging, civil infrastructure. The European Union has done this, and no doubt that is where China is heading, we need to too, as only then will we see the jobs, investment and opportunities we should within this essential industry and only then will we no longer be at the mercy of the global market.

Please view the full list of solutions proposed by WMAA at www.wmaa.asn.au Gayle Sloan Chief Executive Officer Waste Management Association of Australia

WMAA Submissions

WMAA organises industry leading events and seminars and 2018 will be no different.

WMAA has been actively representing both Members and the wider industry by engaging with State and Federal Governments on several recent submissions.

•SA: 24 May, 2018 - Women of Waste Leadership Breakfast SA •VIC: 13-14 June, 2018 - ENVIRO’18 Convention •SA: 14-15 November, 2018 - 2018 WasteSA Resource Recovery Conference

•Commonwealth - Consultation on the Regulation Impact Statement for national phase out of PFOs •NSW - NSW Draft Freight and Ports Plan •QLD - Waste codes •QLD - Moreton Bay Council - Incorporation of waste regulations into local laws •VIC - Waters of Victoria SEPP; Victorian Groundwater SEPP •WA - Plastic bag ban

WMAA Members receive a discount on all WMAA Events.

Visit www.wmaa.asn.au for the most up-to-date calendar of events.

WMAA Members are encouraged to provide feedback to their State branches via info@wmaa.asn.au

2018 WMAA MEMBERSHIP

// Contracts

Municipal recycling contracts - where to from here?

By Katherine Driscoll WHILST governments across Australia consider policy responses to the recycling market ‘crisis’, it does seem timely to consider the current form and structure of a typical local government recycling processing contract.

Material Recovery Facility (MRF) operations are substantially - if not entirely - underwritten by the supply of municipal kerbside collected recyclables. There are largely two types of contractual relationships: 1. the council contracts directly with the MRF operator; and 2. the council contracts directly with a collection/haulage contractor who, in turn, contracts directly with a MRF for the receival and processing of the collected recyclables.

To start with, a few features can be outlined: • Recycling processing contracts may require a price per tonne that captures a range of noted risks e.g. financing risks, land tenure risks, design risks, technology risks, operating risks and so on. These risks can be expressly

allocated to the contractor as the council usually has little control over these and contractors can operate and better manage their business without the constraints that would be applied by the public sector if the risks were the responsibility of government.

• Contamination is increasingly being accepted by councils as something that the contractor ought not be entirely responsible for, and we are seeing contracts that include a table of ‘fees’ applying to relevant contamination levels. Notwithstanding this, we usually see a ‘floor’ rate that the local council will accept at the outset of the contract which adequately reflects the quality of the material collected in their LGA. The contract is still usually written with an agreed gate fee per tonne which adopts the floor contamination level.

• Recycling processing services can still be captured in a collection contract.

These contracts will be problematic for local councils when trying to determine any cost implications of events such as the current market crisis. It is also very difficult to properly vary

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

the ‘processing’ component of these contracts. Adjusting the costs in these contracts for such components as the s.88 levy on the residual amount is also troublesome. MRF operations have been consolidated - and these contractors are typically not collection contractors. If ever there was a case for separating the collections from the processing services, the current situation couldn’t make that more obvious.

• There are usually provisions regarding the need to ensure the beneficial re-use of the MRF’s output products; stockpile management; compaction rates and more recently, how the parties will deal with the CDS. • The contracts are usually written for a fixed term.

From these features, it is understandable that the risks are properly allocated to the party that is best placed to manage the particular risk.

The current recycling market pressures have given rise to calls from the industry that risk-sharing contracts with councils need to be considered. What does this mean? There are many risks emanating

from a typical municipal contract that MRF operators will not want to share and councils will not accept any responsibility for. The risk-sharing contracts that market participants are calling for are founded on the ‘sharing’ of the gains and losses that are tied to the on-selling of the MRF’s output products. So, the commodities and the prices and market conditions to which MRF operators are singularly subject to.

There is no surprise that this call is coming during a difficult time for MRF operators. The commodities market is always subject to fluctuations and MRF operators are free to manage these risks, and indeed do so, through instruments such as forward contracts and other hedging instruments.

The current situation facing the MRF operators is, however, more complicated than market fluctuations. The calls for government intervention, relaxing of stockpile limits, national recycling banks, capital incentives for increasing reprocessing capacity and procurement policies which require the use of recycled products are all separate issues to how a risk-sharing contract would operate.

APRIL/MAY 2018 INSIDEWASTE

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Contracts //

There are a number of compelling reasons to consider doing things differently.

1. The current market crisis is one good reason. Recycling processing contracts (as one of numerous municipal waste management contracts) can provide a win-win relationship. Councils should seek to see contractors as partners in the waste management solution.

Contractors are not usually providing a charitable service and both parties should be comfortable with the contractor making profits. However, it is not the government’s role to guarantee profits.

2. The current fixed price type of contract which the parties are typically operating under is no real fluke. Indeed, even given the current market conditions, councils are likely to still approach the market with a similar view, albeit they are subjecting themselves to high gate fees. Herein lies the real dilemma: the timing for each local council in going to the market is significant.

What is happening in reality is that some local councils are effectively subsidising other councils e.g. where a council goes to tender now, they

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are going to be faced with prices that effectively prop up other councils’ recycling services. This means that one community can be bearing the costs of other council contracts.

3. There are other contract types available that can be considered.

The upside of commodity risksharing is that both parties share these gains. Not many councils heard from their processing contractors when the good times were rolling.

Contractors can allow for the sharing of commodity price increases - and certainly contractors have been seeking alternatives to the typical contracts that have been a feature of municipal waste management over the last few years.

4. The contracts themselves can provide support for the long-term viability of the recycling market.

The MRFs are almost completely reliant on material delivered by local councils and most councils will agree that their communities want to keep recycling. The roles of the parties can be refined, or re-defined, so that there is a more efficient way of participating in the market.

5. Borders between the states regarding recycling markets are being eroded.

However, local governments are ultimately governed within states and so state solutions are probably still the most appropriate.

There is certainly a case for the re-structuring of local government contracts to allow for sharing of the significant risks attached to the commodity markets. But how will this work? What would the new relationship look like? Does the market want these for the long term? And most importantly, how would local councils manage the risks and the fluctuating contracts?

These are the questions to which local councils do not currently have answers and these unanswered questions are the reason we have seen a continuation of contracts being presented where the commodity risks - both gains and losses - sit with the contractor. There are no easy answers for local councils here.

The capacity and capabilities within local councils are not geared towards adequately managing such a contract, and the scope for misunderstanding contractual obligations, poor contract administration, or unscrupulous behaviour are risks that no local council should or could properly accept currently.

One approach that is worth considering is that local councils band together to aggregate their tonnes. The power that councils have in contractual relationships seems to be underutilised and could better position councils and their communities into the future.

A centralised body that acts like a broker or clearing house could allow for councils to commit their tonnes and seek the best possible outcome from a purpose-entitled entity (possibly a statutory body). The entity acts in the best interests of the member councils and seeks to supply tonnes to the MRF operators in a range of products composition, terms etc. Local council’s relationship is with the empowered entity whose responsibility is to secure the best possible outcomes.

There will be some who recall the previous local government recycling co-op, and probably for the bad memories. Certainly, market information and strategy have increased over the last decade and a truly expert specialist organisation could provide councils with confidence and security.

Essentially, the maturation of such a proposition may eventually rely on a spot market from the councils’ point of view i.e. all councils in the cooperative would accept the same ‘gate fee’ at any point in time. i.e. the councils would accept a floating gate fee and can enter and exit the market accordingly.

But councils could also opt for set term contracts (which are subject to floating markets – perhaps with floor and ceiling prices).

The entity would be the infrastructure that supports the local councils in this endeavour. This is the missing piece: councils cannot be expected to adequately monitor fluctuating commodity markets. A purpose-appointed specialist can do this job on behalf of local councils.

Essentially, this is the type of responsibility that the state treasury corporations already undertake for the state debt requirements etc.

We currently have a situation which invites market failure: local councils seek fixed prices over long terms, whilst MRF operators are subject to market fluctuations at every point in time during that fixed term.

One hurdle to overcome for local councils is budgeting. Where councils seek to follow a four-year operational plan with a corresponding budget, there will need to be a change in thinking.

Strategic consideration will need to be given to retrospective adjustments, etc - and a specialist entity can allow for arrangements which smooth out the possible fluctuations that a council might experience.

One feature of local councils’ current contractual arrangements with MRFs is that there is little ability to ensure that the promised end use of the output products of MRFs are in line with their aims of sustainable outcomes, let alone what the actual end use (or otherwise) is. The auditing and monitoring of MRF outputs would be more likely to be achievable from a body responsible for a more critical mass of recyclables.

The entity could require and ensure adherence to robust quantity and quality standards.

An additional benefit that would come from such an expert entity would be the resolution of the refund sharing agreements that local councils are now required to negotiate in accordance with the CDS. Councils should be cautioned that the CDS refund sharing arrangements should be a completely separate matter from the current market pressures.

Councils will be required to certify the reasonableness of the refund sharing agreements and this cannot be done with a simple reference to negotiations regarding current contract conditions.

That is, councils should not tie the two together.

In the short term, councils may need to consider re-negotiating certain parts of their existing contracts. Beyond that, a new way of doing things deserves to be considered.

Katherine Driscoll is a consultant at Impact Environmental specialising in procurement, tender, and contract processes. Contact: katherine@impactenviro.com.au iw

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

Recycling //

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INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

CHINA’S National Sword policy has left a trail of confusion and concern in its wake. As state and local government as well as industry grapple with the impacts of China’s waste import restrictions, the question that has come up in recent days is, is the situation a crisis, an opportunity, or the new norm?

According to preliminary estimates

by Blue Environment, of the recyclables Australia sends to China (1.27 million tonnes in 2016-17), 1.25 million tonnes (99%) are affected by the new restrictions. 63% and 36% of exports comprised paper and plastic respectively.

A few state governments have stepped in to support councils and industry affected by China’s policy Victoria released a $13 million rescue package in February followed by NSW, with a $47 million package a month later. In South Australia, a $300,000 Recycling Market Development Grants Programme has been launched to help businesses invest in areas that will overcome market barriers to accepting end products and in Queensland, the Department of Environment is in discussions with the federal government and other state and territories about the implications of National Sword.

Both NSW and Victoria are also establishing taskforces to tackle the longer-term response and NSW Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton has written to the federal Environment Minister to “urgently progress the work on this issue and the long-term solutions at a national level.”

Likely outcomes Over the last few weeks, there have been reports of kerbside yellow bin collections ceasing or threatening to cease and the extremely financially challenging situation MRF operators are in, particularly on the eastern seaboard.

Speaking at a Waste Contractors and Recyclers Association of NSW (WCRA) breakfast briefing in March, WCRA executive director Tony Khoury said he foresees one of two scenarios playing out.

The first, which Khoury said would be the preferred outcome, is that trucks

will continue to collect recyclables from the yellow bin, tipping off the materials at the same designated recycling point, whether this is a MRF or a transfer station where the material is stored for transfer to a MRF. The material is then processed, sorted, and baled for on-forwarding to an end-use domestic or offshore recycling facility.

This scenario however, would require funding to meet the additional cost of “business as usual” - here’s where NSW government’s $47 million support package would come in handy - and at the same time, there needs to be some flexibility to safely stockpile materials to address fluctuating market demands.

The good news is, Upton has said that facilities can now apply to the EPA to temporarily vary their stockpile limits.

These facilities will be assessed to demonstrate that appropriate safety measures are in place.

Khoury then turned to scenario two which he said is not preferred but may be forced on parties and that is the collection truck is no longer able to tip off at the designated recycling point because the MRF has reached its Authorised Amount limit or the MRF is unable to process material to meet the higher quality specification.

“In this situation, there will be some serious discussions between the parties as to what needs to happen,” Khoury said.

“Does the material go to landfill and will this be in NSW or South East Queensland? Will it be diverted to another MRF or will there be temporary storage of the material awaiting further processing? Who will fund the additional cost? What will be the amount, duration and source of this funding?

“And as the NSW waste levy was designed to encourage diversion from landfill, you’ve got to now question the relevance of the NSW levy in this situation because it’s achieved its objectives but we’ve got another set of circumstances that are totally out of control of the waste generator, the council, the transporter, the MRF, and will the NSW government insist on the levy being paid in those circumstances?

These are all issues that need to be discussed, agreed, and resolved between the parties.”

The NSW EPA has already advised facilities to do a number of things,

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// Recycling

from commencing discussions to safely store increased stocks, to developing a plan that would justify an increase in the Authorised Amount (more on www. insidewaste.com.au). But Khoury had a few more suggestions to offer.

“For facilities, if you haven’t already done so, please ensure that your local councils are informed of these difficulties. In relation to commercial recycling deliveries, if it is not feasible to continue receiving these products, then promptly notify your clients,” he said.

“Because it may be that the recycling facility or MRF can no longer receive your product or the commercial terms have varied and things like price contamination rates may be an issue or maybe the MRF has reached the limit of their Authorised Amount. So, if you’re a commercial transporter of recyclables, promptly and formally notify your clients and work out what other disposal options you might consider.”

The NSW waste and resource recovery sector descended on Lidcombe in March to discuss the impacts of China’s National Sword policy at a WCRA breakfast briefing.

The legal piece The EPA may be open to discussing Authorised Amount limits but as G&B Lawyers partner Kim Glassborow pointed out at the breakfast briefing, these limits are part of the Environment

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Recycling //

Protection Licence - a legally enforceable document - and changing the limits is akin to making a variation to the licence. Under Section 58 of the POEO Act, if a proposed variation could result in significant environmental impacts, public submissions will be invited. Thus, Glassborow advised attendees to start the process now if there is a need to vary an Authorised Amount limit and also cautioned that it may be a challenge finding an Authorised Amount limit that will work in the short-term for operators worst hit by the situation.

Glassborow also highlighted an added complication for MRF operators with Development Consents.

“What happens in a situation where the Development Consent instrument only authorises certain stockpile tonnages for instance? Basically, conditions in a Development Consent granted by the Environmental Planning and Assessment (EP&A) Act must generally be consistent with the Environment Protection Licence (EPL),” she said.

What this means is that if an operator needs to vary their stockpile limits in their EPL, then they would need to obtain a modification to

their Development Consent as the two instruments cannot be in conflict with each other.

“To make matters even more complex, there are provisions in the Environmental Planning and Assessment Regulation which force development applications seeking to significantly increase the environmental impact of the total development as designated development.

Unfortunately, the drafting of the regulation is fairly broad and it includes alterations and conditions,” Glassborow said.

“So, if the development consent authority - in this case, I’m talking about local council - forms the view that the proposed alterations and conditions would significantly increase environmental impacts from the total development, then arguably, a new DA would have to be prepared and would also have to meet the requirements of a designated development under the EP&A Act,” she said, adding that experience has shown this is neither a quick nor cheap process.

Food for thought During the discussion at the breakfast briefing, delegates also brought up other challenges that have exacerbated

the situation as well as processes that needed to change to secure the sector’s viability now, in difficult times, and well into the future.

One local government attendee said their council has had their un-contestable funds from the EPA nearly halved for the last four years and noted that in addition to this, “a lot” of Waste Less Recycle More funds was going to areas not related to waste and resource recovery. They urged those in the room to lobby for the money that comes from the landfill levy to be returned to industry.

It was also noted that the current DA process was “impossible”, being both a lengthy and extremely costly process that was driving industry to move offshore. It was noted (as it has been time and again) that there is a “massive disconnect” between industry and government and unless government could be pushed to improve and expedite the DA process, the general consensus was that developing new processing infrastructure would be a tough thing to accomplish.

Another question that came up was why MRFs had not received their CDS refunds, considering these operators needed the funds now more than

WASTE HANDLING & RECYCLING SOLUTIONS.

ever. It was explained that in each quarter, an audit program would be undertaken to determine the eligible container factor of each material. At the end of the quarter, the MRF would then make a claim for the number of tonnes of containers they’ve been able to process and have reached a destination for recycling. There’s a certain amount of time allocated to do that and likewise, a certain amount of time for Exchange for Change to pay out the refunds. As the CDS started in December, and the first quarter is a four-month quarter which ends on March 31, at this time, the eligible container factor is not known, the claims from the MRFs have not been made, and therefore the money cannot be passed on yet.

Risk sharing was a much-discussed topic at the event, with one attendee saying they were “sick to death of councils saying they are risk averse”.

They noted that it would cost householders between $16 and $20 a year to keep a MRF afloat and said all stakeholders need to engage in better risk-sharing, moving away from the MRF bears all risk model, and that new contracting processes should iw be developed.

1300 278 322 • astecaustralia.com.au

CONCRETE RECYCLING. ASPHALT RECYCLING. GLASS RECYCLING BULK MATERIAL HANDLING. ATTACHMENTS. 22

INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

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Tomra leads The way in reverse Technology

TOMRA Collection Solutions are the world’s No.1 manufacturer of reverse vending machines with more than 82,000 RVM’s installed worldwide in over 60 markets. As global leaders in recycling and inventors of the first Reverse Vending Machine, Tomra Collection Solutions are proud to be playing a crucial part in the roll-out of Australia’s first ever automated Container Deposit Scheme - Return and Earn.

The NSW scheme is Australia’s biggest ever litter reduction initiative, and with over 170 Million drink containers returned in just 16 weeks, it’s proving to be a big hit. Prior to the launch of Return and Earn, drink containers made up a staggering 44% of all litter in NSW. Early indications are that Return and Earn is already contributing to the NSW Government’s target of a 40% reduction in litter across the state by 2020.

Reimagining Recycling togetheR

Strategy //

Just one word (on recycling)

By Rowan Cossins I want to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening? China.

Unless you have been hiding under a plastic milk carton since 1967, as a waste insider, you will have heard all about China’s National Sword policy revealing that much of Australia’s (and the rest of the developed world’s) recycling targets were only being achieved via export. Now the global market value of recycled paper and plastics has been decimated - from a combination of China reducing the accepted contamination rate to less than 0.5% (previously it was 5%) and simply not releasing import quotas.

Never let a good crisis go to waste The practice of global waste export to South-East Asia, especially to China, which Australia enthusiastically embraced, could either be viewed as the triumph of rational ‘invisible hand’ economics or the toxic result of developed-world market policy. It was really both, since the practice of economics is not actually about numbers; its sole purpose is to produce the communal rules by which a community organises its production, including waste production. These rules are social constructs, and this necessarily entails politics.

Politicians only rarely pay attention to side issues (which, let us be blunt, the waste industry is to them), unless there is a crisis, i.e. affects them or their key constituents. Think of the US steel tariff threat, the Adani mine, or the parliamentary citizenship embarrassment; the China ban isn’t even close to that level of political attention... Yet. So, when the China ban does become a crisis, as many have noted, an opportunity will arise to reset the rules to achieve better outcomes in waste management. Better for the environment, better for local jobs because really, exporting recovered materials was cheap, made us ‘feel good’ but was in fact, far from environmentally friendly.

attempted to regulate and manage it as such. It could be regulated similar to bulk water1 given its ‘fluid’ nature then, rather than just extracting ore from the Pilbara, we also extract resources from the urban environment.

However, the comparatively low value of the end product and the high cost of processing (especially domestically) currently renders the practice generally unfavourable. Even though, by processing waste (safely) rather than landfilling it, we also avoid an undesired externality (more landfill).

So, as Robertson wrote: perhaps the question is not ‘is waste a resource’ but rather ‘at what time will waste become competitive as a resource’.

In this case, subsidisation should be undertaken until the activity is costneutral. Alternatively, we could view

the cost of diversion from landfill as the fair price of avoiding an undesired externality (more landfill).

Reduce? No thanks, I’d rather Recycle Many popular articles covering the China ban have ended with the claim that the solution is ‘reduce’. However, to be blunt, this is simply feel-good thinking. Of the 3 Rs, ‘Reduce’ has not had any noticeable impact in over 20 years, in fact, it has had just the opposite.

Figure 1: Waste generation and fate by stream

MASONRY

METALS

ORGANICS

PAPER & CARD

PLASTICS

GLASS

OTHER

HAZ WASTE

FLY ASH

Generation kg/cap

726

219

542

223

107

45

91

298

460

Generation Mt

17

5.2

12.9

5.3

2.5

1.1

2.2

7.1

10.9

1.4

0.5

0.002

Is waste actually a resource?

En recovery Mt

Some rough figures: Australia produces around 2.7 tonnes of waste every year for every one of our 24 million people.

Around 60% of this is recycled. Hooray!

Waste really is a resource. Or is it?

Despite talk of the circular economy, at no stage has any state government

Recycling Mt

12

4.6

5.2

3.2

0.3

0.6

0.1

3.9

4.9

Disposal Mt

5.2

0.6

6.2

1.6

2.2

0.5

1.6

3.2

5.9

0

2.463

0.136

1.469

0.175

0.003

0.166

0.028

0

1

Export Mt (2011-12)

0.5

Source: Australian National Waste Report 2016. ‘Other’ = Leather and textiles, rubber excluding tyres, other unclassified wastes. (https://www.environment.gov. au/system/files/resources/d075c9bc-45b3-4ac0-a8f2-6494c7d1fa0d/files/national-waste-report-2016.pdf)

Is Regulating Waste as a Resource an Answer for Waste Management Reform? Steve Robertson, Oct 2017, QUT Law Paper

24

INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

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There has to be a better way!

There is.

Crumbed rubber asphalt using recycled tyres.

Over 56 million used tyres are generated in Australia, every single year.* Tyre Stewardship Australia accredited recyclers are committed to supporting sustainable outcomes for the 56 million used tyres generated every year in Australia*. TSA is a Federal and State Government supported industry initiative and is free to join. Reduce your fleet footprint and get behind the drive towards sustainable management of your customer’s waste tyre stream.

Make your business part of the solution – not the problem.

TRP TSA 0201

To join the drive for change contact:

tyrestewardship.org.au or info@tyrestewardship.org.au Volume based on Equivalent Passenger Units (EPUs). An EPU is standard passenger car tyre. Full EPU Ratio Tables available at www.tyrestewardship.org.au

*

Strategy // Table 1 MATERIAL CATEGORY

AUSTRALIA: PERCENTAGE EXPORTED 2016-17

Paper

54%

Cardboard

29%

Packaging plastics

49%

Non-packaging plastics

59%

More education will not change that, neither will scattered individual action be any sort of solution for this crisis.

Recycling makes people feel good, and it is good corporate PR, but the thought of reducing waste often evokes something akin to a fear response from the public, as most people feel they have a right to consume at their discretion and improve their lifestyle.

Thus, our per-capita waste generation increases. Not to mention, Australia has among the highest population growth rates in the developed world.

Our economy depends on it, even as we ignore the impact on our natural capital.

With increasing per-capita generation and population, Australia’s waste tonnages keep increasing (23Mt in 1993 to 64Mt in 2015), but so have recovery rates (7% in 1993 to 58% in 2015), and our recovery

Breaking down still further, we can see the waste export story today for Australia is really about paper and plastics, with over 50% of these streams exported in 2016-17 (See Table 1 above).

exports. In 2012, we exported around 12% of our total recovery tonnage, or some 4.4 million tonnes. In recent times, this percentage is likely to have been even greater. Why did this happen? Simple – the rules allowed it, and it was cheaper than domestic options.

But this 12% export figure is deceptive, because when waste exports tonnages are considered by the percentage of recovery by waste category (see Figure 1 on page 24) three streams jump out - metals, paper and cardboard, and plastics - all at around 50% or more of the total recovered tonnage exported (2012).

‘Other’ is also an interesting category, at around 100% of total recovery tonnage exported. And remember, while metals are not as affected by National Sword, that’s still around 45% of the waste export market impacted.

A

Reuse - glass? Nah mate...

Look at how cheap imports are!

Unfortunately, while almost no glass was exported in 2017, the recycling industry was already facing the near demise of the domestic market for glass - ironically as a consequence of global trade, given the low cost of glass bottle imports, and the slow embrace of glass fines as a sand substitute.

What is also useful to remember is that only metals and glass don’t degrade in quality through recycling, and so can technically be recycled indefinitely.

Plastics (7-9 times) and paper (4-6 times) degrade through re-processing.

Recycling plastics and paper therefore delays, rather than avoids, final disposal The new economics of recycling is already playing out, bringing pain to local councils with the first demands from Victorian MRF operators for increased compensation for accepting recyclables. However, while pick-up strikes are effective in pressuring councils, ratepayers might be well advised to ask, as rates rise: • Where is this recycling ending up now, if not China (Queensland’s so called ‘recycling rort’)?

• Why is the state not supporting this extra cost from the waste levy?

There are also industry demands for councils to re-think their attitude to risk-share of commodity pricing in recycling contracts, but frankly, the likelihood of councils universally becoming more open to risk is poor.

What would paper, plastic, glass to landfill mean?

From a landfill management perspective, if shared around, it would be noticeable, but not dramatic, assuming it was mainly the previously exported tonnages.

Even another 1.5Mt of mixed paper to landfill is a tonnage increase of 5%. Glass, around 2%. Plastics,

Publication

Official Publication of the

ISSUE 66 | JUNE 2015

www.BEN-global.com/waste

INSIDE 22 Riding the investment wave 30 Is green manufacturing the future?

42 Battery regulation almost a certainty

Official Publication of the

Inside the first ERF auction

“The Court of Criminal Appeal took a different view on the meaning of waste under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act, applying a strict definition and explicitly rejecting factors such as market demand. However, that was in the context of a specific definition under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act, which is not the case under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. However, this did not mean the meaning of “waste” had changed.

“It is important to realise this case deals with the issue of planning approvals under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act – not environmental offences and licensing under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act. People should not take this to mean that the meaning of “waste” has changed for the purpose of the Protection of the Environment Operations Act,” Shapiro said.

ISSUE 73 | AUGUST 2016

www.BEN-global.com/waste Australia is said to be a leader among Antarctic nations in cleaning up historical waste in Antarctica.

Its main focus is cleaning up former waste disposal sites near its Antarctic stations. More on page 40.

(Adelie Penguins at Casey Station. Credit: Todor Iolovski/Australian Antarctic Division)

INSIDE 19 Satisfying the recycling appetite 34 Fortune favours the brave 80 What’s on at AWRE

Federal election 2016: parties talk waste and recycling

Progress for WA energy from waste projects PHOENIX Energy has nominated local company BGC Contracting as the preferred engineering, procurement and construction contractor for its $400 million Kwinana energy from waste plant.

In April, the company confirmed that construction firm Posco E&C had been issued a notice of termination and would no longer be part of the project.

It appeared there were differences over the extent of Posco’s planned use of subcontractors.

Phoenix Energy said detailed engineering design for the plant, which would have the capacity to produce 32MW of electricity a year and would receive and process up to 400,000 tonnes of residual waste per annum, is nearing completion, adding that the technology would be supplied

by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

PP: 255003/07055

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court that Glass Recovery Services’ beneficiation plant was a resource recovery plant, making it a waste facility.

However, Glass Recovery Services was successful in arguing that its facility did not classify as a resource recovery facility but a manufacturing operation that remanufactured a resource.

Justice Nicola Pain agreed, saying the material was remanufactured into new products, which made the facility a manufacturing operation.

The crux of the case, Shapiro said, was what “waste” means under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act. “Justice Pain applied a flexible approach to the meaning of waste in this context, taking into account factors such as initial processing at the MRF upstream and a demand for the used, refined glass as a resource for making new glass,” he explained.

Environment and Chemical Co, and Martin GmbH. Phoenix Energy managing director Peter Dyson said BGC Contracting had been selected due to its expertise, strong track record in delivering projects, and local presence.

The project has received development approval and all final environmental approvals required from the various WA government agencies to construct the plant.

New Energy has also had a big win, scoring a 20-year waste contract with Port Hedland in the Pilbara region of WA to divert waste from landfill, recover energy, and return renewable energy to the town and industry.

Mayor Kelly Howlett said the project would divert 30,000 to 40,000 tonnes of waste from landfill to the new facility.

As part of the contract, New Energy will manage the city’s residential and commercial waste streams and in an Australian first, renewable energy produced from the waste would be supplied back to the council via the Northwest interconnecting power grid.

This is New Energy’s second long-term contract. In July 2015, the company was awarded a contract with the City of Karratha to manage its residential and commercial waste for 20 years.

Construction of the plant will commence next year and is scheduled for completion in 2018. New Energy will use the Entech low temperature gasification technology developed in WA and already deployed across Europe and Asia.

At time of press, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull had claimed victory in the closely contested federal elections, with the Coalition securing 76 seats and Labor, 69. The Greens has claimed a seat while four went to Independents.

Ahead of the elections, some parties discussed Australia’s waste and resource recovery sector, with The Greens throwing its support behind the Waste Management Association of Australia’s (WMAA) industry position statement.

It agreed that national leadership was required in a number of areas and said it had a plan to provide up to an additional $75 billion in infrastructure funding over the next 10 years to fund “productive investments”.

The Greens also agreed that a comprehensive national data set was necessary, adding “a National Waste Policy would provide for the harmonisation of data collection and calculation methods for waste and recycling across the state.”

However, the party disagreed that the solid waste industry should be excluded from any carbon pricing scheme.

Meanwhile, the Australian Labor Party took a more limited stand on supporting improved interdepartmental links and better communication between industry and levels of government to support the industry’s role in transitioning to a low pollution economy.

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2014 2015 2016 2017 2012 We can sort it out

• We know waste • We understand the issues • We seek solutions • We work with you

Call our expert team today 02 9907 0994

Email: admin@aprince.com.au Website: www.aprince.com.au

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ISSUE 78 | JUNE/JULY 2017

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INSIDE

In 2012, Dial A Dump Industries opened the Genesis Recycling Facility in Sydney’s western suburbs (pictured). Now, the company wants to build an EfW plant The Next Generation - and is urging the community, sector, and governments to judge the project on its merits. More on page 16. (Source: Dial A Dump Industries)

18 Exploring the Woodlawn MBT 22 Celebrating a decade in QLD 27 Recognising innovation and excellence

Local Law 20 anti-competitive

Vic budget: wasted opportunity?

The Victorian government has released its 2017-18 budget, noting that the state’s economy is “one of the strongest in Australia” and had experienced a 3.3% growth in 2015-16, which is above the national average of 2.7% over the same period. $162.5 million will be invested to modernise the EPA and the budget includes a broad statement: “Greater investment will also be made in the waste and resource recovery sector, generating jobs in regional areas. Steps will also be taken to keep e-waste out of landfill and foster Victoria’s emerging waste to energy market.”

CEO of the Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR), Grant Musgrove, said some $20 million has been earmarked to be returned to industry, which is

disappointing considering the state’s budget surplus is being propped up by the landfill levy.

ACOR’s Victorian Landfill Levy Report released in May noted that approximately 20% of the state’s surplus comes from the Sustainability Fund or monies collected from the landfill levy, which it said should be returned to industry to drive recycling initiatives.

“It’s a national disgrace with only $20 million earmarked to be returned to industry and local government over the next four years, compared to hundreds of millions of dollars in other states.”

Musgrove said, adding that ACOR estimates the Sustainability Fund will have approximately $500 million sitting idle by the end of this financial year.

“The waste and recycling sector is being taxed to prop up the state budget and not enough money is being invested in improving the waste and resource recovery industry in Victoria,” Musgrove said.

“Victorians would be shocked at this budget trick. The community supports recycling, yet the government is taxing unavoidable residues from recycling.”

Musgrove is urging the government to allocate the money sitting in the Fund to industry in order to drive development and implement resource recovery and recycling initiatives, pointing to the other states, namely NSW and SA, which have substantial funding by way of the latter’s Waste to Resources Fund and the former’s Waste Less Recycle More initiative.

THE City of Gold Coast’s proposed Local Law 20 (Waste Management) 2017 is anti-competitive and offers no public benefit, says the Waste, Recycling Industry Association of Queensland (WRIQ).

WRIQ acknowledged that domestic waste management is one of local government’s roles and assured that industry is not trying to “usurp” Council’s role in providing these services.

However, the association’s members were “gravely concerned” that Council is seeking to restrict competition in the commercial waste and recycling sector without proper consultation or genuine consideration of the impact of the proposed law.

CEO Rick Ralph said the proposed law would result in higher prices for consumers without a commensurate increase in quality or innovation.

“The proposed local law is anticompetitive in that it allows Council to create a monopoly over commercial waste collection services in designated areas, thereby creating a barrier to competition in that market,” Ralph said, adding that the proposed law may extend further to all forms of waste collection and disposal, creating uncertainty for business moving forward.

He said the proposed law would not create public benefit but would create a long-term detriment to the Queensland public and market. More on page 22.

ISSN 1837-5618

What does “waste” mean?

A GLASS processing facility has won a landmark case in the NSW Land and Environment Court against the NSW Department of Planning and Infrastructure, after what Gavin Shapiro, senior associate at Henry Davis York Lawyers said was a “flexible approach” applied to the meaning of “waste”.

Glass Recovery Services began operating a glass beneficiation facility in Penrith in 2012, which reprocessed used glass into cullet that was then sold to glass manufacturer O-I. According to the department, the facility was a state significant development and had operated unlawfully from 2012 to January last year as it had not received ministerial approval, which was required under the 2007 State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) on Infrastructure for waste management facilities.

The department tried to prove in

THE Clean Energy Regulator has released the results of the first Emissions Reduction Fund auction held on April 15 and 16, awarding 107 carbon abatement contracts committed to deliver 47.33 million tonnes of abatement.

The total value of contracts awarded was $660.47 million, which is about 25% of the total $2.55 billion ERF budget. The average price per tonne of abatement was $13.95.

43 contractors covering 144 projects (36% of the 119 registered proponents) were successful at the auction and the majority applied under sequestration methods as well as landfill and alternative waste treatment methods.

Successful contractors include LMS Energy, Veolia Environmental Services, Landfill Gas Industries, SITA-Resource Co Alternative Fuels Pty Ltd and the City of Armadale.

Energy and emissions market analysts RepuTex considered the $14 “average price” disclosed by the Regulator to be a “moderate” price signal, with mixed implications for the market.

“On the one hand, a $14 average price may allay the worst fears for carbon farmers – who have feared rock bottom prices – yet on the other hand, that price is unlikely to see high emitting companies rush to participate in the scheme,” RepuTex executive director Hugh Grossman said.

Continued on page 16

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Cleanaway takes it sponsorship of the Parramatta Eels NRL Club to a new level with this co-branded truck hitting the streets in April. Parramatta Eels players: Tim Mannah (in vehicle), Chris Sandow (behind the cabin), and from left Manu Ma’u, Anthony Watmough and Ryan Morgan. (Photo courtesy of Cleanaway)

Official Publication of the

ISSUE 78 | JUNE/JULY 2017

www.insidewaste.com.au

INSIDE

In 2012, Dial A Dump Industries opened the Genesis Recycling Facility in Sydney’s western suburbs (pictured). Now, the company wants to build an EfW plant The Next Generation - and is urging the community, sector, and governments to judge the project on its merits. More on page 16. (Source: Dial A Dump Industries)

18 Exploring the Woodlawn MBT 22 Celebrating a decade in QLD 27 Recognising innovation and excellence

Local Law 20 anti-competitive

26

INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

disappointing considering the state’s budget surplus is being propped up by the landfill levy.

ACOR’s Victorian Landfill Levy Report released in May noted that approximately 20% of the state’s surplus comes from the Sustainability Fund or monies collected from the landfill levy, which it said should be returned to industry to drive recycling initiatives.

“It’s a national disgrace with only $20 million earmarked to be returned to industry and local government over the next four years, compared to hundreds of millions of dollars in other states.”

Musgrove said, adding that ACOR estimates the Sustainability Fund will have approximately $500 million sitting idle by the end of this financial year.

“The waste and recycling sector is being taxed to prop up the state budget and not enough money is being invested in improving the waste and resource recovery industry in Victoria,” Musgrove said.

“Victorians would be shocked at this budget trick. The community supports recycling, yet the government is taxing unavoidable residues from recycling.”

Musgrove is urging the government to allocate the money sitting in the Fund to industry in order to drive development and implement resource recovery and recycling initiatives, pointing to the other states, namely NSW and SA, which have substantial funding by way of the latter’s Waste to Resources Fund and the former’s Waste Less Recycle More initiative.

ISSN 1837-5618

The Victorian government has released its 2017-18 budget, noting that the state’s economy is “one of the strongest in Australia” and had experienced a 3.3% growth in 2015-16, which is above the national average of 2.7% over the same period. $162.5 million will be invested to modernise the EPA and the budget includes a broad statement: “Greater investment will also be made in the waste and resource recovery sector, generating jobs in regional areas. Steps will also be taken to keep e-waste out of landfill and foster Victoria’s emerging waste to energy market.”

CEO of the Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR), Grant Musgrove, said some $20 million has been earmarked to be returned to industry, which is

THE City of Gold Coast’s proposed Local Law 20 (Waste Management) 2017 is anti-competitive and offers no public benefit, says the Waste, Recycling Industry Association of Queensland (WRIQ).

WRIQ acknowledged that domestic waste management is one of local government’s roles and assured that industry is not trying to “usurp” Council’s role in providing these services.

However, the association’s members were “gravely concerned” that Council is seeking to restrict competition in the commercial waste and recycling sector without proper consultation or genuine consideration of the impact of the proposed law.

CEO Rick Ralph said the proposed law would result in higher prices for consumers without a commensurate increase in quality or innovation.

“The proposed local law is anticompetitive in that it allows Council to create a monopoly over commercial waste collection services in designated areas, thereby creating a barrier to competition in that market,” Ralph said, adding that the proposed law may extend further to all forms of waste collection and disposal, creating uncertainty for business moving forward.

He said the proposed law would not create public benefit but would create a long-term detriment to the Queensland public and market. More on page 22.

PP: 255003/07055

2009

Vic budget: wasted opportunity?

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// Strategy Figure 2: (New) Economics of Recycling

being so light, are much less, around 0.6%. Unless, most of these extra recycling tonnages end up in South-East Queensland, if there is

a lack of/lower levy in the next few months. In that case, these tonnages will become locally significant for landfill management. The entire

population of Brisbane only disposes of around 0.6Mt of waste to landfill.

Ipswich residents are resisting the development of more airspace.

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However, recyclables to landfill, long-term, would: • Become a big problem for waste levy reliant state governments, including soon, Queensland. With the resulting collapse in public and business confidence if there is known extended landfilling of a significant fraction of recyclables, there will be demands for waste levies (which are there ostensibly to improve recycling) to be scrapped.

And in the interim, until the new levy takes effect, it could be (more) of a problem for state government in Queensland, as the interstate recycling tonnages fly north.

• Make the achievement of landfill diversion targets for local councils infeasible • Be (another) significant blow to the business case of many MRF operators. If they are being paid to recycle and a significant fraction is landfilled, why would councils keep paying them?

• Reduce community well-being recycling makes people feel good!

• Impact jobs, since there are more jobs in recycling than landfill The (very short-term) alternative is ‘stockpile and hope’ which for glass, has already happened.

1800 182 888

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27

Strategy // What needs to happen - politics The shape of the solutions for this ‘one word’ looming crisis for paper and plastic recycling is already known. In fact, many of these solutions have been spoken about for years. We might ask: why have these not been acted on before? However, the answer is known; the rules allowed it, and it was cheaper not to. So perhaps we might ask: will our proposed approach now result in a different outcome this time?

A summary of the not mutually exclusive options can be found in Table 2.

All of these solutions are political - and almost all are a variation on resetting the rules. This means that government, particularly state and federal government, not industry, and certainly not consultants, will be the arbiter of the future of recycling in Australia, and soon. No policy action - aka ‘pray for the global market’ - will itself be a decisive and likely fatal choice. To avoid this will need coordinated effort from the waste industry - which is beginning to happen - to:

The question is really this: do we build/modify local paper and plastic mills, and subsidise demand, or simply keep relying on the hope of an efficient global market? It’s questions of who will win, lose and pay, and how much we value recycling as a community service and as an alternative to landfill. These are deeply political judgement calls that will be made in months, not years.

1. formulate a possible menu of new policies for state and federal government, and; 2. communicate the consequences

Table 2

Seek alternative off-shore destinations for recyclables.

Poor option, since the rest of the developed world will try this first. Also continues the hunt for ‘lowest environmental regulation’ solution.

Dispose the paper/plastic recyclables domestically through energy from waste.

Increases cost, but a reasonable option – although public and regulatory enthusiasm for EfW remains low.

Mandate product stewardship and % recyclables content for plastic/glass/bottle re-use schemes.

Increases cost but a good option. Bottle re-use scheme complements container deposit refund schemes.

Invest in domestic recycling industries that can produce to the 0.5% contamination rates for paper/ plastic, which may include segregated domestic recyclable bins - or preferably, can reprocess current streams into new materials and product.

Increases cost but a good option.

of inaction.

As this issue escalates into a true crisis, finally bringing real political attention, a suite of options to give better outcomes can then be ready for state and federal government to choose from. The greatest risk that we collectively run is to launch into a short-term response to the immediate problem without due consideration for what we collectively are trying to achieve. The decisions that we arrive at require bi-partisan political support, as well as provide equitable benefits for the waste management industry, community and government today and into the future.

Rowan Cossins is a principal at ATC Williams, a specialised engineering consultancy focused on effective client solutions in the waste management and mining sectors.

Contact: 07 3352 7222 or iw rowanc@atcwilliams.com.au

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Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

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Recycling //

It’s not a crisis but an opportunity JustWaste Consulting’s Justin Jones.

By Justin Jones RECYCLING has become a normal part of life for the majority of people in Australia. As consumers, people are faced with a choice at every turn as to what is the best place to discard many resources that society calls waste.

China’s National Sword Policy, which took effect on January 1, is not a crisis but really an opportunity to reset and begin to repurpose these materials in Australia. An appropriate approach to recycling is to respect and appreciate the product as a resource, which will enable a financial, environmental and social value to the community and organisations.

There is an actual cost to recycle in Australia. It is not free and with demands for cleaner products in this

global economy, the costs are only going to rise further. However, the cost of recycling is less than landfill disposal. Sustainable pricing in a competitive environment is difficult to achieve albeit when the pricing structure is mixed in with the collection, bin supply and education fees. Councils that are now dealing with an invoice from their processor instead of a rebate cheque have effectively been hit with a 200% increase in the processing of comingled recyclables. This is hard to accept and the situation is difficult to explain to the community.

The community expects their recycling bin to be emptied every fortnight, no matter what. In return, the recycling processor expects the collected materials to be what is submitted in the tender documents

and in the propaganda sent to the community. Why is it then a shock that when contamination is present, price increases are implemented?

Meanwhile, rebates for commodities constantly fluctuate up and down. This was evident in 2009 during the Global Financial Crisis and today, some nine years later, the discussion of a crisis and drops in the commodity market are again occurring.

Thus, what gate fee for the processing of recyclables is sustainable? Of course, this question has many circumstances that affect the outcome, much the same as organic processing facilities and landfills.

More than dollars State governments propping up the norm is not a sustainable solution.

Levy or emergency funds should not be subsidising a user pays system for this service. Funds should be directed to the end use of recycled materials on a local level. By developing these markets, a long-term sustainable mechanism will drive the growth of recycled content use in materials along with further increases of investment for innovation.

All levels of government must be forced to increase the level of recycled content in their purchasing policies. If local governments were the major purchaser of glass fines as a sand replacement in asphalt, bricks and concrete, then a sustainable market could be developed.

This is a true example of the circular economy working on the ground with tangible outcomes.

Education, awareness, and behavioural change for the community

NEW IN 2018: S D AWAR

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Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// Recycling

What gate fee for the processing of recyclables is sustainable? Of course, this question has many circumstances that affect the outcome.

State governments propping up the norm is not a sustainable solution. Levy or emergency funds should not be subsidising a user pays system for this service.

The community expects their recycling bin to be emptied every fortnight, no matter what. (Credit: Andy Arthur, Flickr CC)

are needed to ensure that the contamination levels within the recycling bin is reduced to zero.

Education is a process that should be ongoing, not only provided when a new service begins but rather to provide continual support on an annual basis. When the recycling industry talks

about contamination, confusion reigns.

What is recyclable, what is not? Each suburb is different; nevertheless, the fundamentals remain the same - they are paper, plastic, glass and metals.

The education campaigns with food organics and garden organics have provided the cleanest products ever

seen. Is it because this is a relatively new service and the education programs are fresh in the minds of the users? Or is it because the community has a connection and understanding that the contents of their FOGO bin could eventually be used in gardens and soils?

If there is anything the industry needs to learn, it is to stop being reactive to each and every crisis, accept that recycling is a cost centre, as is organics and waste, and that future-proofing the recycling industry by ensuring the end use of these materials is secured.

Justin Jones is the director of JustWaste Consulting. JustWaste is working with clients to ensure contamination is reduced and clean product is presented to recycling facilities nationally. Contact: iw justin@justwaste.com.au

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Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

APRIL/MAY 2018 INSIDEWASTE

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Policy //

Queensland - where it’s all at

By Jacqueline Ong IT’S all happening in Queensland at the moment - a new Environment Minister was sworn in at the end of last year, the state will roll out a container deposit scheme come November 1, the government announced in March that it will re-introduce a landfill levy as part of a waste strategy that it is designing, a Stakeholder Advisory Group that will co-design said strategy has been set up, and of course, there is no escaping the impacts of China’s National Sword policy.

The levy announcement was greeted with unadulterated joy from many in the sector. The Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA) congratulated the government for answering industry’s and the public’s call for action to stop the interstate KEITH_Inside_Waste_April_2018_B.pdf 1 transportation of waste by re-

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introducing the levy while SUEZ said it would provide opportunities for companies to invest in new resource recovery infrastructure in Queensland.

The devil is in the details and the details are sketchy at this time - to be fair, it is early days. What we do know is that the government made the decision after considering a report into interstate waste transportation and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has pledged to ensure that householders will not pay the levy, which will be applied to all industrial waste. While it has been reported that the levy will sit in the $60 to $70 per tonne range, this has not been confirmed.

Waste Recycling Industry Queensland (WRIQ) CEO Rick Ralph told Inside Waste that he was being cautious about the announcement, advising industry not 3/12/2018 7:51:53 AM to get ahead of itself.

“There are some concerns around what’s in and what’s out. There’s language from the advisory group that says ‘a waste levy model with measures incorporated to avoid costs for households and companion measures’...

What does that mean? Does that mean MSW and self-haul are out? We shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves and start spending money when we don’t even know what it’s going to be stimulating or not stimulating,” Ralph said.

“I’m going to be cautious this time. We, particularly our members, were polarised the last time around and this time, we need to get the mechanism right.”

The conversation, he added, should be directed to the waste strategy, of which the levy is a part of, because it presents the state with an opportunity to get its planning, procurement, regulatory, and policy settings right. He

Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said China’s National Sword policy has created an opportunity for the state to reframe how it does things.

cautioned that the levy will not create jobs unless confidence is restored in the sector which can only happen if the right settings are in place.

“Only then can we look at the economic instrument that sits behind it,” Ralph said, highlighting “it is critical the conversation emerging from

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// Policy

HIS YAWEI LASER IS YAWEI LASER IS ESIGNED TO CUT GNED TO CUT BOVE THE REST. VE THE REST. OW THAT’S APPLIED W THAT’S APPLIED HINKING. KING. WRIQ CEO Rick Ralph welcomed the government’s announcement of a whole of state waste review but cautioned levies will not create jobs unless confidence is restored in the sector.

this announcement is about Queensland business and its economic outcomes and not simply linked to peripheral issues such as interstate waste. The conversation and direction for the waste policy must be focused on what is right for Queensland, and of repairing the damage currently being done by the wrongful and emotive public debate surrounding the ongoing business activities of fully licensed and strongly regulated waste and recycling facilities.”

of recycling has caused concern for the recycling industry, however, we also recognise that this policy also creates opportunities to reframe how we do things in Queensland.

“The Department of Environment and Science is currently in discussions with the federal government and other states and territories about China’s ban on importing recycled material, and will continue to liaise with Queensland’s waste and recycling industry about the implications of the ban. We will also continue to work An opportune time with the sector and local government to Turning to the issue of the day - China’s build local and regional capacity, and National Sword policy - it would be facilitate new markets and infrastructure. extreme accuracy, speed andwill consistency of cut, combined unwise to think that its impacts “In the longer term, our government with very low operating not be felt far and wide.

However, Ralph is looking at a broader andyour morebusiness to the next level. he new Yawei laser is the perfect way to take ccuracy, speedHLF andfiber consistency of strategic cut, combined with very low operating does not think that Queensland will be as approach to waste, including wei HLFheavily fiber laser is the perfect way to take your business to impacted as the eastern states. programs that divert material from the next level. or dollar, “South the new HLF is in a league of itsThis own, up possibilities for companies East Queensland is largely landfill. will opening allow us to manage ss the laser cutting sector; from start-ups through to full production, 3-shift protected of the arrangement in a more way so for companies e new HLF is because in a league of its own,waste opening upcoordinated possibilities that Visy has insofar that if they can’t that we can bring about real reforms.” ments. r cutting sector; from start-ups through to full production, 3-shift move material that they can use - the On the local level, Local Government contaminated streams - they have an Association of Queensland (LGAQ) has quality German head, IPGthem laser source, Siemens ability to usebuilt that asPrecitec fuel stock in auto-focus their put out acutting call to councils asking controller and a fabricated, stress-relieved fully annealed frame it really is a cut above boiler at the mill.

The real impacts will for feedback the laser impacts of China’s man built Precitec auto-focus cutting head, on IPG source, Siemens be felt in the regions,” he said. policy, which Inside Waste will be .and a fabricated, stress-relieved annealed frame really is a cut above Because the impacts are unlikely to fully following up on in the comingitweeks. hit Queensland as hard or as quickly as LGAQ acknowledged that an it has NSW and Victoria, the state is increasing number of councils are in fact in a good position future plan. becoming concerned about the impacts “There is an opportunity for of the policy and how it may threaten e information: Queensland, with the announcement the viability of their recycling services 9706 8066 n: of the waste strategy, to get its head but is advising councils to continue to les@appliedmachinery.com.au around procurement.

Ultimately, there encourage residents to recycle. w.appliedmachinery.com.au machinery.com.au needs to be a cautious and measured “The Commonwealth, state, and local approach to managing the China governments all have a part to play Connect withtous socially chinery.com.au scenario and not panic. This should find short and longer-term solutions to with us socially cause everyone to look at the existing this issue.Connect Local councils cannot afford system and point out what effective to tell residents to stop recycling. This d 1 22/12/16 recycling is and what isn’t,” Ralph said. would go against more than 25 years And Environment Minister, of promoting the positives of recycling 22/12/16 9:27 am Leeanne Enoch is on the same page, and would also jeopardise growing telling Inside Waste: “The Queensland markets for recyclable materials in government recognises that the further Australia,” LGAQ chief executive iw tightening of the quality specifications Greg Hallam said.

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

9:27 am

APRIL/MAY 2018 INSIDEWASTE

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Q & A //

A time for leadership and positivity

By Jacqueline Ong PETE Shmigel is back and ready to inject proactivity, productivity and innovation into the sector through the Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR).

Shmigel, a household name in the waste and resource recovery sector, has had a varied career, from running the Beverage Industry Environment Council in the late 90s to managing Veolia’s sustainability and strategy efforts, then joining former NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell’s office as chief of staff and most recently, heading up Lifeline Australia as its CEO. In March, Shmigel, who is also a published author and writes fiction and poetry in his free time, commenced the role of CEO of ACOR. It is an interesting and challenging time to be back in the sector and Shmigel sat down with Inside Waste (IW) to map out the road ahead.

IW: Why did you leave the waste and resource recovery industry in 2011 to join Lifeline?

Shmigel: I had a personal family experience with mental health and suicidality and when the opportunity came to give back to the mental health community, which had tremendously helped our family get through a crisis, I took it with both hands.

For me, it’s always been about connectivity whether it’s connectivity in an environmental sense or whether it’s connectivity in a social sense or connectivity in an emotional sense 34

INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

that’s the common thread throughout a very varied career - it’s how you take theory and connect it to practice; how you take materials and connect it to markets; how you take people who aren’t doing well and connect them to services. That’s my overarching sort of signature if you will.

IW: And why ACOR? Shmigel: It’s time for leadership in the resource recovery sector. For too long, the sector - all levels of government, the industry, NGOs - has drifted a little bit. It’s time to really grasp the situation as firmly as we can and say look, we are a really good, valuable, valid industry creating domestic jobs and creating a new economic future but we need the right policy settings to do so and it’s a great time to do it.

Let’s turn what is a bit of a short-term crisis into new revived recycling.

IW: Do you think the current situation is a short-term crisis or the new norm?

Shmigel: There’s no doubt that there’ll be more pain before there’s a turnaround. Commodity prices have gone up and down in the past in recycling and we’ve all survived them but this particular downswing is significant, and the policy from the Chinese is significant with regard to contamination. Thus, it’s going to take some time to fix the short-term, the medium-term, and the long-term.

In the short-term, you’re going to see contractual adjustments and some give

and take on the part of the collection industry and the people signing the contracts, from local government and otherwise. You’re going to see some changing and shifting of markets in terms of alternatives to China, and then you’re going to move into that middle stage and that longer stage of developing resilience here in a domestic sense, whether that’s remanufacturing or product uptake, you name it. We’re going to have to go through a transition but what’s important in a transition always is that sense of leadership, that sense that we can actually build something! We’re just as good as the miners, we’re just as good as the energy industry, we’re just as good as the car industry. So, let’s take ourselves seriously, not just for the good job that we’re doing in diverting stuff from landfill and the environmental aspect but also the industry aspect.

IW: The sector has come under intense mainstream media scrutiny in the last 12 months and now, with the pressure felt from the impacts of China’s National Sword policy, what do you think industry can and should do to encourage community to keep recycling, regardless of what they read or see in the media?

Shmigel: It’s more than just about industry; I like to use the term fraternity. Recycling isn’t just about the re-processor or the MRF, it is about the councils that commission the contracts because the community wants them, it

is about the community and the way they put things in bins, it is about state governments and the policies that either encourage or discourage these things. It is time for the whole sector to step back and say, how do you make this structurally sustainable?

We had the great benefit of riding high commodity prices for about 10 years and we’ve been the most free market sector there can possibly be. Now is the time to shift it a little bit and say, hang on a second, people in mining received millions and millions of dollars in subsidies and all we’re asking for is a level playing field - a level playing field in terms of landfill levies, in terms of planning consents being appropriate, in terms of procurement. In the US the Republican administration - there have been procurement policies in place for recycled content products for decades! We need councils and state governments to step up and say, not only are we going to collect, we’re going to buy and that, I think, is the thing that assures community the most - when they know there are end markets and practical applications and there are real new products coming out of the things they put on the kerb. We have to stop this race to the bottom where we’re trying to basically make collection as cheap as possible and start thinking about why we’re doing this. We’re doing this to create new environmental and social value and there’s a particular price tag associated with it that we have to be fair and honest about.

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// Q & A On the various industry associations, Shmigel says “we have to do a better job of cooperating with each other.”

IW: And how do we encourage governments to change their procurement policies?

Shmigel: Let’s take an example from China, which has put these restrictive prohibitions on contamination - why have they done it? They’ve done it to build a strong domestic recycling sector.

The government in China has taken a proactive approach in saying we believe in recycling and we’re going to support it by making sure our domestic re-processors are given primacy. Let’s take a leaf out of their book. Our governments also have to do things that are proactive to support the domestic industry. Coming back to procurement, there are examples all around, for example, in Western Australia at the moment, I understand that glass fines are going into concrete and road base by private developers but the state government doesn’t do it. You’re talking about hundreds or thousands of tonnes of glass, one of the materials that is the hardest to actually find a home for, that is within the power of state governments to do something about. In plastics reprocessing, we have for too long talked about various technologies and trials. It’s time to stop talking about trials and start saying, we’re going to take some risks here and we’re going to invest, at least in a start-up sense, in some of these technologies that can be used in regional Australia to process plastics.

IW: With these changes and opportunities available, what will you be focusing on in your first year as CEO of ACOR?

Shmigel: We have to have a value proposition to take to government to say this is what a new future may look like and indeed we best serve our members by developing new ideas and new dialogue.

There are two projects that we will be doing and one is a social opinion survey. It’s been a long time since anyone asked the community what they think about recycling and specifically, what sort of reforms do they support in recycling and what sort of reforms are they willing to pay for. We talk about positive procurement, better siting of waste and recycling facilities, greater fees even at the kerb, things like extended producer responsibility...

Let’s test all these things in a social opinion survey and see where the community wants us as a sector to go.

We’re also going to be undertaking a risk and futures project for the recycling sector to try to accurately and factually understand them and dissect what the risks to the sector are in going from 50,000 jobs today to let’s say 100,000 jobs in 10 years and what kind of futures do we have to build. It’s nice to talk about things like market development in broad terms but what does that actually mean? Does that mean greater scale for a number of key plants or does it mean for example, modularised remanufacturing for things like plastic or glass in regional areas? Let’s map that out for the future and then go to government and say these things are achievable and this is the pathway to achieve them. Industry has to take a

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

On the best advice he’s ever been given, Shmigel, pointed an event where Reverend Bill Crews, who started the Exodus Foundation, a charity for homes people in the Inner West of Sydney, sat a group of business people down and said: “Pick the hardest thing you can find and do it.” leadership role in terms of determining what the future looks like and ask for government support to do it.

You’re going to see proactivity, positivity, and good championing of innovation from ACOR and I’m also interested in rolling out futurology work in recycling. For example, it’s not far down the track that we need to think about things like driverless trucks, more automation within MRFs, robotics and AI, digitisation and the consumer taking greater power of their waste and recycling choices as a result of digital technology. We want ACOR to be on the cutting edge of new policy and operational ideas, creating the space and the conditions for market growth in the recycling sector until it becomes equal with the miners and aviators - a serious industry that really punches above its weight in Australia.

Another thing you’re going to see is much better collaboration. I understand why the WMAAs and ACORs, WCRAs and WRIQs and other associations that are out there exist and I understand their missions and purposes but I also think we need to do a much better job of collaborating with each on key issues and opportunities. For example, in the context of this recycling crisis

in packaging, one of the first things I want to do is put all the industry associations around the table and say where’s our common ground and how can we go to government?

There is absolutely room for everyone.

When you look at the trend in the US, in Canada and elsewhere in regard to industry associations, they all have their purpose. At the same you see people functionally cooperating more.

That’s the future - you’ll see the brands retained because those brands serve a purpose in the marketplace for the members but in terms of getting policy changes, responding to stakeholders like government, I think we have to do a better job of cooperating with each other.

It’s time for positivity and leadership. We can talk ourselves out of having a sustainable industry because of this challenge currently on the table; we can say it’s too hard and turn our backs on it - that would be a disservice to 25 years of effort in building kerbside recycling systems on the part of councils, consumers, and industry. Now is the time to get all those sectors together to say, this is a valuable system and it’s time that we iw give it a valuable industry.

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Insurance //

Technology is no replacement for sound risk management

By Russell Boucher A string of high-profile fires and disasters in 2017 has caused insurance premiums to rise for businesses in the waste management and recycling industry. But while new technologies are being hailed for their ability to transform the way plants operate and manage risks, they’re not helping to reduce premiums or dramatically improve risk management.

So, how are new technologies contributing to the risk profiles of businesses in the sector? In this article, I’ll look at how cutting-edge tech like drone technology - is impacting the sector and what it means from an insurance perspective. New technologies are changing the way waste and

recycling plants operate and certainly have a role to play in risk management, but they’re no magic bullet.

Drones: a useful liability Drone technology has come a long way in recent years, and its applications now extend far beyond taking aerial photographs. Drones are an invaluable asset when it comes to continuous monitoring and can assist with matters including: • inspections of hazardous sites, or sites that are difficult to access; • real-time surveying of plant sites; • fire prevention through the use of thermal imaging; and • disaster response and risk identification.

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Drones can perform actions that would otherwise pose a threat to human surveyors. That’s a huge win for safety and risk management. But drones themselves are a risk. A public liability risk, to be specific.

From an insurance perspective, drones add an additional level of complexity to your overall risk profile.

The use of drones for commercial purposes requires careful management for compliance and regulatory purposes, as well as specialist insurance. Drones are, for all intents and purposes, a form of aircraft. And they’re treated as such in the eyes of insurance and the law.

Technology is a tool but also a risk New technologies are transforming the way waste and recycling plants operate and manage risks. But they don’t solve all operational challenges or reduce risks. Indeed, they can actually create risk exposures.

Just like every other sector, the waste management and recycling industry is exposed to cyber security risk. As far back as 2001, a Queensland man was arrested for hacking into the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system for Maroochy Water Services and deliberately releasing millions of gallons of raw sewerage into parks and rivers. Overseas, a former employee of a UK waste management firm was fined for sending the details of nearly 1000 clients to his personal email address as he was preparing to leave for a rival company - an act that police considered a data breach and a crime.

My point is that cyberattacks can occur at the hands of sophisticated criminals and IT professionals, and they can also be the result of negligence and employee misbehaviour. The technology you rely on every day, such as SCADA systems, continuous monitoring systems, even your email and accounting services, can all be compromised and exploited by people looking to steal your data, download malware, attack your other systems or bring your entire operation down.

This is why cyber insurance exists.

Many cyber risks fall outside the scope of traditional insurance policies, and cyber extensions aren’t enough to mitigate all

Russell Boucher, principal broker at Gallagher Insurance Brokers.

your cyber risk exposures. In the wake of new technologies and regulations like the Notifiable Data Breaches (NBD) scheme, all waste and recycling firms - regardless of size - should have standalone cyber insurance as part of their holistic risk management strategy.

Sound risk management, not technology, will protect you After some major fire incidents and high-profile claims in 2017, we’ve seen significant upwards pressure on insurance premiums in the waste and recycling sector. Insuring waste management and recycling plants is an expensive undertaking and, unfortunately, new tech isn’t helping to reduce risk or satisfy insurer requirements. Sound management of fire risks is.

Fires in waste and recycling plants is a major cause of insurance loss, so managing your fire risk is absolutely essential. Insurers are looking at whether you’ve got comprehensive measures in place to mitigate fire risks, including: • fire doors, dampers, shutters and windows to separate fires to regulatory standards; • detection alarms in all rooms within buildings; • systems and processes to minimise the risks posed by combustible fuels and equipment; and • fire mains, hydrants, sprinkler systems and extinguishers.

That’s by no means an exhaustive list but it gives you an idea of how serious the risk is and what you need to do to manage that risk. I recommend working with your insurance broker to develop a sound risk management strategy. This isn’t a job for just anybody, though.

Extensive experience on the specific risks faced by the sector and long-standing relationships with specialist underwriters are increasingly required in order to secure affordable terms - particularly when it comes to property insurance premiums.

Russell Boucher is a principal broker at Gallagher Insurance Brokers in Newcastle, NSW, and is highly experienced in providing risk management advice and insurance solutions for the waste management and recycling sector. iw More: www.ajg.com.au

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Recycling // Sahajwalla’s micro-factory (pictured) is small enough to be mobile, and is modular.

Veena Sahajwalla with her team of researchers from UNSW’s SMaRT Centre.

Transforming the way we recycle

By Jan Arreza A home-grown mobile process could stand recycling on its head, offering significant opportunities to drive waste reduction while creating jobs and business in Australia. But for the University of NSW’s (UNSW) micro-factories concept to take off, support from both government and industry is vital.

Researchers at the UNSW’s Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT), led by senior professor and director of the SMaRT Centre Veena Sahajwalla, have created micro-recycling factories capable of producing 3D-printed feedstock from plastics and metal alloys from e-waste.

These micro-factories have the ability to turn difficult to recycle waste streams, such as glass, e-waste and plastics, into reformed materials, which in turn will divert these materials from landfill and boost our declining, some say close to dead, manufacturing sector.

These micro-factories are small enough to be mobile, and are modular, meaning they can be tailored to reprocess specific types of waste, and are designed to generate local solutions.

The first of these micro-factories was launched on April 4 and is on display at UNSW while a second one 38

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focusing on processing glass waste into products for the built environment and construction sectors is expected to launch later in the year.

“It’s hard to imagine a complex product like a circuit board for example, being recycled in a traditional way, because it’s got so many different types of materials that are sitting in such close proximity,” Sahajwalla told Inside Waste.

“When you’ve got a variety of different types of materials together you can’t just burn it away; you should be looking at clever ways to allow recycling to take place holistically, and the best way for that is to have a micro-recycling solution that allows you to transform each of these materials separately.

“You can transform literally anything at the micro-level and convert these waste streams into high value-added products. For example, instead of looking at plastics as just a nuisance, we’ve shown scientifically that you can generate materials from that waste stream to create clean metallic alloys.”

Tom Dobbie, who worked on the intellectual property portfolio and on commercialising a lot of the microfactory’s technology, says the launch is timely if you consider issues affecting the waste and resource recovery sector

at the moment, for instance, China’s National Sword policy.

“Fortunately for us, we are using plastics in a lot of our micro-factories, so the market drivers for us factor in pretty well,” Dobbie said.

“Aside from diverting from landfill and finding applications for waste materials that can no longer be shipped out of Australia, it opens up opportunities where we can compete head-to-head with cheap imported products that often can contain dioxins and formaldehydes.

“Our products are not only sustainable – they don’t contain any carcinogens or nasty chemicals – but they are designed and engineered to last, so we are expecting a much longer lifecycle on our products.

“We want to see them everywhere because we think it would transform the manufacturing landscape, especially in remote locations where typically the logistics of having waste transported or processed are prohibitively expensive.

These include the island markets, more remote and regional regions of the country.

“We can demonstrate a very convincing business case where the economics stack up, there’s an established market, our product is superior technically, cosmetically, aesthetically, and it would be nice

to see that happening at a more grassroots level with local council. So, it is the triple bottom line – it creates jobs, it diverts from landfill, and the economics stack up for themselves.”

How it works Traditional manufacturing often takes place in large and immobile factory sites near raw material supplies or in remote locations, but these microfactories can operate on a site as small as 50sqm and can be located wherever waste may be stockpiled.

These micro-factories consist of one or a series of small machines and devices that use patented technology to turn waste products into new and reusable products.

The one that was unveiled on campus at UNSW takes and reforms discarded computers, mobile phones and printers. It has a number of small modules for this process, which can fit into a small room.

The discarded devices are first placed into a module to break them down. The next module may involve a special robot to extract useful parts, and another module uses a small furnace to separate the parts into valuable materials that can be reused in a number of ways.

The extracted materials include metal alloys, and a range of nanoparticles

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// Recycling // Strap

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that can be used in industrial-grade ceramics. The specific quality plastics from computers, printers and other discarded sources can be put through another module that produces filaments suitable for 3D-printing applications.

There are also many other components of discarded products that are expensive to mine and extract, such as precious metals like gold and silver, which can also be recovered and given a new lease of life using these micro-factories.

“What this all means is that we’ve got to stop looking at recycling in the more traditional sense as there are more and more complex products out there that cannot be recycled in this way,” Sahajwalla said.

“That’s where the micro-recycling solution will play an important part in that journey and it’s important that when we develop these solutions, the science is peer-reviewed, it’s published in international journals, and industry is part of that journey - we all work in this journey together.”

Sahajwalla is encouraged by the support the team has gotten from local and international industry partners whom she said have shown excitement in this new technology and this venture. But the journey continues and the SMaRT Centre is currently expanding its partnerships with

industry and investors. What is needed, Sahajwalla said, is government support to roll out the technology and help the country lead the world in solving the problem of waste to landfill.

“We’ve had highly respected figures from industry across the world show interest in this, and believe that we have developed something that is a game changer for the sector,” Sahajwalla said.

“It’s very important that we get respected figures from industry who’ve been in the business to come to Australia and have a look at what we are doing and give us feedback, because this is not just an Australian problem, it is a global challenge.

“I, for one, am really excited by the fact that everyone who has walked through the door has been excited about it and can see that this is the way of the future.

“The greatest challenge now is commercialising the technology and creating incentives for industry to take it up. Societies and communities around the world want to be more sustainable and are looking to their political and business leaders for action.

“Micro-factories are a proven technology but we just don’t have enough of them. I believe Australia can lead the solution to the global iw waste problem.”

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

34m

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APRIL/MAY 2018 INSIDEWASTE

39

Product stewardship //

The keys to successful product stewardship

By Jan Arreza PRODUCT stewardship is about shared responsibility, engaging all players in a product’s lifecycle from manufacturers to retailers to consumers. But what are the keys to its success?

That is the question that Terence Jeyaretnam, climate change and sustainability leader at EY discussed in his presentation on the evolution of voluntary and regulatory product stewardship programs in Australia at the PVC AUS 2018 conference in Sydney in March. And it was timely as well as the federal Department of Environment is currently reviewing the National

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Product Stewardship Act. “A lot of these schemes came about as a response to a lot of industries beginning to look at sustainability as part of their core business strategies,” Jeyaretnam said.

“In our research, we looked at identifying what the key drivers, the attributes and opportunities of the schemes are, and then we looked at the relevance in relation to leading product stewardship schemes around the globe.

“We aimed to find out what made these schemes so successful, as well what are some of the takeaways we can get for improving and refining these schemes for better results.

“Essentially, a successful product stewardship program should have a ‘lifecycle’ approach, but not all schemes have this approach. A lot of programs have an end-of-life approach instead, and looks at how we can minimise the impacts of that product only at the end.”

Product stewardship programs can be implemented voluntarily, where industry gets together to take responsibility for the lifecycle impacts of their products or it may be regulatory or co-regulatory. For the implementation of any one of these, three drivers need to be considered: community concerns, government regulations and industry willingness.

“Government regulations are usually implemented in response to pressing environmental issues. An example is Australia’s tyre product stewardship program, which was set up to reduce the significant environmental challenges we face with the stockpiling of tyres,” Jeyaretnam said. “[With voluntary schemes] they could come about due to industry looking to further enhance the viability of the product in question, or to avoid being further regulated. One example is the Planet Ark toner cartridges scheme, in which several print manufacturers got together to implement a way to take cartridges back from offices to recycle.”

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// Product stewardship Whichever path is chosen, there are several important attributes that a product stewardship program needs in order to truly be successful. These should be used as a guide for industry when they are setting up a new scheme to implement.

The first has to do with issues around materiality and how the program goes about tackling those material issues.

“We have found a lot of success with product stewardship programs that have gone right back to the beginning to the design phase, as well as focusing on different parts of the value chain,” Jeyaretnam said.

“That sort of early stage thinking is still missing in this space, and more should be done like incorporating recycled content into their products right at the beginning of its life.”

The second attribute is the flexibility and ability of producers to innovate within their set criteria to achieve their targets.

“Innovation and flexibility are key especially when you have a global market for the product or material as it’s hard to come up with the same ‘one-size-fits-all’ model across different geographies,” Jeyaretnam said.

Next, Jeyaretnam pointed to correct target setting and independent

auditing as something quite important to getting the outcomes one wants through these schemes.

“Although it is quite hard to set a target right, schemes without it essentially don’t continue to innovate and improve on itself,” Jeyaretnam said.

“For example, when the Vinyl Council looked at setting their targets, they looked at waste audit data going back to 1945, as well as PVC consumption data to better understand the estimated usage of the material and the waste production issues during its lifespan.

“It is important to figure out how things are going to be recycled, or reused or if they will end up as waste to go to landfill, in order to set the right targets for the right outcomes.

“Independent auditing is quite important too as this provides credibility and transparency in the scheme and keeps the players honest in terms of their programs.”

Following this, Jeyaretnam said there needs to be a market ready for the recovered recycled materials - this creation is paramount in the scheme’s success.

“The recent China waste ban suddenly means that we have to find new markets for these waste streams, and all of the good schemes have budgeted

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

EY’s Terence Jeyaretnam presenting on product stewardship programs and the keys to their success at the PVC AUS 2018 conference in Sydney.

some resources to help develop these new markets,” Jeyaretnam said.

“The Australian Packaging Scheme is a good example of a scheme that has grants available for these new markets to be developed.”

Finally, total industry and stakeholder participation and reducing the amount of free riders are key to the success of these schemes.

“MobileMuster, we have found, is a very good example of a voluntary scheme that has anecdotally got quite good collection and participation rates

associated with it,” Jeyaretnam said.

“It’s really valuable to note that you must take a leadership position in this space, and schemes should be developed by benchmarking it to other successful schemes already out there.

“So I think the challenges for us moving forward would be to keep the success levels of these programs up, to keep increasing the participation levels of the industry, and to keep improving on some of the opportunities that you iw have in front of you.”

APRIL/MAY 2018 INSIDEWASTE

41

Waste to energy //

Knowing your waste streams

By Jan Arreza FOR any waste to energy proponent, understanding your waste streams is vital in the planning process as this knowledge will support your technology selection and importantly, assist in understanding the processes necessary to meet state or territory EPA requirements.

Waste analysis supports key decisions in each step of a project’s development, and is used to understand impacts on plant and to the environment. Currently, Australia has no nationally recognised standard methods for sampling and analysis of waste resources. However, HRL business unit leader Nick Miller, who spoke at the Australian Waste to Energy Forum in Ballarat in February, said in order to characterise waste streams accurately and provide a clear picture of waste quality and variability, proponents should turn to existing international sampling and analysis methodologies, though he emphasised

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that technique selection is critical.

“In characterising and understanding the variability of their waste streams, the information that is obtained enables project developers to manage the potential impacts on boiler performance and material selection,” Miller explained.

“When you are going to market for a boiler, the manufacturers will need to know what the fuel quality is so they can design the combustion system to match the fuel quality. So, making sure that you’ve got a good handle on fuel quality and its variability is critical.“ Then, there are the works approvals where proponents would need to model their emissions. Knowing the quality of the fuel will support proponents with modelling their emissions correctly.

“It is very important to make sure the correct sampling plan is implemented and that the samples are prepared correctly to be representative of the waste/fuel source, which is quite a complex process,” Miller said.

“This [process] depends on the waste streams. One needs to look at each material in its entirety, consider what the makeup of it is, consider the particle size, and so on.

A project developer needs to design and implement a sampling program that also takes into account seasonal variability. Following field collection of samples, these should be submitted to the lab for further preparation, which involves a number of steps to reduce the samples particle size and to homogenise the sample.

“You can then take a representative subsample for analysis. With every different type of waste material, a slightly different approach needs to be taken to account for the differences in the nature of the material.”

The analysis not only enables understanding of the fuel, its variability and impacts, but supports with project financing as banks will require project proponents to have a solid understanding of fuel quality and quantity.

Key parameters In order to undertake the appropriate analysis and sampling of waste streams, Miller said several parameters need to be included: • calorific value - the amount of heat or energy generated when the waste stream is combustible; • moisture content - the amount of moisture present in waste streams and the impacts on the net calorific value; • volatile matter - the combustible fraction within the waste material; • ash content - the inert material after completion combustion; • ultimate analysis (carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and chlorine); and • major and minor elements.

And why are these parameters important?

“If you have a fuel with very high moisture levels, this will impact negatively on the calorific value to the point where it may not actually burn. Once you’ve understood this

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// Waste to energy

parameter, you would start to look at other parameters like ash content,” Miller explained.

“Once you’ve combusted the material, you’ll end up with ash at the back end of the process, which needs to be disposed of and whether you will dispose of the ash or use it for other purposes - so you need to understand its composition.

If the ash is classified as prescribed waste, the cost of disposal can have an impact on the project financials.

“Then you also need to determine the carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulphur and chlorine - they all have impacts on emissions. If you don’t have your conditions right and your fuel contains elevated levels of sulphur or chlorine, you can produce acidic gases that will cause significant corrosion issues in your plant.”

Proponents need to understand total chlorine and a subset of this; “organic chlorine” can be a precursor to dioxins and furans formation under specific conditions. These parameters (sulphur and chlorine) will require specific types of emission controls to be considered, as part of the gas clean-up system.

“There may also be physical characteristics that you need to consider such as bulk density and particle size,

It is very important to make sure the correct sampling plan is implemented and that the samples are prepared correctly to be representative of the waste/fuel source, which is quite a complex process.

If you do get this part wrong and do not have the right information about your waste/ fuel stream then it could have significant impacts across many aspects of a project.

Nick Miller, business unit leader at HRL, presenting at the Australian Waste to Energy Forum in Ballarat.

which will impact on feed system design and other important factors such as transportation,” Miller added.

“The best advice I can offer is to consider this part of the process carefully and talk to an industry expert who has experience in conducting sampling and analysis programs for waste to energy projects. If you do get this part wrong and do not have the right information about your waste/fuel stream then it could have significant impacts across iw many aspects of a project.”

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43

Local government //

Heading Setting new standards

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The group’s FOGO service generated more than 45,000 tonnes of food and garden organics, all of which are being recycled into compost for farms.

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INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

IF their current downward trend in landfilling is anything to go by, come June 2018, NSW’s Albury City Council, Federation Council, and Greater Hume Shire as well as Victoria’s Indigo Shire, Towong Shire, and the City of Wodonga will come close to hitting their target of a 50% reduction in household waste sent to landfill. This is an amazing feat, considering few, if any, councils have achieved such a massive improvement in landfill diversion. Additionally, the initial plan was to meet this 50% reduction target (a little more than 180,000 tonnes) by 2020.

The success of these councils’ landfill diversion efforts is in large part due to Halve Waste, a public awareness and education program launched in 2010 and delivered with assistance by MRA Consulting Group to engage the whole community in efforts to reduce waste and increase recycling. Albury City Council (ACC) has taken the lead in the project as its Waste Management Centre (AWMC) is the central facility for waste disposal for the six participating councils.

The decision to introduce the program was driven largely by the sheer amount of material sent to landfill - 75% of all waste. As almost no recycling was occurring at the time and no waste education program existed within the region, ACC saw a need to better engage the community to drive active recycling.

Together, the group developed a strategy to introduce Halve Waste and because every council was on the same page, there were few challenges in setting up the initiative, with ACC taking the lead in encouraging the adoption of the 50% target as well as determining a

self-imposed levy placed on landfilled waste - this levy was then used to fund Halve Waste.

Today, ACC oversees the Halve Waste initiative, reporting to the group on a regular basis. The councils also meet regularly to determine programs that factor into the yearly project plan of the initiative.

Too ambitious, they said From the very onset, the six councils agreed that for any impact to be felt, a high target should be imposed. However, this was met with scepticism from industry personnel who questioned if reducing waste to landfill by 50% was achievable. Councils were undeterred however, and explained to their regional communities that if a change didn’t occur, airspace would soon be completely used up which would then lead to other cost implications.

It is important to note that the group didn’t just set a high target.

They backed that up with a significant amount of infrastructure improvements and non-infrastructure services such as the discontinuation of annual hard waste collections and the removal of free entry days at the AWMC to ensure that each element of the program, including education, would go hand-in-hand because they were well aware that there would be little point in encouraging the community to recycle without the proper avenues to make that happen.

To give Halve Waste the best shot at success, a comprehensive engagement program was also developed, which included stakeholder engagement, education officers working with schools, businesses, and the community, advertising campaigns, large-scale public awareness media campaigns, program sponsorships and funding.

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// Local government

New initiatives Since 2012, ACC has introduced a range of new initiatives to boost resource recovery, including:

The councils’ three-bin FOGO system has a 90% take-up rate with 50,000 households participating across the Albury, Wodonga, Indigo, and Federation council areas. (Credit: Albury City Council)

Introducing FOGO One of the services the group introduced was a food and garden organics bin service at no extra cost to the community.

At the time, ACC was part of a kerbside collection service that worked with five other councils and four opted to also implement a FOGO service. This buy-in and support from the four councils’ management was critical in its success.

Following a community-based social marketing model, which has had proven success in bringing about behaviour change in communities, the group worked extensively in 2012 with its waste collection contractor Cleanaway to roll out the new service. As part of this model, the group selected the behaviours they wanted their communities to adopt,

identified barriers and benefits to those behaviours, developed strategies to work around those benefits and barriers, and piloted the strategy with a sample group within the community. This was then followed by the full roll-out and subsequent evaluation of the impacts of the new service, including reviews, observations, surveys and focus groups.

The group also set up a “green team”, which ran a call centre for queries and allocated staff to visit householders who found the change challenging. While the team was only in place at the start - during the introduction of the FOGO service, the community continues to receive support from council staff, contractors, and education officers who are able to assist if and when an issue arises.

Today, the group boasts a 90%

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

• mattress recycling; • refrigeration de-gassing and recycling; • ferrous and non-ferrous metal recycling; • polystyrene recycling; • electronic waste recycling for televisions and computers; and • soft furnishing recycling.

take-up rate of the three-bin service with 50,000 households participating across the Albury, Wodonga, Indigo, and Federation council areas. The service has also generated more than 45,000 tonnes of food and garden organics, all of which are being recycled into compost for farms.

Overall, success of the program to date can be largely attributed to a number of factors - the self-imposed levy that helped fund the education program, buy-in from all participating councils which led to economies of scale, the ability to fund infrastructure improvements to effect change, a well-planned capital program, and the right personnel to drive change.

Upwards and onwards For now, it is business as usual for the

group, with education and infrastructure improvements ongoing. However, the six councils will always keep an eye out for cost-effective and innovative options for the community and acknowledge that other materials such as biosolids, which council is looking to divert to other locations, will be considered in the future when volumes of these waste streams increase.

The group also intends to do more around industrial ecology locally and examine energy. Plastics is also on their radar as it is a growing concern that needs both management and solutions.

Acknowledgement: Inside Waste would like to thank Albury City Council for providing information iw on the Halve Waste initiative.

APRIL/MAY 2018 INSIDEWASTE

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CDS //

Lightning in a bottle

How each point works 1. RVMs: The reverse vending machine takes multiple photos of the container in a fraction of a second and in doing so, identifies the container as eligible (or not) via a complex algorithm of size, shape, weight, and barcode. It then deposits the container into the appropriate collection bin inside the RVM ready for pick up by Cleanaway and transportation to the sorting facility.

2. Automated depots: these are bulk collection points for large volume consumers, for example the hospitality industry, waste management companies, and charity fundraising events.

Customers can also bring their containers to these locations in bulk for quick sorting, counting, and refund payments. There are a limited number of these automated collection points around NSW. 3. Over-the-counter: customers can also take their small volume of containers to over-the-counter collection points where staff will count and verify that all containers are eligible to be returned.

The customer is then given an immediate cash refund.

Hotspots - top three RVM sites as of March 16 1. Emerton: 3,102,336 containers 2. Casula: 2,773,491 containers 3. Granville: 2,716,458 containers An average of two million containers are collected each day.

By Jacqueline Ong IT’S been four months since the NSW container deposit scheme - Return and Earn - was rolled out and sure, there may still be a few unanswered questions particularly around MRF refunds, some confusion when it comes to the value of handling fees, and reports of “bin raiders” rummaging through kerbside waste for containers, but in light of a challenging schedule, amongst other things, the scheme has seemingly avoided major disasters to date.

In fact, the numbers point to a fairly popular program, what with 150 million drink containers already refunded at time of press and daily volumes averaging well over two million a day, a figure that is reportedly on the rise. And while there was concern over the lack of information on where collection sites would be located two weeks before the December 1 roll-out, today, more than 500 points, which include reverse vending machines (RVMs), over-the-counter collection points, and automated depots, have been set up by network operator, joint venture TOMRA Cleanaway.

“There was a fundamental misconception that all collection points would be immediately deployed on day one of the container deposit scheme, whereas what was actually planned and communicated was a structured roll-out. That said, there has been a huge amount of ramp-up activity 46

INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

that might not always be visible, with our collection point roll-out efforts spanning the entire state,” TOMRA Collection Solutions marketing director Martin Walters told Inside Waste.

“Whilst it’s true that we would have liked the roll-out to have progressed more quickly, it’s a highly complex infrastructure challenge, with a great deal of work going into identifying possible sites, assessing their suitability for reverse vending machines, managing site permissions, engaging third party landlords, assessing noise and connectivity issues, ensuring truck access, completing additional site works, and so on.”

The logistics In NSW, reducing litter is a Premier’s Priority and the government has committed to reducing the volume of litter in the state by 40% by 2020.

Introducing the CDS was one way to help the state meet this target as drink containers make up the largest part of the litter volume. Some have pointed to the 150 million containers collected saying it is but a small fraction of the containers that end up as litter. That may be true, but it should not take away from the fact that Return and Earn is a massive logistical undertaking and one that is set to bump up this figure as time goes by.

“In simple terms, the TOMRA reverse vending machines separate out the key

material streams at source to return them to our world-class material recovery facility in Eastern Creek where they are processed and prepared for on-sale as a raw material for recycling and re-use in the production of new containers, thereby contributing to closed-loop recycling systems,” Walters explained.

“In tandem with the deployment of RVMs, the Tomra Cleanaway joint venture team has also recruited hundreds of over-the-counter collection point operators to supplement the reverse vending machine network. These are designed to handle smaller numbers of container returns up to around 50 per visit. In addition, there are a number of automated bulk collection depots across NSW that can process bulk deliveries and large quantities of containers (1000-plus) brought in by individuals and organisations.”

Setting up such a vast and widespread network has not been easy, with locking in suitable RVM sites and securing landlord, retail partner and other approvals for the placement of an RVM being one of the key challenges to date.

“With a geographical area bigger than France and Germany combined, another key challenge has been the vast distances involved in conducting site works, and transporting and installing the heavy, bulky materials and equipment required to set up a

network of RVMs across regional NSW. With this network then comes the geographical challenge of setting up and managing a network of technicians and cleaners that can service the RVMs on a daily basis. Combine that with the geographical challenge of creating a network of Cleanaway trucks and depots that can empty the RVMs regularly - often on a daily or twice daily basis and in some cases, up to four times a day - and you begin to appreciate the scale of what has already been achieved in such a short space of time,” Walters added.

“Once the RVMs have been deployed, the challenges then shift to an operational focus - most prominently the challenge of moderating the behavior of some customers visiting the RVMs, who bring large volumes of containers (often stockpiled for several months prior to the RVM opening) then leaving behind their cardboard boxes, bags and ineligible drink containers either in the 240L landfill bins provided at each location, or more often on the ground around the RVM. So, it is indeed a complex network of interlocking technological parts, processes and logistics that have to be managed 15 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year!”

Looking ahead The number of containers collected daily is rising - Walters highlighted that

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// CDS

the 150 million containers collected to date have come through the new CDS infrastructure and are in addition to those collected via the kerbside system since December 1 - and is expected to grow as community learns and engages with the scheme, and of course, as additional infrastructure is rolled out.

Despite hitting the target 500 collection points in March, TOMRA Cleanaway does not intend to rest on its laurels but will go beyond that

figure in response to the popularity of the CDS and to fulfill its desire to put these points within the reach of as many people as possible, meaning the roll-out of sites will continue well into the future.

“TOMRA’s roll-out still has great momentum, with around 20 to 30 new reverse vending machines going live in towns and cities across NSW every week - a pace expected to continue for iw several months,” Walters said.

Major milestones

150 miillion containers have been returned since December 1.

• 150 million containers returned since the scheme began on December 1.

• 510 collection points installed across the state.

• A peak of three million containers collected in one day (March 19) across the network.

The average is now more than two million a day across the week and growing.

• A record 45,000 containers returned through one machine in one day in February.

20-30 new RVMs go live each week across the state.

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APRIL/MAY 2018 INSIDEWASTE

47

Organic waste //

Capturing organic growth

By Jacqueline Ong AT the start of the year, Ditch Witch Australia & New Zealand, known to most in the sector as Komptech, underwent a rebranding exercise that included a name change to ELB Equipment. The sector may be facing numerous challenges as we speak but the green and organic waste sector is on a growth trajectory and this has boded well for ELB. ELB, through its Komptech and Diamond Z brands, distributes a range of turners, drum screens, separators, shredders, star screens as well as horizontal and tub grinders. It is also a long-time supporter of the Australian Organics Recycling Association (AORA).

Against the gorgeous backdrop of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, managing director Christopher Malan caught up with Inside Waste about the growth and opportunities in this space, saying the company’s new name is reflective of the changes that the business has undergone over the last decade, when it first commenced its partnership with Komptech.

“It started out pretty slowly but the waste and resource recovery piece has become a larger piece of our business, and that is one of the major factors for the name change,” Malan said.

“The other factor is, we used to just be Ditch Witch - that’s our predominant brand and it was 90% of our business.

Now, we’ve got Ditch Witch, Subsite, American Augers, Hammerhead, and Akkerman and then we’ve got the waste side - Komptech, Diamond Z etc.

There was a lot of brand conflict and it created a bit of confusion.

“So, we wanted to create clarity around this. ELB is the dealership, it is the company that distributes in Australia and New Zealand. The analogy I’ve used is that ELB Equipment is kind of the blank canvas on which the product brands stand.”

A changing sector Malan is confident the waste and 48

INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

ELB Equipment managing director Christopher Malan.

resource recovery part of ELB’s business will continue to flourish, particularly as he is predicting that the sector will be on a growth trajectory for years to come.

“Nothing I read and nobody I talk to sees the waste industry in Australia slowing down for at least five years. If you look at the primary sources of recycling in Australia, green waste accounts more than 90% of that and this will continue to grow.

There’s certainly a lot of great things happening in Victoria, NSW and SA. So, green waste will continue to be our primary focus,” Malan said, adding that pre-processing of waste including general waste for landfill compaction is another area that ELB will focus on.

“From an inventory perspective, we’re massively increasing our inventory to meet demand and we’ve dramatically increased our holdings there. We’ve also added people and we’re definitely gearing up to look after that space better.”

But it’s not just demand that has grown, the market has matured, which Malan said is a positive thing. For one, the industry is now asking more detailed, smarter questions, paying more attention to the upfront evaluation of what the cost of ownership is over the lifetime of a machine.

“Previously, the question was, I’ve got these many tonnes I’ve got to get through and I need this machine to deal with it. Now, the market is getting more sophisticated; they’re asking better questions and paying more attention to things like fuel economy and energy efficiency. They’re also paying more attention to not just the upfront price to start working but the price over the long-term in terms of maintenance, ongoing support, and things of that nature. We’re definitely seeing a more sophisticated buyer,” Malan said.

“This sophistication is leading to more professional organisations and in some ways, it’s making business easier from my perspective. In the

past, organisations may have wanted to do everything themselves but now, they’re comfortable with the idea that they’re really good at waste processing or recycling, so let’s bring in somebody like ELB who are professionals on the equipment side, somebody like Waste Treatment Technologies (WTT) who are professionals on the process side, and getting professional help... They are doing more due diligence before diving into a project. That’s the longterm trend I’ve observed and it shows maturity in the industry.

“The volumes are also increasing where you used to talk 20,000-30,000 tonnes, now you’re quite easily looking at 50,000, 60,000 even 80,000 tonnes per annum types of contracts, requiring more forethought, capital investment, and better conversations.”

Nothing I read and nobody I talk to sees the waste industry in Australia slowing down for at least five years.

If you look at the primary sources of recycling in Australia, green waste accounts more than 90% of that and this will continue to grow. - Christopher Malan A valuable collaboration To better serve a more sophisticated buyer, Malan pointed to its cooperation with WTT, which specialises in high-tech waste treatment solutions. Established in 1996 by Berthil Lubbers who is the company’s strategic advisor today, the mechanical and biological treatment specialist has completed more than 120 projects globally, largely in Europe.

Three years ago, the company made a decision to do more overseas and this year, the company set up shop in Sydney where Lubbers and WTT sales

engineer Sean Galdermans now reside, making the move from the Netherlands.

WTT has had a long relationship with Komptech, dating back to when the former was founded. In 2012, WTT acquired Komptech’s German subsidiary in order to become a turnkey supplier of complete process technologies, and its strong partnership with ELB continues today.

Over in Europe, WTT works with operators such as SUEZ, Veolia and Remondis and WTT’s aim is to partner with them in Australia as well. Soil upgrading companies such as SOILCO and ANL are also on the company’s radar.

“One of the things that makes us special is that we can engineer a complete facility in modular. So, we design skids (compartments) and these skids are produced in Europe and shipped over to Australia for example.

This is the key equipment and then we’re able to procure all the other things locally. We want to create a real balance of being on the ground here in Australia and having a good mix of cost efficient engineering and state-of-theart proven technology from Europe,” WTT CEO Jeroen Van Der Mark told Inside Waste.

“If you look at our experience and the number of installations we’ve built, our track record, the performance we can manage, you’ll see that our projects have been able to meet performance guarantees. For example, we have a composting plant in the middle of London where one of the performance guarantees is zero odour units from the site, which we’ve been able to meet.”

It’s all about smart engineering, WTT said, pointing to the company’s enclosed odour abatement system.

“There are a lot of techniques in the market to treat odour and most of them are commonly known like biofilters and scrubbers. In reality, we don’t do too much differently from those things. But with the complete design of the facility and the functionality of the facility, we make sure you don’t have too many

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// Organic waste

odour pockets,” Lubbers explained.

“So, if the tunnel is really aerobic, if the logistics and systems are right, if the after treatment works well, and everything works well, then the only area where you might have odour is in the enclosed area and that’s easily treatable with all those known solutions. Ultimately, it’s about the design of the facility which allows you to develop an odour-free facility and to use those known odour reduction units in a proper way.”

“Independency is also a big plus,”

Now, the market is getting more sophisticated; they’re asking better questions and paying more attention to things like fuel economy and energy efficiency.

- Christopher Malan Galdermans added, “a lot of our competitors are procuring companies to produce their own machines or equipment, which is forcing them to keep all of their subsidiary factories in the world. We don’t have to push

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

ELB, through its Komptech and Diamond Z brands, distributes a range of turners, drum screens, separators, shredders, star screens as well as horizontal and tub grinders. Pictured is the Komptech Crambo 5000 shredder.

our own products but can make use of the best available techniques on the market. I reckon that’s something the big waste companies are looking for because they have the knowledge, they know how to run the facilities, and they know which equipment they like, which we can supply them with because we don’t need to push our own equipment.”

With its new name and ongoing collaboration with WTT which now has a physical presence in Australia, ELB is well-placed to continue to meet the

industry’s growing needs.

“A big part of what drives this cooperation is we share a common commitment to quality and a common approach to solving our customers’ problems in some ways. Our relationship with WTT allows us to offer a simple process for our customers, a value add for them and we can make that interaction for our clients so much easier where two groups can talk to each other openly and understand where everyone is coming iw from,” Malan said.

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Waste transportation //

L-R: Vince Raschilla (director, JVA Engineering), Brook Layton (operations manager, JVA Engineering) and Giacomo Martinelli from FARID INDUSTRIE S.p.A.

Working smart

By Patrick Lau EVERY so often, we’d hear someone say: Australian waste management is behind its European counterparts, with policy, practices and equipment sometimes kept around longer than they should be; and we maintain a she’ll-be-right attitude until, all of a sudden, she ain’t.

Steel specialist JVA Engineering is challenging that mindset and has taken a proactive approach to business development and operations. Over 35 years, including 17 with waste, it’s expanded from fabrication to maintenance and more.

Now the company has taken another leap forward, striking a new deal with Farid Industries to bring the latter’s advanced truck bodies to the Australian market. Inside Waste spoke with Vince Raschilla, director, and Brooke Layton, operations manager.

“The business model initially was to diversify, to ensure that we didn’t fall into the trap of having solely one industry sector as clients.” says Raschilla.

“So, during the phase of the GFC where a lot of other companies were closing down and retrenching staff, we actually moved into a larger premises and took on more staff.”

“Historically, JVA has always worked in several industries... and been a repairer of all body manufacturers. We’d carry out the works during the course of the evening... so they’d be back out on the road again at 4am.”

“About seven years ago, JVA set up its own hydraulics division: Hydraulic Ram Overhaul Australia [HROA]. This was purely for the waste industry, because we were so sick and tired of relying on other suppliers in terms of turnaround time.”

That perfectionism is what has driven JVA to provide equipment directly. Says Raschilla: “The reason we went that way is frustration in the lack of improvement and evolution in the Australian market.”

Equipment was “not improving, not integrating smarter technology, not willing to change with the times”. And, being a servicer, “you actually learn the items: you see where things can be improved, and you see the constant repair and maintenance of certain areas. The failure points.”

Why the Italian connection - what set Farid apart from competitors?

“We visited several manufacturers... not only from a sales perspective, but from a technical and maintenance 50

INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

perspective,” says Raschilla.

“We wanted to import a superior product which would have reduced downtime, improved efficiency, and provide innovative technology for our customers. Farid is one of the top three European body-manufacturing exporters.

“They’re continually improving the electrical, pneumatics, hydraulics and structural elements of their bodies.

They’re able to cater for changing markets, whereas a lot of smaller Australian companies are not.”

Layton adds that Australian conditions are rapidly advancing to a point where our current stable of collection vehicles won’t cut it.

“The big garbage trucks of yesteryear, you can’t do that anymore,” he says, claiming, “realistically, you won’t see the eight by fours in the city soon.

“You have [collection] time restraints, size restraints. You have to look at different ways of picking up the product... Years ago, it was always front-lifts and rear loaders going round to sites. Now it’s the little trucks going through cities and underground. We used to go into tips; now we go to transfer stations.”

And the versatility of the Farid catalogue has solutions for all environments.

“In a country area, you might have a 4.5-cubic-metre bin in one area, a plastic 240-litre next door, and a bulk bin next to that,” says Layton.

“If you look at one of the Farid rear loaders (all-in-one), which is designed as four vehicles in one, you only have the capital outlay of one truck, not four.

“Really, it comes down to transfer stations... Now, if you’ve got half a million-dollar truck sitting at a transfer station for an hour or two waiting to unload, you have reduced efficiency and increased operating and service costs.”

The range includes smaller satellite collection bodies that can decanter into a larger 12- or 18-tonne compaction vehicle; side-loading machinery; even an automated crane and bilateral body system (perfect for foreshore and alpine territory).

For the moment, this is marketleading technology. But as regulations and conditions change, some of this may become essential. In that scenario, machinery built for more advanced markets, such as Europe, makes sense.

“You need to sometimes say ‘this works at the moment, but what are we going to be like in 10 years’. You have to work smarter,” says Layton.

Raschilla adds: “In the last 12 months, [Farid] upgraded the PLC controllers, electrics and hydraulics in all of their vehicles. It’s all smart technology - you can do it remotely, or plug into a satellite computer, and make changes to parameters as required.”

“Farid are already running Euro 6 [emissions standards]. For us [in Australia], Euro 6 is looking at being

integrated in 2020. By the time we go over to Euro 6, they’ll have been running it for three years.”

Despite big ambitions, Raschilla says JVA are “interested in remaining within the import-export, maintenance and repair, equipment side of the waste industry”. Existing clients will be happy to hear that they’ll also continue to service other iw manufacturers’ equipment.

26 - 28 June 2018 Aerial UTS Function Centre, Sydney Seizing the environmental and economic potential for government, enterprise and industry The Waste Strategy Summit 2018, is welcoming senior leaders responsible for their organisations’ waste strategy and environmental sustainability, to discuss solutions to the most pressing challenges in waste management today.

FEATURING OVER 30 EXPERT SPEAKERS, INCLUDING:

Sandra Mazo-Nix Coordinator of the Waste Initiative Climate and Clean Air Coalition (USA)

Kari Herlevi Project Director Sitra (Finland)

Carol Adams Mayor City of Kwinana

Kathy Giunta Director Resource Recovery NSW Environment Protection Authority

Kruno Velican Executive Chef Hilton Sydney Hotel

WHY YOU NEED TO BE AT THE WASTE STRATEGY SUMMIT 2018: Practical sessions:

Case studies:

Productive interaction:

Learn how to implement innovative strategies:

Compare waste strategies:

Leave the event with an end-toend plan to manage your waste in a resourceefficient manner

Learn from leading examples of waste management both from the industry and government

Interact with your peers through panel discussions and engage conversations regarding different waste strategies

Discover different perspectives and challenge yourself with new approaches to waste management and sustainable strategies

Benchmark your own organisation’s progress on waste management excellence with organisations from across Australia

REGISTER TODAY!

Book before 20th April and save up to $700  +61 (0)2 9977 0565  www.questevents.com.au

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

Marathon V-6030 HD Vertical Baler

Description: ideal for businesses needing to produce very high density bales, thus maximising container loading weights from RDF, SRF, MSW, cardboard, plastic, paper, hard plastic, plastic film, PET, HDPE, aluminium cans, steel cans and other recovered materials Dimensions: 9.25 x 4.35m up to 12 x 4.75m footprint Motor power: 22kW up to 74kW Throughput: production rates up to 13.5t/h for cardboard and 30t/h for RDF Bale size/weight: 0.75m H x 1.1m W x 1.3m L OR 1m H x 1.05m W x 1.4m L (950kg to 1300kg with RDF) Operation: fully automatic via PLC controls and HMI touchscreen with

Description: a Marathon Vertical Baler is precision-built for ease of use and maintenance-friendly access. Features such as the side-mounted, self-contained power unit, front-facing panel box, and feed gate interlock system all add up to a reliable baler Overall width: 2210mm Overall depth: 1054mm Overall height: 3556mm Total baler weight: 2124kg Bale size/weight:1 524mm x 762mm x 1219mm - 499Kg Maximum platen force: 277kN Cycle time: 56 seconds Base price: P.O.A More: 03 9271 6400

wire or plastic strap tying or both.

Bale wrapping is optional.

Force: 60t up to 120t Cycle time: 21 seconds to 10 seconds, depending on model and motor power.

Base price: P.O.A More: www.brentwood.com. au, sales@brentwood.com.au or (02) 4271 7511

CK International

Twin Ram Semi-Auto Horizontal Balers Description: ideal for businesses processing large volumes of waste materials including cardboard, plastic, shredded paper, hard plastic, WEEE, steel and aluminium cans, plastic film, PET bottles e.g. factories, waste recyclers Dimensions: 5.4 x 1.8m up to 8.5 x 1.8m footprint Motor Power: 7.5kW up to 22kW Throughput: Production rates of 1.5t/h up to 3t/h for cardboard Bale size/weight: 0.75m x 1.15m x 1.2m L OR 1.1m H x 1.1m W x 1.4m L (450kg to 850kg with cardboard) Operation: semi-automatic via PLC

controls with manual wire or plastic strap tying and bale eject function.

Force: 50t up to 75t Cycle time: 86 seconds to 30 seconds, depending on model and motor power.

Base price: P.O.A More: www.brentwood.com. au, sales@brentwood.com.au or (02) 4271 7511

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

Bucher Municipal

Twin Ram Full Auto Horizontal Balers

ORWAK Compactors (Australia)

CK International

// Product profile: compactors and balers

ORWAK POWER 3420 BALER Description: ORWAK POWER is a dynamic baler family based on Black Star Technology, the innovative hydraulic concept is based on the reverse technique of pulling instead of pushing the press-plate downwards when compacting material. Stronger, faster and smarter to give you more value for the money!

The 3420 is a versatile baler for large volumes of packaging material. It has auto-start and a sliding door that reopens automatically after each press cycle with a gas spring-driven shutter that goes up in less than two seconds. Therefore, it is very fast with a cycle time of only 24 seconds! The PCB features data storage capacity, technical machine monitoring, communication opportunities and - as forerunner in the baler business - fulfills performance level D for personal safety.

ORWAK POWER 3420 is optimised

for paper, cardboard, shredded paper and plastic foil, shrink film, plastic bags Dimensions: width 1775 mm x depth 995 mm x height 2380 mm Weight: 1080 kg Throughput: bale weight - cardboard up to 400 kg, plastic up to 450 kg Bale size: width 1200 mm x depth 800 mm x height 1150 mm Operation: hydraulic Compaction force: 26 ton Cycle time: 24 seconds Base price: P.O.A More: www.OrwakCompactors.com.au or (03) 8792 9777

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WastePac 100 Baler

Description: GB1108F and GB1111F Dimensions: 8.6m x 2m ~ 10.5 x 2.5m Weight: 13 ton to 25 tons Throughput: from 4t/h up to 25t/h Bale size/weight: programmable to meet needs Operation: automatic tie fully programmable Force: 120 tons Cycle time: programmable to meet needs

Description: a new mid-range baler with easy loading for large boxes.

Weight: 580kg Bale size/weight: 100kg Operation: hydraulic Force: 6t Cycle time: 34 seconds Base price: P.O.A More: (02) 6570 3300

Base price: P.O.A More: www.rowlandengineering.com.au

Waste Initiatives

Godswill Fibre Balers

Super 75 Fully Automatic Baler

Description: GB7575CL, GB1175CL closed door and GB1175TR twin ram Dimensions: 7.6m x 2.2m ~ 8.5m x 4.6m Weight: from 16 tons to 25 tons Throughput: 2t/h to 7t/h Bale size/weight: programmable to meet needs Operation: manual and automatic Force: 90-120 tons Cycle time: programmable to meet needs

Description: high performing mid-size auto-tie baler suitable for small-medium recycling facilities.

Bale size/weight: 400-800kg Operation: fully automatic Force: 75t Base price: P.O.A More: (02) 6570 3300

Base price: P.O.A More: www.rowlandengineering.com.au

Waste Initiatives

Godswill Plastic and container balers

WastePac HX600 Baler

Description: over 50 different models to suit all materials Dimensions: 4.1m x 4.1m ~ 8.2m x 22m Weight: from 14 tons to over 100 tons Throughput: from 3t/h to 30t/h Bale size/weight: programmable to meet needs Operation: manual and automatic Force: from 90 tons to 1250 tons Cycle time: programmable to meet needs

Description: high performing multi-purpose closed-door baler suitable a wide range of materials Bale size/ weight: up to 600kg Operation: semi-automatic Force: 50t Cycle time: 52 seconds Base price: P.O.A More: (02) 6570 3300

Base price: P.O.A More: www.rowlandengineering.com.au

Waste Initiatives

Huahong Metal Balers

Harris Badger Long Box Baler

IPS TRHE – 852 - 100 Baler

• US-made two-ram Baler 50, 75 or 125HP • 10.3m x 5.3m x 2.4m • 26t • 5t, 7t, 10t per hour OCC • 1525mm x 1120mm x 790mm 1.4m3 520-650kg OCC • Auto, semi, manual • 151t force, 60% ram penetration • 24 seconds, 20 seconds, 17.5 seconds Base price: US$340,000 - US$360,000 installed and commissioned

• US-made two-ram high efficiency Baler 100HP • 9.2m x 4.4m x 2.3m • 26t • Up to 9t per hour OCC • 1575mm x 1143mm x 790mm 1.4m3 510-630kg OCC • Auto, semi, manual • 114t force • 20 seconds Base price: US$350,000 installed and commissioned More: Wastedrive Pty Limited - (02) 9630 9333

INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

More: Wastedrive Pty Limited (02) 9630 9333

Harris/IPS

Harris/IPS

Rowland Engineering

Rowland Engineering

Rowland Engineering

Product profile: compactors and balers //

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

Wastech Engineering

Bramidan Vertical Balers and Presto Horizontal Balers Description: vertical and horizontal balers to suit various recyclable items Dimensions: variable Weight: variable Throughput: variable Bale size/weight: variable Operation: automatic bale ejection Force: variable Cycle time: variable Base price: P.O.A More: www.wastech.com.au or (03) 8787 1600

ORWAK Compactors (Australia)

// Product profile: compactors and balers

Description: open top cardboard baler Dimensions: H: 2050mm W: 1950mm D: 900mm Weight: 1100kg Throughput: two bales per hour Bale size/weight: 750 x 750 x 1000 & 180kg – 200kg Operation: top loading automatic cycling Cycle time: approx., 30 seconds Base price: $26,280 + GST More: www.autobaler.com.au or (02) 6734 5403

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

Description: ORWAK 5070-COMBI is a baler and an in-bin compactor in the same machine. It is a versatile all-round solution that takes care of both the bagged mixed waste and your recyclable packaging material. The top-loading multi-chamber unit is simple to operate and convenient to feed with new material. It takes care of both dry and semi-wet waste as well as baling cardboard boxes, paper and plastics. It is suitable for most standard wheeled bins of 660 litres. You can also add an additional chamber to extend your sorting and compaction station! ORWAK MULTI 5070-COMBI is optimised for paper, paper sacks, cardboard, shredded paper, steel and plastic straps, plastic foil, shrink film, plastic bags as well as semi-dry waste such as bagged general waste Drive: single phase 230 V, 50 Hz, 10 A Compaction force: 3 ton

Bale size: width 700mm x depth 500mm x height 700mm Cycle time: 36 seconds Throughput: bale weight - cardboard up to 50kg, plastic up to 80kg Base price: $18,070 + GST More: www.OrwakCompactors.com.au or (03) 8792 9777

SC2500 Blade Compactor

Waste Initiatives

Autobaler

Ti200

ORWAK MULTI 5070-COMBI COMPACTOR

Description: suitable for a very broad range of materials and applications Compaction force: 26t

Cycle time: 72 seconds Connects to: 3-phase 32amp Base price: P.O.A More: (02) 6570 3300

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Superior Pak ‘SP850’

Description: specifically designed for compacting large volumes of waste, suited to general waste including wet material, ideal for shopping centres, hospitals and industrial sites Bin capacity: 5-30m3 Auger diameter: 900mm Auger speed: 8rpm Motor drive: 10kW Head weight: 1750kg

Description: small stationary push blade compactor, designed to take all waste streams and tailer made to customer requirements.

Drive: 7.5kw power pack remote or integrated options Compaction force: 22t Hopper capacity: mainly suitable for hand loading or a 120 ~ 240 bin-lifter Clear top opening: 850mm x 1420mm Cycle time: 48 seconds Throughput: 56m3 per hour Connects to: 18 - 30m3 bin.

Power supply: 415volt, 3-phase, 32amp, 5pin Base price: P.O.A More: 03 9271 6400

Superior Pak

Integrated Auger Compactor

Superior Pak ‘SP1500’

Description: baling all recyclable materials, paper, cardboard, aluminium and plastics. Also, offering the only baler range designed specifically to handle MSW and RDF. Fitted with easily replaceable Hardox lining in the baling chamber and channel, with a special mobile wire tie unit, able to handle steel and plastic tie wire and designed for baling solid waste. A leachate collection and conveying system is also available to keep the workplace safer and cleaner Weight: up to 50t Power: up to 150KW

Description: large stationary push blade compactor, designed to take all waste streams and tailer made to customer requirements Drive: 11kw power pack remote or integrated options Compaction force: 32t Hopper capacity: multiple options depending on application, tippler bin, conveyer, 240 ~ 1100 bin-lifter option, available.

Clear top opening: 1500mm x 1420mm Cycle time: 54 seconds

Throughput: up to 60t/h (depends on infeed material density) Bale size/weight: 1100mm x 1100mm x variable bale length Force: up to 200t Base price: P.O.A More: Jeff Goodwin, DKSH Australia, 1300 133 063 or http://direct.dksh.com.au/recycling

Superior Pak

Macpresse ‘L’ Series balers

Base price: P.O.A More: 1800 013 232 or www.superiorpak.com.au

Throughput: 90m3per hour Connects to: 18 – 40m3 bin Base price: P.O.A More: 1800 013 232 or www.superiorpak.com.au

Superior Pak Portable Pendulum Compactor

Description: stationary blade compactor, designed to take all waste streams and tailor made to customer requirements.

Bisalloy wear plates used in all necessary areas Drive: hydraulic cylinder 15kW power unit Compaction force: over 40t Hopper capacity: manufactured to suit specific requirements Clear top opening: 1600mm x 1200mm Cycle time: 45 seconds Throughput: 220m3/h Connects to: full range of waste

Description: integrated one piece compactor designed for wet and dry waste streams.

Different hopper configurations can be made to suit Drive: 7.5kw power pack integrated Hopper capacity: 7 x 240MGB bins.

Can be hand loaded or 240 to 660 bin-lifter option Clear top opening: 1700mm x 1700mm Cycle time: 14 seconds

bins from 4m to transfer trailers Base price: $40,000 + GST More: Daniel McHugh - (02) 9756 3756 or info@garwoodinternational.com.au 3

Superior Pak

Stationary Packer SK866

Throughput: 130m3 per hour Integrated bin. 15 to 25m3 capacity Base price: P.O.A More: 1800 013 232 or www.superiorpak.com.au

Garwood Portapac”

Compactors

Dimensions: 23m3, 6800mm x 2350mm Weight: approx 4t Description: Portapac capacities, 8-25m3. Binlifter can be fitted to packer or remote mounted. Hydraulics and electrics mounted to packer.

Bissalloy and Hardox wear plates used in all necessary areas Drive: hydraulic cylinder, 3Kw power unit 415V Compaction force: over 40t Hopper capacity: approx 5m3 Clear top opening: 2100mm x 1630mm

Description: • General waste transportable auger • Smartweigh technology • Cardboard stationary blade and auger • Cardboard pre-crush and high force auger Compaction force: variable Hopper capacity: variable Clear top opening: variable Cycle time: variable Throughput: variable Base price: P.O.A More: www.wastech.com.au or (03) 8787 1600

INSIDEWASTE APRIL/MAY 2018

Cycle time: 30 seconds Throughput: 175 m3/hr Connects to: Dyno and Hook loader units Base price: from $32,000 + GST More: Daniel McHugh - (02) 9756 3754 or info@garwoodinternational.com.au

Wastech Engineering

Garwood International

Garwood International

Macpresse Europa

Bucher Municipal

Product profile: compactors and balers //

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

// Wasted Space

A new generation of millionaires AS China’s National Sword policy continues to dominate headlines, a group of self-made waste and recycling millionaires has quietly entered the NSW market, making not so much as a blip on the radar. Until now that is. Remember, you heard it first on Wasted Space.

They’ve even been given a name by the astute who have seen them, and it is one fit for the unlikely superhero the bin raider.

These bin raiders have emerged from the cracks thanks to what has become the silver bullet in light of the other pressures caused by China’s import restrictions, the state’s container deposit scheme, or as it is known by its fancier name, Return and Earn.

The first of these super scavengers are raking in the cash, what with bottles and cans now worth 10-cents a pop when returned to one of 500 collection points.

One self-made millionaire commented: “The bins are choc-a-bloc with cans and bottles, especially after a piss up. Youse have to be a galah not to take them and cash in.”

When asked if they knew the bottles and cans were in fact, not free for the taking, they said: “Yeah nah. The coppers won’t care. It’s on the street.

These bin raiders are also apparently following in the footsteps of their distant cousins, the dumpster divers, raiding commercial bins at pubs and clubs.

One pub owner said he hadn’t seen the elusive mob but had heard whispers from near and far about their escapades.

Some are concerned by the bin raiders’

actions, worried that litter created by the often hated and misunderstood bin chickens will be exacerbated by Australia’s newfound entrepreneurs.

Others are outraged that a group is making money off rubbish that’s not theirs, saying ownership of bottles should be addressed in a written contract.

Wasted Space understands that the issue may soon get out of hand, casting every other challenge facing the industry into the shadows. “We need to stop this now” is the general consensus and we hear that the regulator is working with the coppers to put an end to the bin raiders’ shenanigans.

May 14-18 IFAT Munich, Germany More than 3000 exhibitors attend the world’s leading trade fair for environmental technologies to showcase their pioneering technologies, innovations, and strategies and solutions tailored to meet the requirements of the market in question. www.ifat.de

June 26-28 Waste Strategy Summit 2018 Aerial UTS Function Centre, Sydney The Waste Strategy Summit 2018 will discuss solutions to the most pressing challenges in waste management today. It brings together captains of the industry that are driving world leading projects, innovative strategies and regulators all into one place to share their knowledge and experiences. www.questevents.com.au/wastestrategy-summit-2018

October 3-4 Waste Expo Australia 2018 Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre Waste Expo Australia is part of Australian Sustainability Week and will run alongside All-Energy Australia.

In addition to Waste Summit, a free-to-attend conference, Waste Expo will also include Waste Evolution, which showcases new technologies and products set to change the future of waste management and resource recovery in Australia. www.wasteexpoaustralia.com.au

DIARY May 8-10 Waste 2018 Coffs Harbour, NSW First established back in 1996, the Coffs Harbour Waste Management Conference is now well regarded as the industry’s leading waste management conference. It provides a quality program focused on the latest developments in the industry, high profile presenters that are leaders in their field, and an exhibition by leading edge companies and professionals from across Australia and overseas. www.coffswasteconference.com.au

June 13-14 ENVIRO 2018 Melbourne Cricket Ground Hosted by the Waste Management Association of Australia, ENVIRO’18 will provide an opportunity to not only hear about the principles of the circular economy but learn from successful local and international early adaptors, as well as view innovation and new technologies. www.wmaa.asn.au

Daily news updates at www.insidewaste.com.au

August 29-30 Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo ICC Sydney, Darling Harbour The Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo brings together the industry to discover the latest trends, showcase innovation, attend high quality practical seminars and workshops, and network with key waste and recycling decision makers from industry and government. www.awre.com.au

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