Waste Management Review February 2020

FEBRUARY 2020

Tapping into excellence Veolia’s Marc Churchin has a vision for the company’s newly created solid waste portfolio.

FEATURES Is the export ban all smoke and mirrors?

Infrastructure Victoria examines waste sector Mini MRFs to fill the SKM gap C&D guideline analysis

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COVER STORY

14

LEADING EXCELLENCE Waste Management Review caught up with Veolia Australia and New Zealand’s Marc Churchin to discuss his vision for the newly created solid waste portfolio as the company moves towards a new organisational structure.

56

DETECTING CARBON BLACK STEINERT’s Johann Hefner tells Waste Management Review about developing solutions for black plastic detection.

“I’VE WORKED IN THREE OR FOUR PARTS OF OUR BUSINESS AND SEEN POCKETS OF EXCELLENCE RIGHT ACROSS THE COUNTRY, BUT IT’S BEEN DIFFICULT TO PICK THOSE UP AND TRY AND OVERLAY THEM IN OTHER AREAS. BY GOING DOWN A NATIONAL LINE, WE NOW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO THIS MORE EFFECTIVELY.” -Marc Churchin, Chief Operating Officer, Veolia Solid Waste Division

In this issue

Features

19 SIX BINS?

Waste Management Review speaks with Infrastructure Victoria about Victoria’s waste sector and potential growth mechanisms.

22 BANS AT THE BORDER

With the first wave of export bans set to commence July 2020, industry stakeholders and other experts highlight their investment expectations.

26

MINUTE

MATERIAL RECOVERY

Trevor Smart, Turmec UK Managing Director, believes miniature material recovery facilities are accesible to regional communities at scale.

PUSH FOR 30 EUROPE’S MRF AUTOMATION

Waste Management Review explores the potential to bring fully automated materials recovery facilities to Australia.

34 GOVERNMENT WEDGED INTO

CLARINDA ISSUE

Alex Fraser highlights the implications surrounding the potential closure of its Clarinda Recycling Facility.

42

THE

DENNIS EAGLE DIFFERENCE

Penske Commercial Vehicles has applied a variety of lessons from the UK.

44 CAPITAL COMPOST

Phil Corkhill, Corkhill Bros, explains the process and equipment requirements essential to managing Canberra’s green waste collection service.

BILLIONS 46 WASHING OF BOTTLES

IT AND THEY 48 BUILD WILL COME

Waste Management Review catches up with outgoing Waste and Recycling Industry Queensland CEO Rick Ralph.

HANDSHAKE 52 THE AGREEMENT

Gavin Shapiro, Hones Lawyers Partner, highlights changing regulation in the C&D sphere.

YOU GOING TO 54 ARE BALLARAT?

Ahead of the Australian Waste to Energy Forum, Barry Sullivan, Committee Chair, discusses the developing national sector.

With onshore plastic processing set to grow, Applied Machinery details the streamlining ability of high-energy washing.

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PUBLISHER

Christine Clancy christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au

EDITOR

Toli Papadopoulos toli.papadopoulos@primecreative.com.au

From the Editor

A New Year’s Resolution As we usher in a New Year, reflection is periodic.

January calls for the good old “New Year’s resolution”, with pledges to quit smoking or lose weight long forgotten by March.

But this year it’s a little bit different, as we have a new decade on the horizon – the start of the 20s. The 20s of the last century marked the beginning of the “sanitary landfill” and controlled tipping in the UK and the US. This was a revolution of mechanical traction for transport, tipping, planning and dumping waste in compacted layers and covering it to reduce vermin, odours and other issues. However, its impact and engineering was far from environmentally friendly.

Incineration was on the scene as a global method of waste disposal, but you could forget about plastics. This would not become ubiquitous until the introduction of high-density polyethylene in the 50s.

More than a century later, incineration provides a renewable energy alternative and plastic draws the ire of environmentalists. Notably, a variety of complex legislation, policies and technologies dictate whether waste is “economically viable” to be disposed of.

But in the last decade, after long shifting the waste problem elsewhere, we find ourselves responding to a so-called crisis. We put the cart before the horse and set targets to reduce waste from landfill and shut them down around the country.

In some jurisdictions like my home city of Melbourne, we find ourselves talking about solutions to landfill shortages, rather than having a mature system already up and running that diverts all the problem waste streams effectively.

Nevertheless, this decade saw many global and local innovations in organics recycling, plastics, tyres and construction and demolition waste, to name a few. MRFs are now detecting material once considered undectable, but there is still more work to be done.

My resolution for the next decade is that we build a robust and resilient onshore processing sector. If the market has failed, let’s intervene and do what is necessary to make waste a valued commodity. And when waste does go offshore for environmentally sound purposes, let’s create a holistic chain of custody that monitors its movement. We can all play our part in fighting the perpetual war on rubbish and look back in 10 years’ time as the decade we finally started talking about “resources” instead of “waste”.

6 / WMR / February 2020

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DESIGN PRODUCTION MANAGER Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au

ART DIRECTOR

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ARTICLES

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All material in Waste Management Review is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher.

The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published. The opinions expressed in Waste Management Review are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated.

News

VIC councils awarded $1.25M for kerbside upgrades Maribyrnong City Council is expanding its existing garden and organics collection to include food waste.

Five Victorian councils will share $1.25 million from Sustainability Victoria to improve collection, separation and recovery of organics and glass from kerbside recycling.

According to a Sustainability Victoria statement, the funding will allow the councils to divert 28,000 tonnes of organic material and 4600 tonnes of glass from landfill each year.

“With almost half the contents of a household garbage bin being food or garden waste, there is enormous opportunity to collect and reprocess this resource that will improve the value of soils in agricultural production systems,” the statement reads.

“Surf Coast Shire Council have been trialling using existing garden bins to also collect food waste across 3000 households in Anglesea, which has

8 / WMR / February 2020

seen a significant 24 per cent reduction in waste being sent to landfill.”

Both Warrnambool City Council and Yarra City Council have received grants to separate glass from the kerbside commingle recycling bin.

“Warrnambool Shire Council received overwhelming public support for a separate recycling bin for glass,” the statement reads.

“The Warrnambool community want to recycle and keep recycled resources local.

“A separate glass bin allows glass to be recycled locally and creates jobs.”

See the list of projects below: Projects • Maribyrnong City Council: $472,000 to expand its existing garden organics collection to

•

•

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include food waste and introduce additional collection services.

Yarra City Council: $400,000 to expand existing collections services that segregate glass and organics.

Macedon Ranges Shire Council: $182,000 to expand its existing garden organics collection to include food waste and introduce additional collection services.

Surf Coast Shire Council: $150,000 to expand its existing garden organics collection to include food waste and introduce additional garden and food waste collection services to rural properties.

Warrnambool City Council: $47,000 to provide three seperate recycling collection services, with a new bin exclusively for glass.

Rethink

waste

News

WA CDS legislative provisions in place Western Australia’s container deposit scheme, Containers for Change, is set to launch 2 June.

Western Australia’s container deposit scheme (CDS) is in its full implementation phase, with legislative provisions now complete.

The Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (Container Deposit Scheme) Amendment Regulations 2019 set out rules for the scheme coordinator, participants, refunds and eligible containers.

Environment Minister Stephen Dawson said more than 170 refund

10 / WMR / February 2020

points will be in place by June 2020, with at least 229 points installed by the end of the scheme’s first year.

“The state government is working to deliver the best CDS in the nation, with more refund points per person than any scheme in Australia,” Mr Dawson said.

“People will receive a 10-cent refund when they return eligible beverage containers to refund points throughout the state.”

According to Mr Dawson, over the

next 20 years the scheme is estimated to result in 706 million fewer beverage containers littered, 6.6 billion fewer beverage containers sent to landfill and 5.9 billion more containers being recycled.

“Containers for Change will also help create 500 jobs across the state, with a key objective of the scheme to support employment of people with disability and the long-term unemployed,” Mr Dawson said.

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News

Bin Trim opens $4.9 million grant round A total of $4.9 million in grant funding is now available to help NSW businesses cut waste and increase recycling, as part of the state government’s Bin Trim program.

Waste and recycling service providers, equipment providers, consultants, councils and not-forprofit organisations can apply for the grants, which range from $50,000 to $300,000.

Planning, Industry and Environment Department Circular Economy Executive Director Sanjay Sridher said reducing waste sent to landfill has environmental and economic benefits for everyone.

“NSW businesses send more than

1.8 million tonnes of waste to landfill each year, from cardboard, paper and plastic through to food waste,” Mr Sridher said.

“So much of this ends up in the general waste bin, when in fact more than 70 per cent could be reused or recycled.”

Bin Trim, administered through the state’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative, funds waste assessments for NSW businesses with up to 400 full time equivalent employees.

Waste experts undertake free assessments, entering waste data into an online Bin Trim app that generates a tailored action plan. The assessor also provides support and

implementation advice.

Additionally, participating businesses are eligible for a Bin Trim rebate to cover 50 per cent of recycling equipment costs, up to $50,000.

According to Mr Sridher, Bin Trim has helped over 29,000 businesses and diverted 70,000 tonnes of waste from landfill.

“Businesses taking part in the program are helping the environment, with 94 per cent of Bin Trim participants implementing actions to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill,” Mr Sridher said.

Applications close 28 February 2020.

Participating businesses are eligible for a rebate to cover 50 per cent of recycling equipment costs.

12 / WMR / February 2020

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COVER STORY

Leading excellence Veolia’s Marc Churchin heads up the company’s new Solid Waste division in Australia.

V

eolia Australia and New Zealand, which offers environmental services across waste, water and energy, has been organised around state lines for decades.

But a recent restructure sees a national focus on each of these business lines and is aiming to propel the company into a new era.

Veolia adopted its new line of business structure at the end of 2019.

The change will see senior managers focused more deeply on their area of expertise, with national teams delivering waste, water or energy and industrial services across the country.

Seen as an opportunity to solve the nation’s future waste challenges, Veolia believes the new structure will allow it to better tap into its experience and scale. As a result, it will aim to realise a range of operational efficiencies – ultimately benefiting its customers.

Chief Operating Officer Marc Churchin heads up the National Solid Waste division in Australia. Marc

14 / WMR / February 2020

WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW CAUGHT UP WITH VEOLIA AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND’S MARC CHURCHIN TO DISCUSS HIS VISION FOR THE NEWLY CREATED SOLID WASTE PORTFOLIO AS THE COMPANY MOVES TOWARDS A NEW ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE.

tells Waste Management Review that Veolia customers are demanding a higher level of efficiency, greater levels of service and a more innovative approach to solving their waste challenges. He says the new structure aims to make it easier to deliver on all of these areas.

To that end, Marc’s remit includes solid waste collection services, transfer stations and waste-to-energy (WtE) nationally.

With close to 1000 employees under the solid waste banner, this division is a key part of the business.

Marc will continue to work closely alongside his peers, Tony Roderick (formerly Vic/Tas Group General Manager) and Craig Balthes (formerly Group General Manager of QLD).

Tony and Craig now hold the title of Chief Operating Officer for the Energy & Industrials, and Water divisions respectively.

“There’s a need for ongoing collaboration between our business lines, so we’ll continue to work closely together.

“For example, Tony is responsible for liquid and hazardous waste treatment, so there are obvious synergies there. Similarly, there are clients we look after where water and solid waste treatment solutions are part of a larger offering.

“That’s the beauty of having scale and deep expertise in specific areas,” Marc says.

He adds that having a distinct focus allows Veolia to concentrate more on markets, processes and technologies most relevant to its business and customers.

Marc also hopes to be able to bring efficiencies to his business by observing and implementing best practices and creating consistencies by streamlining processes nationally.

“I’ve worked in three or four parts of our business and seen pockets of excellence right across the country, but it’s been difficult to pick those up and try and overlay them in other areas.

By going down a national line, we now have the opportunity to do this more effectively.”

LESSONS FROM THE LAND While moving house isn’t always the most enjoyable exercise, Marc has had the pleasure of working for Veolia in three different jurisdictions: Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. He’s also travelled the UK extensively and seen the success of the line of business structure first-hand.

These experiences have given him a well-rounded knowledge of the business and prepared him for the challenges ahead.

overall business emanated out of the Pilbara which was 2000 kilometres north in the iron ore mining areas. We therefore had different market drivers and customers.

“One of the big things I noticed was the focus on Indigenous engagement and employment. We set up a waste management joint venture which is still in existence today. It now turns over $40 million per annum with a local Indigenous group up there, and is a significant

“We have senior managers with a long tenure in the industry that will continue to represent Veolia in those places, so they know the customers and policy makers well.”

Marc Churchin, Chief Operating Officer, Solid Waste, Veolia Australia and New Zealand

“I’m really pleased to have had the varied experiences I have across the whole business – not only locally, but internationally. I plan to bring that to the table when it comes to thinking about how we continue to build our solid waste operations and offering.”

Marc recalls starting his career in the sales team in 2005 at Veolia’s office in Buckhurst Street in South Melbourne, before moving into the sales manager role and subsequently heading up the Victorian commercial services collection business.

In 2011, he moved to Perth in the midst of the resources boom to take up the role of WA State Manager as Veolia integrated its waste, water and energy businesses.

“My experience in WA was exciting. Although it was familiar in some aspects being a city-based operational role, 50 per cent of our

contributor to not only local employment, but our bottom line.”

His hard work saw him later promoted to NSW Group General Manager in 2018. This gave him exposure to some new aspects of Veolia’s business, including the Sydney desalination plant and its esteemed Eco-precinct in Woodlawn.

Despite his experience and long list of achievements, Marc is adamant that changes to the Veolia waste business ultimately need to benefit the customer.

“One of our biggest customers is a large government client, and when you go through this type of reorganisation, one of the first big things you do is talk to them about the change and the expected benefits for them.

“And from their perspective, they were really pleased, because they have been previously dealing with up to six

different senior managers right across the country. This change means a single point of contact and increased accountability.”

Marc says that another practical example of how the new structure benefits customers is the ability to align its various fleets across the country to one specification of vehicles, simplifying the purchasing and procurement process.

“Instead of having a different fleet, or service experience in say Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or regional areas, this will start to look and feel the same right across the country, with a consistent and tangible operating rhythm.”

In saying that, Veolia will continue to offer a bespoke service to meet the unique requirements of its customers in various local jurisdictions.

“One of the things that we’re conscious of is not losing that local flavour, particularly in regional areas where we’re very strong across the country,” Marc says.

“But equally in capital cities, having worked in three major national capitals, I can tell you that there is a definite view that everyone is different and each particular jurisdiction across Australia is different.

“Some councils are very keen on food and organic processing, other councils don’t want that, so you have to be nimble enough to meet the requirements of different customers and their expectations.”

He says that having worked in three states allows him to get a feel for what does and doesn’t work in particular areas.

“We have senior managers with a long tenure in the industry that will continue to represent Veolia in those places, so they know the customers and policy makers well and what drives the decisions they make,” he says.

www.wastemanagementreview.com.au / WMR / 15

COVER STORY

TAPPING INTO EXCELLENCE Marc says the decision to base the Australian waste business on the UK model makes sense, given the alignment between the two businesses. For this reason, he says he has continued to draw on subject matter experts in the UK to advance Australian projects.

“I’ve spent a bit of time in the UK and having a look over their business and different activities and I think it’s fair to say it is a very mature business.

“They’ve had WtE facilities running for over the past 20 years based on regulatory triggers that have made it beneficial to do that. The UK also has a number of advanced recycling plants and technologies. While we have some of these emerging in Australia, it’s not to the same degree.”

Following the lead of its UK counterpart, Marc says Veolia Australia and New Zealand is well placed to lead the future transition, with the foundations currently being laid for Australia’s first large-scale WtE facility.

“I think there are a number of exciting opportunities that could be available for Veolia in the next five to 10 years in WtE, and we’ve got access to some of the best talent and technology globally to take advantage of that,” Marc says.

Veolia is keen to think out of the box when it comes to forming partnerships that drive a circular economy. It recently signed a Heads of Agreement with Coca-Cola Amatil to establish a plastic processing plant which would focus on recycling PET plastic soft drink bottles. This initiative would dramatically increase recycling rates and reduce the amount of plastic going to landfill. Coca-Cola Amatil has already set the bar with its target of seven out of 10 bottles made from 100 per cent recycled PET by the end of 2019. In November 2019, the company indicated this was on track.

16 / WMR / February 2020

Marc Churchin has been exposed to multiple aspects of Veolia’s business, including the company’s esteemed Eco-precinct, supported by its mechanical biological treatment facility.

“We also want to be using our expertise with major partners to drive value for them. As an example, the NSW Government is about to launch into their new 20-year waste strategy, so for the last 12 months they’ve been seeking feedback from the industry, councils and others. We’ve played an active role in working alongside the government and helping them navigate the complex waste challenges they’ll need to solve over the next 20 years.

“Looking forward, I believe that one of the things we need to be thinking about is how we build treatment process and capacity to ultimately cope with future demand, rather than simply looking at a particular waste types or waste streams in isolation of this.”

Given international waste bans have opened up sovereign risk, building local capacity is an area Marc feels strongly about.

“If we continue to rely on foreign markets for waste treatment and processing, we’ll face exactly the same problem that happened to us recently where a regulatory and policy change

in a foreign jurisdiction meant we had no control over things and it adversely impacted companies and residents locally,” he says.

Whether it’s greater incentives for recycled products, or taxes and levies on virgin products, there are key mechanisms that can help to drive investment in better treatment and processing options. From plastic to organics, liquid and hazardous waste or residuals, Marc says Veolia stands ready to provide support.

“We have technologies right all over the world and in many cases we’re actually technology agnostic.

There could be two or three different treatments for a particular type of waste stream, but we work with a customer to figure out what’s best for them,” he says.

“Fundamentally, we’re positioning ourselves for the future.

“The coming years will prove crucial for the waste and resource recovery sector, so we want to ensure we continue to work with the private and public sectors to solve the challenges ahead.”

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UP FRONT 25 5 0

Six bins?

WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW SPEAKS WITH INFRASTRUCTURE VICTORIA ABOUT ITS MOST RECENT REPORT AND POTENTIAL RECYCLING SOLUTIONS FOR THE STATE. Reports show Victoria is falling short of stated waste policy objectives.

W

hen the Meeting of Environment Ministers agreed to ban waste exports from 1 July 2020, the Victorian Government called for an urgent national funding plan.

Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio requested that the Federal Government provide infrastructure investment to ensure the “fast approaching ban” did not result in stockpiling.

Given the current status of Victoria’s untouched half-billiondollar Sustainability Fund, some industry observers questioned the appropriateness of Ms D’Ambrosio’s request.

That said, 100 in light of the state’s resource recovery challenges, the environment95minister’s concerns

were not unfounded.

Stockpile anxiety is particularly pertinent to Victoria, with DELWP figures revealing more than 100 recycling facility fires occurred in the state over the past 10 years. The largest fire cost Victoria over $110 million.

The collapse of SKM Recycling is another factor, with the state’s infrastructure capacity called into question after 33 Victorian councils were forced to landfill their recycling.

Within this context of “crisis”, the state government asked Infrastructure Victoria (IV) to examine the sector through an infrastructure lens. The task: provide advice to government on how to best support changes to resource recovery in the state.

Following extensive community

and industry consultation, IV released an evidence base report in October 2019. Final advice will be provided to government in April 2020.

Despite the report’s 36 pages, mainstream media almost universally ran with one “recommendation” following its release: introducing a six-bin kerbside system.

Victorian Government Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien even told ABC radio that despite liking many of IV’s suggestions, “six bins sounds a bit novel”.

According to Elissa McNamara, IV Resource Recovery & Recycling Advice Project Director, however, IV never suggested six bins.

What IV did highlight, she says, was a link between high-performing

75 www.wastemanagementreview.com.au / WMR / 19

UP FRONT

resource recovery jurisdictions and greater household separation.

“To be clear, this report doesn’t make any recommendations. We will be making recommendations in April.

“What we have put out is potential actions and early findings for government.”

COMMINGLED MESSAGES The Victorian Government’s stated waste policy objectives include reducing waste to landfill and minimising the impact of waste disposal on human health and the environment.

Evidence from reports commissioned by IV, however, show waste sector outcomes are falling short of these objectives.

Identified problems include steadily increasing waste generation rates, inefficient recycling data, reliance on exports, waste stockpiling and illegal dumping.

Market concentration is another problem, Elissa says, with the closure of SKM Recycling highlighting an overreliance on one company to manage Victoria’s waste.

“In Victoria, SKM had roughly 50 per cent of the kerbside commingled market, and their business model was based on exporting and minimal importing. As a result, investment in reprocessing or selling to local markets in a way that adds value was quite limited,” Elissa says.

To arrive at these and other conclusions, IV examined resource recovery approaches in other jurisdictions, and investigated potential market design solutions, infrastructure gaps and new pathways for recyclable material.

“We conducted interjurisdictional scans to assess what our neighbours are doing, importantly South

20 / WMR / February 2020

Australia and NSW, but also looked at high-performing jurisdictions overseas,” Elissa says.

High-performing jurisdictions include Wales, South Korea, Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

“There were some common lessons for Victoria underpinned by one clear theme: a proactive government,” the report reads.

In all five cases, IV identified longterm commitment, coordination and collaboration, mandatory measures from government, complementary interventions across the value chain and a range of evolving policies.

In addition to interjurisdictional scans, Elissa says IV undertook extensive market analysis.

IV engaged the University of Melbourne’s Centre for Market Design to assess incentives influencing each market transaction.

This included the effect of regulatory settings and the role of price signals and applied market design principals.

The Centre for Market Design suggests that in the “decentralised waste economy”, major decisions and transaction points are spread across the waste lifecycle.

“In the context of the Victorian waste sector, observed outcomes are determined by the interplay between the legislative and regulatory environment, on the one hand, and the decentralized, self-interested decisions of producers, consumers and processors of waste, on the other hand,” the report reads.

“In decentralised economic systems, such as the waste economy, alignment problems are common because the motivation of businesses and households does not necessarily accord with those of government.”

BEYOND THE BIN IV is considering the types of intervention that may be needed, Elissa says, and is conscious that further government and industry collaboration is required.

“Consideration of waste infrastructure investment needs to be undertaken in the context of policy settings across the waste chain that drive behaviour change and support the development of end markets for recycled materials,” the report reads.

Among a number of potential actions, IV suggests that initiatives to disincentivise the use of virgin materials have the potential to create stronger recyclate end markets.

“Government procurement at all levels, whether that’s Commonwealth, state or local, can choose to use their procurement power to look not just at the absolute bottom line in terms of cost, but also social and environmental outcomes,” Elissa says.

She adds that it’s the choice of individual governments to decide to what extent they want to use procurement to achieve environmental outcomes, noting other mechanisms are available.

“Governments could look at other levers like taxes or a ban on virgin material, but because of trade, any mechanism like that would need to be considered by the most appropriate level of government,” Elissa says.

She says that while Victoria could tax or ban virgin material, the state government would need to consider trade implications.

“It’s also about considering whether or not the environmental and social externalities associated with virgin material extraction are being appropriately priced relative to recycled material,” she says.

The Australian Council of Recycling is calling on all recycling industry stakeholders to tell us how confident you are in the future direction of the sector.

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With a vision to transform the Australian economy with resource recovery at the core, ACOR represents dozens of businesses contributing to the $15 billion recycling industry.

We know the sector is innovative, enterprising and resultsdriven so we want you to tell us whether the current market signals are adequate and if you feel thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enough support from government.

ACOR is helping to influence the policy setting, including advocating for modern industry standards and driving demand in the pull-through of product, so your feedback is very important to us.

To take part in this leading industry survey, head to this link: https://wastemanagementreview.com.au/ how-confident-are-you-in-australias-recycling-future/ The survey closes on March 9.

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UP FRONT

Bans at the border WITH THE FIRST WAVE OF EXPORT BANS SET TO COMMENCE IN JULY 2020, WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW SPEAKS WITH INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS ABOUT INVESTMENT EXPECTATIONS AND THE GLOBALISED WASTE ECONOMY.

W

hen the Federal Government announced it would ban waste exports in August 2019, China’s National Sword was old news for most in the resource recovery sector.

While its consequences were still being felt, many industry stakeholders had grown tired of government platitudes about the circular economy.

The Council of Australian Government’s announcement therefore functioned as a jolt – a suggestion to industry that government was finally listening to calls for state intervention.

Praise was quick, with both the Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR) and the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association (WMRR) releasing statements highlighting the ban as a step towards a sustainable domestic recycling industry.

Despite widespread support for the ban as a concept, many, including ACOR and WMRR, cautioned that for it to be successful, it would need to be backed up by analogous infrastructure investment.

Rose Read, National Waste & Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC) CEO, for example, suggests the regulatory measure will fail if not supported by market investment for plastics and paper. Rose adds

22 / WMR / February 2020

that while the export ban’s intent is noteworthy, its achievability is seriously constrained without parallel support.

Similar concerns have been expressed by multiple stakeholders, highlighting a schism between regulatory measures and industry viability.

Mike Ritchie, MRA Consulting, for instance, argued that the Federal Government should introduce recycled content rules for domestic manufacturing. Likewise, Gayle Sloan, WMRR CEO, said the ban should be supported with mandated government procurement.

Following the Meeting of Environment Ministers in November, the Federal Government announced a nationwide timeline agreement.

Ministers agreed on a phased approach, with glass banned by July 2020, mixed waste plastics by July 2021 and whole tyres, including baled tyres, by December 2021.

Additionally, remaining waste products, including mixed paper and cardboard, will be banned by no later than 30 June 2022.

Of the timeline, Rose says the plastics and paper enforcement dates are unrealistic, particularly given the packaging industry is only working to achieve 30 per cent recycled content by 2025.

“We are very concerned that the regulatory focus is being crudely placed at the end-of-pipe, and not at the source of the issue, i.e. brands and producers,” she says.

“Currently, there is no regulation requiring manufacturers or the packaging industry to achieve these targets or penalties if they don’t. This is far from equitable.”

According to Rose, APCO’s packaging targets need to be brought forward to 2022 and mandated under the Product Stewardship Act – as proposed under senator Whish-Wilson’s Product Stewardship Amendment (Packaging and Plastics) Bill 2019.

“This is essential to ensure all packaging manufacturers, brands and retailers meet their producer responsibilities,” she says.

“It will create markets for locally recovered plastics, glass and paper and will remove problematic packaging, including plastics and composite materials, that can’t be recycled due to lack of technology or markets.”

Rose adds that given the ban’s intent, to prevent environmental and human harm, the Federal Government should consider banning whole crushed car bodies, white goods and waste motor oils exports.

“The NWRIC believes the current export of these materials is

One expert believes the export ban is offering a domestic solution to what is a global problem.

having substantial impacts on the environment and human health overseas, due to poor recycling and uncontrolled practices similar to that for whole baled tyres,” she says.

“These wastes are being harvested or burnt, with many of the byproducts dumped or emitted, polluting the environment and putting human health at risk.”

Rose adds that Australia has the capacity to process these materials locally.

“Currently in NSW, steel mills are importing scrap from interstate and New Zealand to meet their feedstock needs, while whole car bodies are being exported to the Middle East and Asia,” she says.

Alternatively, the NWRIC does not support the banning of single resin/polymer plastics that have been processed, nor the banning of baled paper and cardboard.

“Both these recyclates have legitimate overseas markets, clearly demonstrating they are value added products that will not have a negative

impact on human health or the environment,” Rose says.

FREE TRADE? While concerns over implementation are common, the ban as a concept has been largely well received.

John B Cook, from John B Cook & Associates, however, suggests a blanket ban on exports is counterproductive. He adds that much of the material domestic materials recovery facilities receive is packaging produced from overseas.

“We’re in a situation now where glass bottles are being imported from Singapore. If we are importing packaging from overseas, we shouldn’t say, well you can’t send the packaging back and complete the loop,” he explains.

John admits that while recovered resources are a credible commodity, waste is a difficult industry.

“The market has failed in relation to waste. It [was] thought landfill was an inexpensive, easy option, and we’ve been dealing with that ever since.

“That said, we’re now moving away from a disposal culture. People want a circular economy, they want recycling, plus they don’t want to live next to landfills. So the market failed, and the reality is government intervention is required.”

John says however that the devil is in the detail. He adds that while there should be a ban on exporting “garbage”, completely closing the borders is unsustainable.

“Contracts need to be developed that ensure we are adding value and recovering resources instead of exporting dirty plastics, which we seem to have been doing,” he says.

“We should be washing and processing the material here and exporting bales or pallets at low contamination levels.”

The Federal Government also needs to facilitate market development, John says. He adds that while those markets are developing, exports need to occur to a specification that is adhered to.

The idea of sustainable exports, John says, works in tandem with

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UP FRONT

developing domestic recycling markets. He suggests investment in the infrastructure and technology required to produce high-grade pure materials for exports has a flow-on effect.

That said, lack of federal investment is a central industry complaint surrounding the ban.

While it’s too soon to tell, the Federal Government’s recently opened $100 million Australian Recycling Investment Fund might alleviate these concerns.

Speaking with Waste Management Review in June last year, Assistant Waste Reduction Minister Trevor Evans said the fund was designed to support recycled content product manufacturing.

Administered by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Minister Evans said the government will provide guidance about the mandate and how to best invest in new industry.

While the fund was announced in May 2019, applications didn’t open until December. This followed criticism from Labor Assistant Environment Spokesperson Josh Wilson, who said the Federal Government was not doing enough to support the export ban or build the National Waste Strategy.

“We know the so-called recycling investment plan is predominantly bulked out with prepackaged or repackaged funds,” Mr Wilson said.

“The hundred million dollars in the Australian Recycling Investment Fund consists of nothing more than a fresh label on existing clean energy finance moneys.”

Rose says while the NWRIC welcomes the Australian Recycling Investment Fund, its investment criteria means it will only be capable of supporting a few major infrastructure projects.

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“Smaller projects, for example those less than $10 million, won’t have access to the fund directly, but will have to seek loans through the Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s aggregate programs,” she says.

A GLOBAL PROBLEM Despite ban conversations understandably centring on Australian markets, Michele Acuto, Melbourne University Global Urban Politics Professor, says industry and government need a global perspective.

Drawing on research from the World Economic Forum, Michele says retreating into an export ban is paradoxical to the notion of a circular economy.

“The problem with the ban is that it’s similar to immediate conversations after China’s restrictions. The rhetoric is quite nationalist, and more explicitly, about domestic solutions to an international problem,” he says.

“I want to be very clear that I’m not saying Australia doesn’t require strong infrastructure investment – but we do need to be thinking in terms of a global circular economy.”

The ban, he says, is diametrically opposed to this approach, and a recognition of waste as a global series of networks and industries.

The World Economic Forum suggests to create a global circular economy, system change needs to enable blended financing models, particularly in developing countries, policy framework adjustments and public-private collaboration.

For instance, Michele suggests a more collegial and strategic relationship between Australia and its neighbours could move global networks in the right direction.

He adds that while there is little agreement on waste definitions between Australian states, let alone sovereign bodies, the Federal Government should attempt to work in tandem with Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

“We’ve turned another opportunity for leadership into a statement of inward policy. It’s very tit for tat and smells like 1980s Cold War policy. There’s an ocean of difference between the ban and a strategically based national plan,” he says.

The World Economic Forum suggests similar, albeit more controversial, solutions. Recycling is linear, the NGO argues, and out of touch with the extended lifecycle goals of a circular economy.

Reusing, redistributing and/or remanufacturing strategies are the preferred approach, it argues.

Additional points include moving away from activities that devalue materials, relocalising and resizing activities closer to consumers, and developing strategic partnerships with service providers.

While it’s hard to argue against future-focused attempts to restructure our approach to waste and consumption, the challenges of today still require action.

At a recent meeting with Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley, the NWRIC members discussed how to build local demand for recovered materials for packaging, products and infrastructure.

According to Rose, new obligations must extend beyond the waste and resource recovery sector to include organisations importing products to Australia.

“A circular economy requires all parts of the supply chain participate,” she says.

FEATURED TOPIC – INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Minute material recovery WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW SPEAKS WITH TREVOR SMART, TURMEC UK MANAGING DIRECTOR, ABOUT THE RECOVERY POTENTIAL OF MINIATURE MATERIAL RECOVERY FACILITIES.

W

hen the Federal Government launched an inquiry into Australia’s waste management and recycling industries in October, Committee Chair Barnaby Joyce said the committee would examine international best practice.

The inquiry will consider opportunities to better manage domestic waste, as well as current impediments to innovation.

It’s a welcome move for Trevor Smart, Turmec UK Managing Director, who says the Australian waste industry could learn a lot from the UK’s approach to resource recovery – notably the uptake of mini material recovery facilities (MRF). He says that a series of events on his recent trip to Australia has him thinking about Turmec sees potential for widescale implementation of mini MRFs across Australia.

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potential solutions to the country’s current recycling challenges.

Flying from the UK to attend Waste Expo Australia in 2019, Trevor arrived in Melbourne at a time of industry flux. The Council of Australian Government’s waste export ban had just been announced, Victorian councils were dealing with the collapse of SKM Recycling and container deposit scheme discussions were challenging the efficacy of kerbside collection.

Of most interest to Trevor, however, was how the amalgamation of these issues highlighted an opportunity to reshape Australia’s resource recovery and logistics network.

“In Melbourne I met a councillor from a small rural community in Victoria. He explained that the

demise of SKM had placed a lot of local authorities under financial and operational pressure,” Trevor says.

“In addition to the loss of this facility, the fact that the council’s recyclates had to travel over 400 kilometres to an MRF meant there were few alternatives.”

This lack of infrastructure capacity, parried with low recyclate tonnages, creates a challenging situation for smaller councils, Trevor says.

Following SKM’s collapse, many rural councils were forced to transport materials further afield, or in some cases, simply revert to landfill.

Trevor adds that the collapse of SKM is a story that’s played out globally numerous times, meaning international approaches can serve as a case study.

Over the course of Waste Expo Australia, Trevor says he had multiple conversations about the applicability of greater kerbside separation in Australia. He adds that the idea was routinely challenged, with many suggesting the economic cost would outweigh recovery benefits.

“We saw the same reaction in the UK when kerbside sorting was introduced.

But from our experience, kerbside sorting was a successful move that greatly improved recycling rates and recyclate quality,” he says.

While Trevor admits kerbside separation can be challenging in high-

density urban areas, he says suburban and rural implementation is simple.

Referencing urban planner David Gordon’s 2016 analysis of Australian cities, Trevor says 86 per cent of the population live in suburban or exurban neighbourhoods.

“Only 14 per cent of Australians are living in high-density housing, suggesting greater kerbside separation would be well suited to this country. For it to work, however, the system needs to be supported by parallel investment in mini MRF’s.”

Under Trevor’s plan, households separate containers, paper, cardboard and glass. From there, the material is collected by multi-compartment vehicles – eliminating many of the issues associated with kerbside contamination.

“Materials are then delivered to a mini MRF for further sorting, for instance, separating ferrous and aluminium containers from plastic,

before baling and onward sale or further processing.”

Trevor adds that paper and cardboard would be baled and stored, ready as a saleable product.

“Glass would also be stored in the yard area for bulk transportation to a reprocessor,” he says.

“This system would not only suit low tonnage, but also give value to the recyclates, whereby semi-sorted clean materials can go directly to a reprocessor or exported for further sorting.”

Trevor says the concept of a mini MRF is simple, with widescale implementation potential across Australia.

He adds that Turmec’s comprehensive engineered recycling solutions cater for a wide range of tonnages and material applications.

“We integrate equipment from market leading suppliers in waste separation

technology to produce a high-quality separation process with 99 per cent recovery rates,” he adds.

Trevor says the cost effectiveness of mini MRFs, paired with increased recyclate quality and saleability, has been proved in many UK local authorities.

A 2016 study commissioned by the Welsh Government, for instance, shows switching to source-separated recycling collections could save Welsh councils over one million euros a year.

“Other benefits such as employment, increased householder participation and a reduction of residual waste are also evident in UK studies,” he says.

“While the initial capital expenditure for the vehicles, containers and mini MRFs is going to be higher than refuse collection and transfer vehicles, when compared to MRF gate fees, transportation cost and material quality, the advantages are clear.”

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FEATURED TOPIC – INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Sustainable mining gains traction ADAM HOLLAND, CDE META, SPEAKS WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW ABOUT HOW WET PROCESSING CAN TRANSFORM MINING WASTE INTO A SUSTAINABLE VALUE-ADDED RESOURCE.

W

hile sustainable mining might appear like a contradiction to those in the stereotypically green resource recovery industry, it’s a movement that’s gaining global traction.

With rising demand for quality metals, in addition to increasingly stringent environmental legislation, protecting finite natural resources and extracting value from “waste” is not just environmentally sound, but good business.

For CDE Meta, the mining arm of international wet processing design and manufacturing company CDE, delivering sustainable mine operations via iron ore beneficiation is central to its “New World of Resource” purpose.

According to Adam Holland, CDE Meta Head of Business Development, with billions of tonnes of low-grade and overburden iron ore stockpiles around Australia, there is a growing appetite to invest in sustainable practices.

“CDE strives to make it as easy as possible for companies to use their waste products for the greater good, while also delivering return on investment,” Adam says.

“We’re committed to maximising product value while reducing environmental impact. Sustainability is at the heart of all CDE projects.”

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CDE was recognised for its commitment earlier this year, winning two awards, one in Ireland and one in South Australia, for its Iron Baron and Iron Knob projects with SIMEC. The two awards, gained on the same day at opposite sides of world, are a testament to the global reach of the company and the strength of its sustainability driven purpose.

The awards, Adam says, highlight that while sustainable mining might not be taking over the sector just yet,

solutions are available, and a return on investment is possible for resource companies interested in taking a greener approach.

The SIMEC projects, commissioned in 2017, involves two separate wet processing plants with a combined capacity to convert 17 million tonnes of historic lowgrade iron ore overburden waste into a high-value product. Without processing, iron ore waste often sits in unused stockpiles.

“With a processing capacity of 950

CDE Meta is delivering sustainable mine operations via iron ore beneficiation.

tonnes per hour, the two plants are successfully recovering high-quality iron ore from 100-year-old-plus-low grade mining waste feed material,” Adam says.

“Our plants beneficiate iron ore waste at 42 to 53 per cent Fe content through washing and gravity separation up to 63 per cent, at an almost 50 per cent yield.”

CDE was approached by Arrium (shortly after it was acquired by SIMEC) in 2013, before signing a design and construction contract in 2016.

“Because they were dealing with a historic stockpile, and therefore variable feed, SIMEC recognised CDE’s modular approach as a differentiating factor with inbuild flexibility,” Adam says.

“SIMEC understood the inherent value of its iron ore waste but needed our assistance to develop a costeffective beneficiation solution.”

While the plants, Iron Baron and Iron Knob, engage similar processes, Adam says the Iron Baron facility is more complex – beginning with a 42-millimetre down feed.

Each process module is spaced out and separated by conveyors and pipe runs. This, Adam says, provides operators with superior access and flexibility when maintaining the plant and allows additional processes to be added for optimisation with minimal downtime to cope with feed material that changes periodically.

The Iron Baron process begins with two L55 hoppers, each feeding 350 tonnes of material per hour.

Conveyors then transfer material into CDE’s patented P2-108 double deck infinity screens which wash and split the ore between fine and course beneficiation circuits.

Following initial screening, the course fraction travels to CDE’s AggMax – a combination of a

Rotomax logwasher and dewatering screen.

“This is where the ore is scrubbed to liberate any smaller particles and break off impurities,” Adam says.

“It has performed exceptionally well – running for well over a year before we had to change out the paddles.”

Once the material is cleaned

“What sets these plants apart is CDE’s ability to design a modular solution, tailored to SIMEC’s unique requirements, delivered on a turnkey basis for cost-effective operations in a mining and iron ore context.

This provides a superior return on investment for SIMEC,” he says.

In addition to effective return on investment, Adam says CDE is

“The two plants are successfully recovering high-quality iron ore from a 100-year-old-plus-low grade mining waste feed material.”

Adam Holland, CDE Meta, Head of Business Development.

and scrubbed, it travels up more conveyors for dry screening, and then enters a fine or coarse jig for gravity separation.

“The plant then separates material into three stockpiles: a course product, fine product and rejected material,” Adam says.

“Given the nature of our process, however, even the rejected material can be reclaimed, with SIMEC using it for road construction around the mine.”

Adam says attention to maximum reuse was also behind the decision to install AquaCycle thickeners at the site. The thickeners, he says, produce a sludge from the reject slimes and enable recycling of 90 per cent of process water back through the plant.”

Additional benefits of the unique CDE modular solution, Adam says, include minimal civils, a faster, safer and reduced risk installation due to factory testing and per commissioning process, as well as reduced capital and operational expenditure.

committed to providing ongoing customer care, adding that it works with a “customer-for-life model”.

“As part of this project, CDE has also invested in a significant vendor-held spares consignment that SIMEC can draw down as and when required,” he explains.

“We also have two full-time employees who work at the site and support SIMEC through maintenance and manage the VHS consignment, ensuring that bin levels are replenished for optimal plant performance.”

Adam says he hopes CDE’s SIMEC plants serve as a case study for larger resource companies seeking to increase operational sustainability.

He adds that for every tonne of ore waste processed, mining companies can significantly extend the life of their mine and maximise reserves.

If you would like to find out more about transforming mining waste into a value-added resource, visit CDE at the RIU Explorer’s Conference, Booth 2 on the 18th-20th February in Perth.

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FEATURED TOPIC – INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY

Europe’s push for MRF automation EUROPE IS PIONEERING WORLD-FIRST LOCAL SORTING SOLUTIONS IN ITS NATIONS’ REGIONS FOR DIFFICULT RECYCLABLE COMMODITIES SUCH AS LDPE. WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW EXPLORES THE POTENTIAL TO BRING FULLY AUTOMATED MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITIES TO AUSTRALIA.

I

n the village of Skedsmokorset, warm summers and dry winters typify the small community of 15,000 people, based within the municipality of Skedsmo, near Oslo.

Located in Akershus county, Skedsmo is named after the old Skedsmo farm, since the first church was built there almost 10 centuries ago.

Hundreds of years later, high labour costs have inspired a local solution to a local waste management problem.

As the Norwegian community is fairly remote, the City of Oslo has opted for a fully automated mixed waste processing facility. After three years of planning, in 2016, Stadler Anlagenbau was awarded a contract to build and design the firstof-its-kind facility.

The world’s first fully automated mixed waste processing facility is run by municipal solid waste processor Romerike Avfallsforedling (RoAF), which is based in Skedsmokorset.

The company collects household and food waste from 10 municipalities in Norway, including Skedsmo, which comprises a population of around 53,000.

Powered by a sorting system installed

by Stadler Anlagenbau GmbH, green bags of food waste are separated from other material and taken to an on-site anaerobic digestion facility.

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The material is then transformed into biogas and used to fuel RoAF’s waste collection trucks.

As the plant was being built, Norwegian municipalities redesigned their kerbside system, opting to collect all recyclables in one commingled stream.

The plant features a variety of processing equipment, including 145 conveyors, 16 near-infrared (NIR) optical sorters, two drum screens, one vibrating screen, a star screen, a shredder, two bag openers, two ballistic separators and an eddy current.

Three AUTOSORT TOMRA systems separate and clean the green bags from the remaining waste bags by material and colour using NIR and visual spectrometry. This initial sorting process can successfully separate more than 97 per cent of the incoming green bio-waste bags.

Once waste is separated into different streams, further sorting sees a combination of mechanical processing such as ballistic separators and AUTOSORT optical machines, with PELD film, PEHD, PP, PET, mixed plastics and paper separated.

Recyclable fractions are stored and baled and sent to different recyclers, with any residues collected and sent for energy recovery.

According to Eric Paulsen, CEMAC technologies Managing Director, RoAF shows the potential that can be tapped in municipal solid waste recovery via automation.

As local waste management conversations tend to focus on the “tyranny of distance” argument, Eric encourages Australian centres to reconsider the long-term economics.

He says that the fact that Australia has a higher densification in urban centres than Europe allows for better agglomeration in the main cities.

Cemac technologies is the Australian supplier for STADLER screening drums, sorting plants, ballistic separators and TOMRA Sorting and the company is looking to offer its high level of engineering experience for the Australian sector.

Eric adds that given wages are higher in Australia than Europe, it makes sense to adopt more domestic automation.

“Traditionally, sorting plants in Australia were very low capital compared to overseas, in terms of quality. This had to get boosted through manual labour, but even in the case of cleaning up paper, you can’t manually pick plastic bags that weigh five grams per bag by hand – the only way forward is higher capital and automation.”

STADLER through Australian supplier CEMAC technologies, offers a variety of solutions which are increasingly making waves in Australia.

While total automation and a labour-free MRF might seem like future innovations, Eric says the solutions are already accessible.

“Technologies that can seamlessly sort commingled recyclables are available.

By achieving improved purity levels through automation, you can deal with today’s challenges,” he says.

When putting RoAF into perspective, Eric says that the benefits are threefold – cost via reduced wages, revenue via improved recyclate quality and environmental via reduced collection trucks. Eric says this then creates revenue with a cleaner recycling stream and leads to skilled employment.

“You could build a facility like this in larger regional centres, such as Albury, or also Melbourne and Sydney surrounds, collect all recyclables in one bin and sort onsite.”

Eric points to the success of another automated facility in Bulgaria that has

chosen to take on a challenging waste stream with no end market for direct remanufacturing in Australia – postconsumer film. Like many ambitious Greeks before him, in 2016 Kostas Ziogas was looking to invest in a growing industry. While many who have safely invested in HDPE, PET and PP could perceive LDPE processing as a risk, Kostas and a team of entrepreneurs put their heads together and established a company in Elin Pelin, Bulgaria.

Dubbed Integra Plastics, the company invested more than $40 million in a prototype plant. In utilising efficient processes and creating higher purities, Integra produces a high-end recycled product as close to virgin material as currently possible.

Eric is inspired by the start-up, which uses Tomra machines and a sorting plant built by STADLER. Using the STADLER film sorting plant, the shredded material follows a

screening process to remove fines and uses ballistic separators to separate the 3D materials.

TOMRA Finder’s near-infrared system takes care of the LDPE clear film and sorts it by polyolefin type and colour transparency – blue, green and red – before the material undergoes washing, drying and regranulation.

EREMA extrusion technologies pelletise the flake, which undergoes cutting, venting and melt filtration and can eventually be used to remanufacture new film.

Eric says that while sorting plants are evolving, particularly in Europe, and automation requires larger initial capital investment, the resulting material has higher purity levels.

“The whole ground is shifting on this. An MRF that would have been perfectly capable of making something commercially viable 10 years ago does not work anymore,” he says.

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WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – SHREDDING Tutt Bryant recently became the exclusive dealer for Metso Waste’s mobile shredders.

Shredding the unshreddable WASTE COMPANIES ARE REAPING PRODUCTIVITY GAINS FROM METSO WASTE’S M&J 4000M SHREDDER, AVAILABLE THROUGH A NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH TUTT BRYANT EQUIPMENT.

T

utt Bryant Equipment has had a long history of serving the waste sector through its iconic BOMAG and Metso brands.

With its various iterations, the machine has for decades helped reduce costs and improve safety through intelligent compaction. While Tutt Bryant is perhaps best-known for its landfill compactors, crushers and screens, the Australian supplier recently bolstered its presence in the waste sector with a new OEM partnership.

With branches in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin and a number of independent dealers, Tutt Bryant Equipment is able to support the market effectively.

In September last year, Tutt Bryant became the exclusive distributor for Metso Waste’s mobile shredders, with

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the first machine sold to Cleanaway.

The company offers an array of shredders to the marketplace, from the M&J 4000M to M&J 6000M, available for a variety of throughputs and applications.

Paul Doran, Tutt Bryant Equipment Business Development Manager, explains Metso Waste approached the supplier due to its long history with Metso Minerals in the quarrying sector.

“We’ve been the distributor for crushing and screening equipment for Metso since 2012,” Paul explains.

“Metso Waste realised it was a good fit for us as because of the broad range of products that Tutt Bryant equipment provide in the waste sector, including landfill compactors, crushers, screens, excavators and front end loaders.”

He says Tutt Bryant is seeking to expand its offering to the waste industry by supporting transfer stations with their processing needs.

“This is an opportunity for us to provide a variety of equipment, whether it be crushing concrete, screening waste material or reducing landfill volumes,” he says.

Metso Waste Recycling shredding technology is based on an extremely aggressive knife design and open cutting table, which provides outstanding performance when dealing with mixed and challenging materials.

“A lot of other shredders have a single shaft and rely on the shaft to cut the product, whereas with the Metso design, the knives drive the material into the cutting deck to break it up,” he says.

Paul adds that high-performance

pumps maintain high torque levels, in addition to a variety of program settings on the knives allowing both shafts to cut in both directions and asynchronously.

“They shred materials other machines wouldn’t shred due to a heavy robust engineering design,” Paul says.

He adds the shredder also comprises a detailed fleet management system to monitor the performance of the machine.

“You can get into an amazing level of detail on the pressures, how it’s running and how much fuel it’s using to ensure you’re getting the most out of your investment.”

These key features make M&J PreShred units extremely resistant to wear caused by materials and waste normally considered unshreddable, including solid steel, reinforced concrete and rocks. The machine has sensors that notify the operator of overloading which helps to protect it from damage.

Throughputs can be as high as 100 tonnes per hour depending on the type of input, number of knives specified for the cutting table and loading procedure. The interaction between the rotating knives on these shafts running asynchronously, and in both directions, ensures that the input material is constantly in motion.

This prevents bridging and provides maximum shredding capacity.

With the Queensland waste levy underway, management at Cleanaway’s Willawong Transfer Station decided to start looking at shredding materials onsite to reduce volumes and improve separation.

The initial discussions between Cleanaway and Tutt Bryant Equipment were around Cleanaway’s requirement to purchase suitable plant to provide adequate reduction of municipal solid waste. This would enable efficient

screening into separate products for further downstream treatment.

Due to great experiences with Metso crushers, the Willawong management team decided to explore the Metso M&J PreShredder range.

Further details and specification options on the M&J 4000M were discussed with Site Operations Manager Chris Thomson. The Tutt Bryant team gained a clear understanding of the impending needs of the site and ongoing volume increases. The large installed base of the units and Chris’ personal experience with Metso Crushers and Screens ensured confidence in the quality and support from Tutt Bryant.

After some benchmarking and considering several different supplier offerings, Cleanaway ordered the M&J4000M and it was delivered to Willawong in July 2019.

“The main reason for selecting the M&J 4000 was that we were confident in it providing the necessary volume reduction, and because of its twin shaft design, we knew it would be very

reliable,” Operations Manager Chris Thomson says.

Chris attributes reliability to the Metso build quality and understanding that the production capacity would be there.

After five months of operation, Chris says the machine has performed far better than expected.

“It is user-friendly, even for staff with little exposure to shredders. We got a good feeling about how this relationship was going to go before the machine arrived as Metso Waste and Tutt Bryant senior managers came to site and met with us to discuss the machine and our application,” he says.

“The after-sales support and service from Tutt has been excellent. I can’t fault it.”

The M&J 4000M will be showcased at this year’s Waste 2020 Conference in May at Coffs Harbour. To find out how the M&J 4000M will improve your material transfer, recovery or landfill operations, please contact Tutt Bryant Equipment on 1300 658 888 or metso@tuttbryant.com.au

Throughputs of the M&J units can be as high as 100 tonnes per hour depending on the type of input.

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WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – C&D RECYCLING

Alex Fraser had applied to extend its permit with Kingston City Council after the area was rezoned to a green wedge.

Government wedged into Clarinda issue ALEX FRASER HIGHLIGHTS IMPLICATIONS SURROUNDING THE POTENTIAL CLOSURE OF ITS CLARINDA RECYCLING FACILITY, AFTER KINGSTON CITY COUNCIL DENIED ITS APPLICATION FOR THE SECOND TIME.

A

lex Fraser put in the hard yards over the past two decades to clean up Victoria’s problem glass and is the state’s leading recycler in this space.

Through its network of sites at Clarinda, Laverton North and Epping, the company will take in material from the likes of Cleanaway, Polytrade and Visy and continue to find markets for thousands of tonnes of glass waste per annum.

A recent Sustainability Victoria

34 / WMR / February 2020

grant enabled the installation of additional equipment at Clarinda.

The project will reduce stockpiling and landfilling of problem glass by an additional 38,500 tonnes per annum.

But in three years’ time, Clarinda may no longer exist.

Since 2014, Alex Fraser has been fighting to protect the shutdown of one million tonnes of recycling capacity which supplies material to major projects.

In what some are calling a NIMBY

decision, in late 2019, that battle came to a head, as Kingston City Council denied an application to extend the life of the recycling operation.

The permit ends in 2023 and allows for an application for an extension.

Even though the area has been rezoned as green wedge, an extension is permissible and the company had applied to stay until 2038.

It followed a comprehensive effort to find an alternative site in collaboration with the Victorian

Government through Invest Victoria.

A second and final vote was taken in mid-December which was once again denied. Now, Alex Fraser has called on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to intervene.

Peter Murphy, Alex Fraser Managing Director, says the decision is at odds with Victoria’s Recycling Industry Strategic Plan.

“We’ll continue to work on all of the options available to us. This issue affects environment, resources, roads, transport and treasury at a state level. It really needs a coordinated government approach to resolving it,” Peter explains.

A number of claims have since been thrown around, such as: “there’s still another four years to find a site” and “Alex Fraser still has two other sites”.

For one, the company points out that even if it were able to find a suitable site, completing the planning process means a lengthy and uncertain timeframe. Relocation is also a complex process.

Secondly, Alex Fraser has spent years building a network of recycling sites close to where waste is generated.

Significant work from state agencies has gone into Victoria’s Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan to ensure adequate buffer protection of waste activities as a result of the urban sprawl.

Victoria’s “big build” is placing additional strain on metropolitan quarries, an issue Peter says is a huge concern.

“For recycling of this scale to continue to work, we need to maintain a network of facilities that are positioned close to where waste is generated and where the outlets for recycled materials exist.”

According to the Victorian Extractive Resources Strategy, at the time of its publication in 2016, demand for extractive resources was

expected to double by 2050 as a result of the big build, and since then infrastructure investment has only increased.

The strategy shows 34 per cent of extractives in 2050 will need to be sourced from quarries not yet built or planned, due to forecast resource exhaustion. To complicate matters further, an analysis undertaken in 2018 of quarry approvals shows only a quarter of quarry applicants were able to secure necessary approvals in the past two years to carry out new production.

To meet the shortfall, one of the Victorian Government’s key policy pledges is to improve waste management across the whole industry.

Transportation of extractive resources is costly and not eco-friendly when the distance between a quarry and point of use is examined.

Around 535 quarries produce 50 million tonnes of stone, limestone, gypsum, sand and gravel per year.

Put in perspective, the Metro Tunnel alone is expected to require more than 480,000 cubic metres of ready-mix concrete and 160,000 tonnes of other extractive materials.

“If we fail to ensure that a sufficient supply of extractive resources is

available within close proximity to our growth areas and infrastructure projects, the cost of constructing houses and infrastructure will likely rise,” the strategy says.

“This can lead to more expensive and potentially fewer infrastructure projects for Victorians. Impacts on transport infrastructure will rise, and greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts will increase.”

Alex Fraser highlights that if the Clarinda facility were to close, it would be equivalent to the loss of a major quarry in metropolitan resource availability.

Clarinda is perfectly positioned to supply major projects such as the Mordialloc Freeway, Monash Upgrade, Level Crossing Removal Project and the upcoming outer Suburban Rail Loop.

Peter says that recycling in Melbourne has been successful because of a network of sites, close to the city which provide access to markets.

Globally, a clear barrier to using recycled materials is the availability of supply within reasonable distances.

He says that anyone in the industry understands the time and cost implications of trucking material from further afield.

Alex Fraser has spent years building a network of recycling sites close to where waste is generated.

www.wastemanagementreview.com.au / WMR / 35

WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – C&D RECYCLING

Alex Fraser’s Clarinda Recycling Facility has been awarded by the Clean Air Society of Australia & New Zealand for its excellent controls.

“For recycling of this scale to continue to work, we need to maintain a network of facilities that are positioned close to where waste is generated and where the outlets for recycled materials exist.”

Peter Murphy, Alex Fraser, Managing Director

The Victorian Government has committed to a “hot list” of priority quarry approvals that can be fast tracked to support the big build. He says it would be perverse to fast-track the development of a new quarry to counter the shutdown of a recycling facility.

Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group (MWRRG) CEO Jillian Riseley recently penned a letter to the City of Kingston calling for the Clarinda Recycling Facility’s extension.

She reiterated that the MWRRG had a statutory role to play in reducing waste to landfill and that its Metropolitan Implementation Plan

36 / WMR / February 2020

articulated the need to integrate land use planning with waste and resource recovery.

The metro plan identifies the Clayton South Precinct as one of 13 hubs of metropolitan importance and acknowledges Alex Fraser’s role in supporting construction and demolition waste.

“The Clayton South Precinct Hub including Alex Fraser facilities, along with other state significant hubs, together operate as a network providing critical and complementary recycling and recovery capacity,” Jillian wrote.

“For the network to function effectively it requires capacity and

security of operations across the hub.”

She says that should the operation discontinue, the loss of one million tonnes would undermine the entire network and place pressure on already constrained landfill capacity in the southeast.

Kingston City Council claims that the community has voiced objections about the Clarinda Recycling Facility.

The MWRRG’s letter confirms the application for permit extension would allow Alex Fraser to support ongoing best practice environmental management.

Peter says that a number of houses are close to landfills and affected by dust, noise and odour.

“We have provided evidence that the source of dust, noise and odour is not the Clarinda Recycling Facility. Our employees do an outstanding job and have demonstrated how to transition away from landfill,” Peter says.

“We have exceptionally good controls, including 24-hour dust monitoring across the site.

“In fact, the site has been awarded by the Clean Air Society of Australia & New Zealand so it is well recognised as being a leader.”

Alex Fraser also put forward a Community Benefits Package, giving the Kingston community ownership of 22 hectares of land, along with a total of $7.5 million for local sports and recreation facilities.

The proposal was not accepted by the council, an issue Alex Fraser remains perplexed about.

As the Victorian Government plans to release its long-awaited circular economy policy, Peter says Victoria long led the way in using recycled materials in infrastructure.

He adds the site is an outstanding example of the circular economy in action and the state government must intervene to retain this recycling capacity.

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WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – TYRE RECYCLING

Whole bale delay, missed opportunity NEW REGULATIONS BANNING THE EXPORT OF BALED WASTE TYRES WILL FORCE AUSTRALIAN BUSINESSES TO DEAL WITH RUBBER WASTE RESPONSIBLY, BUT NOT SOON ENOUGH, ACCORDING TO INDUSTRY EXPERTS.

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hile the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) announced impending export bans for plastics, paper, glass, and tyres in August, implementation timelines were only agreed to in November.

The agreement to a phased introduction with staggered timelines across the four categories means the export of whole baled tyres is still two years away – a move that has surprised and disappointed industry leaders and waste sector bodies.

Jim Fairweather, Tyrecycle CEO, says while the company welcomes the ban, the two-year implementation delay is not only disappointing, but a missed opportunity.

“To learn the ban specific to whole baled tyres won’t be implemented until December 2021, six months after plastics which are far more challenging, seems nonsensical,” he says.

According to Jim, not only is there sufficient domestic processing capacity for end-of-life tyres already, but existing local and overseas markets for recycled tyre products.

“We already have the capability to recycle tyres for use in asphalt for road surfacing, in tile adhesive, in soft fall and sporting surfaces and as tyrederived fuels to replace fossil fuel use,” Jim says.

“A ban, implemented sooner rather

38 / WMR / February 2020

Tyrecycle’s Jim Fairweather says the delayed ban on whole baled tyre exports seems “nonsensical”.

than later, stands to create local jobs, attract investment in domestic infrastructure and technology, and position Australia as a global leader in the circular economy.”

It’s a view shared by Pete Shmigel, Australian Council of Recycling CEO, who says it’s regretful that clear opportunities – like the immediate ban on whole baled tyre exports – had been missed.

“A recent report commissioned by the Australian Tyre Recyclers Association (ATRA) demonstrated there are readily available markets for the material, and serious

environmental impacts from their continued export for a further two years,” he says.

“It’s hard to understand why banning whole baled tyres has not been prioritised, as the report produced ample evidence on the environmental and human health impacts of exports, the existing domestic capacity for the reprocessing and the legal avenues available.”

Pete adds that Australia has enough capacity within the existing sector to recycle all the material currently exported as bales, and in the process, create over 90 new jobs.

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“There is no need to delay – all we need is a commitment to increased levels of domestic procurement for tyre-derived products,” he says.

Rose Read, National Waste and Recycling Industry Council CEO, agrees, arguing that the ban should be brought forward to July 2020, in parallel with glass.

“The potential harm to humans and the environment by exporting whole baled tyres is significant, and there is ample capacity domestically to process these into value added products including crumb rubber and clean fuels,” Rose explains.

“It also seems counterintuitive for environment ministers to give more time for the banning of waste tyres [December 2021] than plastics [June 2021].”

Rose says while NWRIC supports the ban’s intent, for Australia to manage its waste at home and for the ban to achieve its objectives, Australia’s resource recovery industry needs to be stimulated simultaneously.

“Domestic markets for remanufactured materials have plenty of scope to expand, particularly those dealing with plastics and tyres,” she says.

“These waste streams are already remanufactured in applications such as infrastructure projects and the development of high-quality engineered fuel – what we now need is to increase local market demand.”

Gayle Sloan, Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association Australia CEO, says for the ban to work, it’s critical that it’s backed by strong policies, regulations and funding.

“We need to see commitment to a funding strategy that will create speed domestic remanufacturing market with very low operating extreme accuracy, and consistencycapacity of cut,and combined demand our laser materials, which in turn willto create e new Yawei HLFfor fiber is the perfect way takelocal your business to the next level. jobs,” Gayle says.

“Positive by governments businesses, dollar, the new HLFprocurement is in a league of its own,and opening up possibilities for companies s the laseralong cutting from start-ups through full production, 3-shift withsector; consumer demand for products withtorecycled ments. content, will drive further development in the domestic market.”

• Hot melt processing achieves a 90:1 densification ratio uality German built Precitec cuttingwill head, ATRA predicts that auto-focus the delayed timeline leaveIPG laser source, Siemens • Huge volumetric savings on your waste bins controller the anddoor a fabricated, fully of annealed open for thestress-relieved continued exportation roughly frame it really is a cut above • Create a new revenue stream with your densified EPS 70, 000 tonnes of whole baled tyres per year, most of which is either burnt in the open or in highly polluting • Keep EPS out of landfill, and contribute to the true pyrolysis operations in India and Malaysia. circular economy Rob Kelman, ATRA Executive Officer, advises however information: • Simple, cost effective, safe operation that Indian authorities are currently refusing authorisation 706 8066 for any pyrolysis imports. es@appliedmachinery.com.au “India’s Green Tribunal is leaning toward banning w.appliedmachinery.com.au any imports of whole tyres that would be used in Connect batch with us socially pyrolysis reactors,” Rob says. appliedmachinery.com.au “Surely, it’s a far more ethical and environmentally responsible approach for Australia to act first.”

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WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – MACHINE EFFICIENCIES

Anthony Watson, Caterpillar Industry Segment Manager Asia Pacific, says Caterpillar’s continuous Dow Jones inclusion highlights the alignment of its sustainability and business strategies.

Reman for regrowth AS CATERPILLAR CELEBRATES ITS 20TH YEAR ON THE DOW JONES SUSTAINABILITY INDICES, THE COMPANY SPEAKS WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW ABOUT ITS SUSTAINABILITY STRATEGY.

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he last year of the decade saw Caterpillar celebrate its 20th year on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices. Launched in 1999, the indices evaluate the sustainability performance of thousands of publicly traded companies.

Inclusion is said to function as a benchmark for investors who recognise the long-term shareholder value of sustainable business practices.

Caterpillar was recognised in 2019 for its continued global innovation focus, human rights policy, collaboration with suppliers to assess sustainability performance and public reporting and third-party verification of

40 / WMR / February 2020

social and environmental progress.

According to Anthony Watson, Caterpillar Industry Segment Manager Asia Pacific, Caterpillar’s continuous Dow Jones inclusion highlights the alignment of its sustainability and business strategies.

“We think it’s important to manufacture efficient and highcapacity machinery in a sustainable way,” he says.

“Operators don’t have to sacrifice quality for positive environmental outcomes, or vice versa.”

Anthony adds that Caterpillar is committed to building its reputation as a forward-thinking and sustainability

minded company in 2020.

Caterpillar’s overarching vision, he says, is to work towards a world in which all people’s basic needs are fulfilled in an environmentally sustainable way.

While achieving this in totality is beyond the scope of an equipment manufacturer, Anthony says Caterpillar can contribute by enhancing product lifecycles and supporting the communities in which it works.

Specifically, he says Caterpillar is committed to preventing waste, continuously improving machine and business quality and innovating equipment systems to support the waste

and resource recovery sector.

He adds that the waste industry, which has consistently represented a critical portion of Caterpillar’s customer portfolio, has been growing steadily over the past five years.

“As populations continue to grow there is more demand for waste services. While on a global level we can observe some of the challenges associated with that increase, Caterpillar is committed to using our machinery to manage the challenge,” he says.

To achieve this, Anthony says Caterpillar intends to develop and apply innovative technology to grow the sustainability performance of its machinery, services, solutions and operations throughout 2020.

“We believe sustainable progress is possible by developing better systems that maximise lifecycle benefits, while also minimising the economic, social and environmental costs of ownership,” he says.

“Part of our business strategy is reman and rebuild, which involves finding new ways to reduce, reuse, recycle and reclaim materials that would have otherwise gone to landfill,” he says.

Through the program, Anthony says end-of-life products can be returned to operating condition at a significant saving.

Once returned to a reman facility, he says the product is disassembled down to its smallest part.

“Each element is cleaned and inspected against strict engineering specifications to determine if it can be effectively salvaged,” he says.

“From there, accepted components are converted into production ready material through our advanced salvage techniques.”

He adds that in addition to reducing ownership and operating costs, the product stewardship approach reduces waste, minimises demand for raw material and lowers greenhouse gas emissions through reduced manufacturing.

Caterpillar is also working to improve the process efficiency of its new equipment.

“Our next generation hydraulic excavator, which was released in Australia over the past 12 months, allows operators to run their equipment more sustainably through up to 25 per cent reduced fuel consumption compared to previous models,” he says.

Anthony says Caterpillar is also partnering with its customers to deliver more successful compaction rates and productive waste movement methods.

“Working to make our machines more efficient provides not just an economic incentive for our customers, but enables more sustainable practices, as operators are burning less fuel to achieve required compaction,” he says.

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WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – TRANSPORT

The Dennis Eagle difference PENSKE COMMERCIAL VEHICLES HAS APPLIED A VARIETY OF LESSONS FROM THE UNITED KINGDOM TO ENSURE ITS DENNIS EAGLE BRAND MEETS LOCAL CONGESTION-BUSTING CHALLENGES.

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he silver and white Dennis Eagle body complemented a multitude of familiar favourites as stakeholders turned out to Melbourne’s Sandown Park Hotel on a slightly chilly morning.

At the end of last year, Penske Commercial Vehicles held an industry breakfast and vehicle display with its customers from Cleanaway, Bucher Municipal, Citywide and other organisations. In addition to a walkthrough of the trucks, the event featured a comprehensive explanation of Penske’s global and local footprint.

Many in the industry would be familiar with Penske Commercial Vehicles’ distributed range of commercial vehicles, including Western Star Trucks, MAN Trucks & Bus and, of course, the iconic Dennis

Shannon Mair, Penske, believes lowentry vehicles are fast becoming a predominant option for cities.

42 / WMR / February 2020

Eagle refuse brand.

While detailing Penske’s global footprint and remanufacturing capabilities, Shannon Mair, Group National Fleet Sales Manager at Penske Commercial Vehicles, explained that the company continues to grow its capabilities.

“We’ve got a very strong footprint of support in the highly populated areas and on the main routes throughout Australia,” he said, adding that the company also had a strong regional presence.

He then went on to provide a history of the Dennis Eagle brand – a waste industry staple. With a British engineering history dating back to the turn of the 20th century, Dennis Eagle is one of the oldest producers of refuse collection vehicles in the world.

The company was founded in 1895 by John and Raymond Dennis and produced its first motor vehicle in 1899. Now owned by Terberg RosRoca Group, Dennis Eagle has 900 units in service across Australia, with more than 40 councils operating vehicles. The brand offers a range of refuse collection solutions, including the Dual Control and RHS Elite models.

“Many people associate the Penske brand with motor racing. The reason why we talk about the race team being an integral part of our organisation is that our Founder Roger Penske is very

passionate about motor racing, and the very same ethos he applies in running a race team – precision, efficiency, dedication – is the same ethos that drives the whole organisation.”

Dennis Eagle collection vehicles have seen hundreds of deliveries over the years from the likes of Cleanaway, Veolia, SUEZ, J.J. Richards, Citywide and WM Waste.

Shannon illustrated that in Australia over the past decade, more than 1600 pedestrians and at least 350 cyclists were killed by vehicles. With London being a well-known congested city, the research shows 25 per cent of pedestrian and 35 per cent of cyclist fatalities involve a truck or heavy goods vehicle.

The research conducted for Transport for London has underpinned Penske Commercial Vehicle’s understanding of blind spots and allowed it to share the importance of the driver’s direct vision – an aspect that is equally as relevant in Australia.

One of the key factors behind the Dennis Eagle difference is its low-entry design, providing best-in-class direct vision, single step entry and a true flat door. Shannon said single step also offers good grip, which is important from an OH&S perspective.

“In the next couple of years, you won’t be able to bring a standard forward control truck into the centre of London. Every vehicle will have to

Dennis Elite 6s received a five-star rating from the Heavy Goods Vehicle Blind Spots Report.

be a low-entry vehicle,” he said.

“When you go out and see the vehicles out in the carpark and sit into the driver’s seat, you will actually notice the driver’s window is in line with your hip and has excellent panoramic view of the surroundings around the vehicle.”

It’s these features that prompted Citywide to begin running a fleet of Dennis Eagles around mid-2018.

David Weston, Group Asset Manager at Citywide, says the company saw an opportunity to upgrade its fleet with enhanced technology and capability.

Citywide now has around 15 Dennis Eagle Elite models, in both right hand steer and dual control configuration in the fleet.

“The key considerations for us when selecting the Dennis Eagles were around safety, usability by our drivers as well as technical functions,” David explains.

“It was primarily about ensuring drivers have good visibility and can see what is going on around them and better capability to operate, particularly in built-up environments with pedestrians and vehicle traffic.”

He says Citywide use a combination of side loaders and rear loaders for residential and general waste collection from single and multi-unit dwellings, with vehicles designed to suit the work environment, bin configuration and waste requirement.

“The vehicles really suit use within the built-up environment. The length and turning circle improve manoeuvrability and the large cab glass area helps minimise blind spots where pedestrians or cyclists could be hard to see.”

He says the company does not opt for a one-size-fits-all approach and matches the body configuration to the vehicle to optimise manoeuvrability and weight-carrying capacity.

David says the vehicle is custom spec’d with safety features such as rear and side warning devices.

Further supporting the concept is a five-star rating by the Heavy Goods Vehicle Blind Spots Report by Loughborough University’s Design School, based in the UK. The school produced a report that compared vehicles by leading manufacturers to determine how well drivers could see

vulnerable road users and found the Dennis Elite 6 outperformed each one in terms of visibility.

A deep step, full width of the doorway in the Dennis Eagle product, ensures a secure footing and significantly reduces trip and fall hazards linked to entry and exit of vehicles.

The walk-through design includes a full stand-up height cab, completely flat floor and clear walkway with no obstructions. Drivers can easily cross cab and never have to enter or exit the vehicle from the traffic side, improving safety and productivity.

David says running costs are also an important consideration and the use of well-known brand components for the engine, transmission and drive axle make maintenance and repair activities easier to manage.

“Another aspect is Penske’s support and backup network across the country,” he says.

“Penske has been very responsive when we’ve had discussions with them during procurement and postprocurement to assist us optimise vehicle specifications and uptime.”

www.wastemanagementreview.com.au / WMR / 43

WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – ORGANICS

Capital compost PHIL CORKHILL, OF CORKHILL BROS, EXPLAINS THE PROCESS AND EQUIPMENT REQUIREMENTS ESSENTIAL TO MANAGING CANBERRA’S GREEN WASTE COLLECTION SERVICE.

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hen the Canberra Business Chamber sought to find the territory’s oldest surviving business in 2019, Corkhill Bros was among a handful of those recognised.

Operating in multiple capacities since 1954, Corkhill Bros has been running a public green organic dropoff facility in the nation’s capital for more than 35 years.

While the drop-off facility always received a steady flow of material, its intake jumped in April 2017. The surge in material followed the introduction of separate green organics kerbside collection in the ACT. The ACT Government subsequently tasked Corkhill Bros with collection and processing via a government contract.

As Canberra does not have individual councils, this means Corkhill Bros manage the entire territory.

By July 2019, all Canberra residents had access to separate organics collection after the service was rolled out progressively over three-years.

As a result, Phil Corkhill, of Corkhill Bros, says the family-run business now deals with an average of 350,000 tonnes of green waste each year.

“As a company, we’re committed to a circular economy waste management and resource recovery approach. This means it’s very important that we achieve high recovery rates and nutrientrich feedstock,” he says.

According to Phil, all organic waste processed at the facility is reused for the benefit of the community, with the resulting material turned into high-quality landscaping supplies and compost.

“We grind our green organics daily, before allowing the product to sit

for three months to achieve quality pasteurisation and composting,” he says.

“This allows the particles to break down before additives are introduced and turned into the piles for mixing.”

To manage the process efficiently with minimal downtown, Corkhill Bros work closely with machinery supplier ELB Equipment.

“When dealing with that level of material, operators can’t afford equipment breakdowns or to work with suppliers that don’t remain significantly engaged in the business,” Phil says.

“We manage and process all of Canberra’s green waste, and as such, require efficiencies of scale. ELB can provide those efficiencies, which is why we continue to work with them.”

Phil says Corkhill Bros currently operates a Topturn X55 Compost

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Corkhill Bros uses the Multistar L3 and other mobile machines for screening and mixing, facilitiating a consistent operation.

44 / WMR / February 2020

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Turner, Multistar L3 recycling screen and four Nemus 2700 screens all supplied by ELB at its Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre.

“ELB calls us at least once a month, not just to check in on existing equipment, but to enquire about future needs and maintenance requirements. They are always on the front foot,” he says.

“I consider them more of a partner than a supplier – they’re a very proactive company.”

Corkhill Bros uses the Multistar L3 and Nemus mobile machines for screening and mixing. Phil says both recycling screens facilitate consistent operations, particularly in contrast to drum screens or flatbeds.

“Drum and flatbed screens often suffer significant blockages, which in turn creates inefficiencies,” he says.

“The technical makeup of star screens circumnavigates that problem through curvature, to create a reliable piece of equipment capable of processing organics in all weather conditions.”

The core of the Multistar L3 screen consists of one or two screen decks, with the rotating shafts of the coarse screen deck moving the material horizontally.

Phil says particle size can be controlled ai157621142791_WMR_Jan20_ThirdPage.pdf 1 by varying the rotation of the star shafts.

“The particle size of the material can be changed within seconds using frequency converters on the operator console, within the range determined by the star geometry,” he says.

All functions are monitored by a central control unit, which reports on the current operational status to streamline site operations.

In regard to Corkhill Bros’ four Nemus screens, Phil says he uses the barrels for final screening and blending. “Nemus 2700s are very high production machines, with some great improvements on the previous mustang model,” he says.

With a large steep-walled hopper and high-performance discharge system, the Nemus 2700’s material flow enables 10 per cent more throughput than predecessors, he adds.

“The clearance between the drum and sidewall also allows for a wide range of material inputs, with hole sizes up to 100 millimetres,” he says.

Fine particles are discharged by a cross belt and profiled discharge belt, with the Komtech design preventing material trickle at transfer points to facilitate high capacity.

Corkhill Bros’ Topturn X55 13/12/2019 2:30:28 PM Compost Turner runs in a separate

part of the Mugga Lane facility to facilitate open air windrowing, Phil says.

As one of the most widely used compost turners in the world, the Topturn’s frame is designed for heavyduty applications, namely varied and unpredictable municipal green waste.

Phil says the turner’s large hydraulically driven drum, with efficient conveyor and throwing blades, accelerates the turning and rotating process. This, he adds, means all material is mixed before passing through the drum. Since purchasing the machine in 2017, Phil says he has noticed a rise in material quality.

“I’ve been nothing but happy with ELB’s compost turner. It really helps us maintain workflow and product excellence,” he says.

While Corkhill Bros works with multiple manufacturers and suppliers, Phil says ELB’s commitment to service, including spare parts and process maintenance, is a standout in the industry.

“I’m always impressed with their methodology and business model, as it’s very customer focused. We deal with multiple manufacturers and suppliers, and I’d like to think some of them could aspire to the ELB model.”

WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – PLASTICS

Washing billions of bottles WITH ONSHORE PLASTIC PROCESSING SET TO GROW, DANIEL FISHER, APPLIED MACHINERY, DETAILS THE STREAMLINING ABILITY OF HIGHENERGY WASHING.

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he onshore consequences of the upcoming waste export ban could see the domestic resource recovery industry swamped by mountains of plastic.

To fully capitalise on this, Daniel Fisher, Applied Machinery Project Manager, says plastic recycling operators need to invest in efficient and high-capacity washing systems.

“The significance of washing is often understated, with importance placed on seemingly more complex processes such as sorting and granulating,” Daniel says.

“But, given the nature of most plastic waste, and the fact it often takes the form of packaging, removing contaminants and impurities efficiently is critical to sustained operations.”

According to Daniel, Applied

Machinery’s range of plastic-washing systems are designed for highperformance recovery of rigid and flexible plastics derived from a variety of sources.

“We’re able to facilitate modular systems to tackle HDPE and PET bottles, and depending on application requirements, can provide bale breakers, infeed conveyor belts, pre-shredders for wet or dry size reductions, pre-washers and screw washers,” he says.

In particular, Daniel says Applied Machinery’s HDPE Bottle/Container Washing System is well suited to operators hoping to take advantage of the upcoming domestic plastic processing boom.

Developed by Guangzhou-based equipment manufacturer Genox, the

The Genox washing system is fully automated to ensure system efficiency.

46 / WMR / February 2020

HDPE washing line is designed for rigid plastics.

Daniel says the washing system’s wear-resistant design works to maximise operating time and throughput via consistent processing.

“The high-speed washing system works to liberate plastic flakes from contaminants,” Daniel says.

“The washing tank’s under-water force-washing paddles then work to amplify washing efficiency, while mechanical and thermal drying systems reduce end product moisture.”

Shredding and washing are set at calculated intensities, Daniel says, to avoid over friction and material loss.

“Label separation can also be achieved through advanced wind separation,” he adds.

The system features an inclined friction washer, float-sink washing tank and vertical dewatering machine, before material passes through a zigzag classifier.

In the current economic and political waste climate, Daniel says investing in a Genox HDPE Bottle/Container Washing System can deliver significant returns on investment.

“The Australian resource recovery industry will see major opportunities over the next few years, so the time is right for facilities to upscale their operations and capitalise on the next generation of plastic processing.”

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PROFILE

Build it and they will come WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW CATCHES UP WITH OUTGOING WASTE AND RECYCLING INDUSTRY QLD CEO RICK RALPH, TALKING INTERNATIONAL WASTE BANS, QUEENSLAND POLICY SETTING AND HIS CAREER JOURNEY. Comalco promoted aluminium can recycling to the general public by inspiring children and community groups to collect their cans. It saw the establishment of buy-back centres where users could return their cans for a cash return. Much like modern container refund schemes, they raised significant funds for community and charity projects across Australia.

The occasion calls for reflection as Waste Management Review Editor Toli Papadopoulos caught up with Rick, the Chief Executive Officer of Waste Recycling Industry Association (QLD). As Rick recently announced his retirement, I spoke with him over lunch to discuss his 39-year career in waste and recycling.

While his achievements are distinct, Rick Ralph says WRIQ has been grateful just to have a seat at the policy table.

I

n 1981, a 20-something Rick Ralph was selling toilet paper and towels in Melbourne.

He’d introduced hospitals to a range of one-way clinical products and disposal paper products, but little did he know his life would be about to change.

Four years prior, he had dropped out of university and followed the sabbatical adolescent rite of passage to travel the globe.

“I probably didn’t apply myself as much as I should have. It’s ironic that I’ve just been installed in the School Hall of Fame for my achievements in

48 / WMR / February 2020

the community and environment now 40 years later – quite incredible,” he recalls.

A call out of the blue from one of Rick’s mentors at Comalco Aluminium led him to head up the Cash for Cans Initiative in Victoria – a world-first container refund scheme.

“Someone had heard about someone, who knew someone, who knew someone, and I got a phone call. I thought this was interesting and in January 1981, started my career in recycling and waste management,” he says.

CASH FOR CANS Comalco Aluminium’s Cash for Cans initiative would later inspire similar schemes in Western Australia and internationally, and led to a ban on glass sales at Australian Rules Football grounds in Victoria.

“The introduction of the aluminium can and Comalco’s program was the complete reset of the environmental recycling movement in Australia,” Rick says.

“It changed recycling from putting out your 55-litre bin and a few bottles and paper for the garbo to collect to a wholesale reform where it introduced and supported community-based litter

programs. It shifted the way glass recycling occurred and shifted the light weighting of glass bottles.”

He adds that it removed steel cans from beverage one-way use and reduced litter of cans from the waste stream.

It also triggered the paper industry to change its recycling model.

“We paid out millions each year.

At one stage we had 33 per cent of Australia’s primary and secondary school system actively engaged, we had employees developing school’s programs and it was the founding of community events such as the can raft regattas that still go on today.

“What many in government and the community don’t realise is that the aluminium can had the highest recycling rate in the world. At its peak, it performed well over 65 per cent recovery and stabilised somewhere near 60 to 62 percent regularly.”

As the program matured and kerbside commenced in the late 90s, focus shifted, and the program was disbanded.

In the years since, Rick helped introduce beach litter programs with the late Dame Phyllis Frost from Keep Australia Beautiful, while also later working in WA and South Africa.

But in the early 90s, he went back to the Sunshine State as Director of Waste Services at the City of Brisbane, a role which he held for three years.

“I left that because it was either politicians winning or Rick, and Rick was never going to win,” he jokes.

“I then bought a recycling business and we were one of the first materials recovery facilities (MRFs) in Brisbane and the state’s largest glass recycler.”

He stayed in this role for around five years.

Rick then went on to work at an Australian-first pyrolysis municipal solid waste plant as General Manager Recycling and Resource Recovery in Wollongong in NSW.

“It was a genuine attempt at wasteto-energy at the turn of the century and a time when a lot of the alternative waste treatments got going in NSW. We were competing in a very noisy and developing waste space,” Rick says.

THE BUSINESS VOICE In 2006, an opportunity arose to start an industry association which would become what Rick says provided a business voice for waste and recycling.

Working with Tony Khoury, who heads up the Waste Contractors Recyclers Association (WCRA) NSW, one of the oldest waste industry associations in the world, Rick helped established WCRA QLD. Formed in 2007, the association would later be rebranded to Waste Recycling Industry Queensland (WRIQ) in 2012.

On his achievements with WRIQ, he cites supporting the development of environmentally relevant activities such as the Department of Environment and Science (DES) version of EPA guidelines for waste-related activities and our future leaders’ program.

Additionally, replicating the governance model of WRIQ in the Northern Territory and supporting state-based associations in WA and SA was another highlight. Not least, his work setting up the National Waste and Recycling Industry Council in partnership with former CEO Max Spedding.

In respect to the repeal of the levy by the Campbell Newman Government, Rick says there are those that accused WRIQ of advocating for its repeal – a complete falsehood.

“We advocated to get it right because the framework was wrong.

The current levy is still wrong as we have this disconnect where only half the state has got it and only that half is paying for the levy.”

Reflecting on the lessons learnt from Cash for Cans, Rick says the

Queensland Government’s container refund scheme (CRS) changed forever the operating parameters of existing recycling systems.

Rick says that disruption was inevitable but he doesn’t think we have truly yet analysed where that will stabilise. He says that coupled with changes in commodity values, international quality specifications and product market access, 12 months along only now are we seeing the real impacts to kerbside systems.

“From the social equity view it’s been hugely successful as it provided many communities in Queensland previously without access to recycling an opportunity to participate – a great result,” he says.

“However, it’s time we step back, analyse these changes and leverage those outcomes. We must refocus our attention and ensure kerbside and many other commercial systems are just as sustainable. Existing kerbside models are outdated. They need revitalising and readjustment for them to survive this new community norm.”

CHALLENGES AHEAD Rick says right now one of the great challenges facing Queensland is a disconnect between government policy and industry, describing the regulatory framework as a failure.

“Be it developing and improving existing assets of brownfield sites or even greenfield developments, Queensland currently is a ‘basket case’ in terms of its planning arrangements and the approvals framework and government is totally responsible for that confused and complex environment.”

Industry was blind-sided when the Queensland Government exercised its legislative powers, introducing new requirements for buffer zones on all new or expanded facilities in the Swanbank and New Chum

www.wastemanagementreview.com.au / WMR / 49

PROFILE

industrial area.

A Temporary Legislative Planning Instrument (TLPI) was used to suspend part of their planning scheme and took effect for two years from 6 April 2018.

The TLPI introduced a 750-metre buffer from existing, approved or planned residential areas for new and expanded waste facilities, including in landfill.

“If you look historically in planning terms, WRIQ agreed in 2013 with the government of the day introducing planning instruments that gave protection to all our existing assets and gave sensitive receptors and community protection as well.

“With the re-election of this current government, it again changed the planning framework, the third government in six years to do so, by slapping a TLPI on us in the most sensitive and secure landfill region for southeast Queensland without any industry consultation.”

Rick’s frustration with the slow process of reform saw him commission an independent survey of 67 WRIQ members in 2018 into the performance of the DES. The feedback called for a complete overhaul of the DES and the instalment of an EPA to regulate the industry. He maintains that position is more apt today than ever.

I ask if there’s been any progress on the matter since then, he laughs and says Queensland is on Fijian time.

“As a local Fijian once said to me, ‘no worry, no hurry here’,” he says.

“From an industry perspective I think government has heard us. But there is this continuing reluctance to genuinely understand and change things. However we’re going to maintain the pressure.

We must.

“I think there’s an opportunity to have a look at what Victoria has done. It may not be perfect, but I think from time to time we need to

50 / WMR / February 2020

actually take a step back.”

“I hope my successor goes harder than I ever did on getting our reforms through with the regulator.”

And despite Queensland introducing a $70-per-tonne waste levy in July 2018 on waste to landfill, with council and state elections coming up in 2020, Rick says we are heading for a 10-month period of political paralysis.

“When you add the slowed local economy and lack of industry development, it’s very difficult to actually identify if the levy has worked or not.

“Yes it’s caused a rethink, but what’s disappointing is that industry wants to invest, industry wants to go forward, industry wants to create jobs, but we can’t build a thing.

“You’ve got a culture in Queensland where you can set up, start operating, build it and get retrospective approval.

This is the greatest threat to our economic development.”

He says the role of the Federal Government should now be to focus on improving regulatory planning processes to ensure states can support and deliver the national targets.

While his achievements over the past two decades are distinct, he says WRIQ has been grateful just to have a seat at the table.

“You’re never going to influence policy, but you must be at the table to talk.

“You can, however, influence regulations because regulations are where it is for any business owner.”

On the issue of the international waste ban, Rick says we need to get serious and stop referring to it as a ban on “waste”.

He points out that we don’t export waste, but rather recyclate. As waste management in Australia has traditionally focused on collection with a lack of substantive local end markets, he questions why we are banning

material if there is a sensible end destination for value-added material.

The National Waste Report finds around 5.6 million tonnes of paper and cardboard was generated in 2016-17, with 60 per cent of this recycled and 40 per cent sent to landfill.

A mere 12 per cent of the 2.5 million tonnes of plastics was recycled that same year. Given the high generation figures, Rick ask if the focus is on international environmental and human health harm, then there are far more urgent materials for the attention of COAG, such as baled up scrap metal that is going out under the radar.

“For goodness sake, industry can’t even update an existing brownfield site. How the hell are we going to find remanufacturing for 1.2 million tonnes of paper and products, and more than 250,000 tonnes of plastics in just a couple of years?”

He adds rushed policy is bad policy, and advocates for a full regulatory impact study that quantifies the economic, social and business impacts of these bans before they happen.

“It’s great we’re talking about remanufacturing, but in the current environment of the interference by government at all levels and our elected representatives, it’s going to be difficult.

Realistically, if we don’t have a home for it, materials will go straight to landfill with the only benefits going to government from waste levies.

“That’s the reality and that’s not acceptable.”

As for whether he has any regrets.

Rick sips his drink and responds without hesitation: ‘nothing’.

He says you need to make the mistakes of past to know what you’ve done wrong, so you don’t make them again.

“It’s been fun, but it hasn’t ended.

This is a personal reset of my own priorities and handing things over to a new generation of leaders.”

RULES AND REGULATIONS

The handshake agreement WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW SPEAKS WITH GAVIN SHAPIRO, HONES LAWYERS PARTNER, ABOUT CHANGING REGULATION IN THE C&D SPHERE.

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fter a spate of regulatory changes, the NSW EPA published two guidance documents to help the construction and demolition industry strengthen procurement and contract processes around waste disposal.

While not legally binding, the documents serve as a compliance guide for procurement officers and construction principals, with the aim of ensuring appropriate construction and demolition (C&D) waste disposal.

General guidance points include understanding waste streams, questioning quotes that appear too low, checking council development consent and environment protection laws and having clear roles and responsibilities for operators managing waste.

Gavin Shapiro, Hones Lawyers Partner and environmental law specialist, says while the guidelines don’t hold regulatory weight, they do offer useful instruction.

“There’s sound advice in the documents, and while I don’t agree 100 per cent with everything, I think it’s a good effort from the EPA to jolt industry in a positive direction,” he says.

“That said, from my experience, the only thing that pushes parties towards compliance is legal penalties and consequences. Legislation is the big stick the EPA has to wave around to incentivise compliance.”

52 / WMR / February 2020

Gavin notes that the guidelines, Construction and Demolition Waste: A Management Toolkit and Owner’s Guide to Lawful Disposal of Construction and Demolition Waste, follow earlier revisions to C&D waste standards in NSW. Coming into effect 15 May 2019, the EPA’s Standards for Managing Construction Waste were designed to ensure waste facilities handling C&D implement appropriate processes and procedures to minimise human health and environment risks posed by asbestos.

Under the revised standards, waste facilities dealing with C&D are required to implement a two-stage inspection process to ensure unpermitted waste does not enter the facility.

In an additional layer of legal complexity, the May 2019 standards followed another set of revisions from November 2018.

As the more substantive of the two, the 2018 amendments include restrictions on exhuming waste at current or former landfills and increased penalty notice amounts for asbestos waste offenders.

As reported in Waste Management Review, the standards were devised after multiple investigations and industry feedback, and data analysis revealed a range of ongoing issues in the C&D waste sector.

In a 2016 consultation paper, the

NSW EPA noted “poor processes” pose a risk to the community and resource recovery rates.

Issues highlighted include poor inspection and screening processes that failed to remove contaminants from mixed C&D, negligent handling and unprocessed waste sent for noncompliant disposal.

The quick succession of regulatory reforms, paired with the “need” to release detailed guidance documents, highlights an issue of scale for one of Australia’s fasted growing resource recovery sectors.

STRONG RECOMMENDATIONS Tip three of the EPA’s owner’s guide “strongly recommends waste owners enter into a written contract with the contactor that established waste transport and disposal requirements”.

Tip three goes on to suggest that owners ensure any subcontractual arrangements are in accordance with the contact. While it may seem straightforward, according to Gavin, dodgy waste contracts are a significant issue in the construction sphere.

“There’s two problems. First, construction site principals often sign one contract with the head contractor. The head contractor then subcontacts to a demolition contractor, and the demolition contractor sub-subcontracts to a waste transporter,” Gavin explains.

“It’s very uncommon for the principal to contract with a waste transporter, and realistically, I don’t anticipate that the EPA’s new guidelines will change that – it’s just not how these projects work.”

The second and potentially more challenging problem, Gavin says, is demolition contactors and waste transporters often don’t sign written contracts.

“It’s often a handshake agreement, which is something I’ve always advised clients against,” he says.

“Pushing parties to sign written contracts and subsequently seeing clear, stringent requirements enforced would be a big positive.”

Despite efforts to encourage to written contracts, Gavin says the “handshake agreement” is an ingrained part of construction culture.

“It’s just the thing that’s always been done – there’s a feeling that if an operator needs a written contract, they don’t trust the other party,” he says.

“But with so many incidents of

waste offences and high potential liability, it’s a part of the culture that needs to change.”

Under the NSW Protection of the Environment Operations Act (POEO), waste generation from C&D sites, including soil and demolition waste, must be disposed of or reused lawfully.

As such, waste owners and waste transporters may both be guilty of an offence when waste is transported to a place that cannot lawfully function as a waste facility. This is the most common form of noncompliance and subsequent prosecution in the waste industry, Gavin says.

The POEO provides a defence for waste owners if the owner can establish the offence was due to causes out of their control and that they exercised due diligence.

Gavin notes however that no-one has successfully argued that defence in NSW for 30 years. He jokes that to successfully mount that defence, an owner would have to prove someone broke into their property, took materials

offsite and transported them.

“In all seriousness, a waste owner would have to demonstrate such a high level of due diligence and best practice, plus prove they had no ability to control the waste management process,” he says.

“Fulfilling both those criteria is exceedingly difficult.”

While he believes much of the guideline advice is sound, Gavin cautions against the idea that principals should develop direct contractual relationships with waste transporters.

He adds that given the scale of many of the projects in question, direct contracts can introduce untenable legal liability.

Another issue, Gavin says, is that recent C&D reforms have significantly increased risk for facility operators.

“It’s a tug of war between a genuine desire to see environmental protection through heavy regulation and growing resource recovery rates,” he says.

“Finding a middle ground between the two is the million-dollar question.”

The NSW EPA published two guidance documents to guide compliance for procurement officers and construction principles for C&D waste disposal.

www.wastemanagementreview.com.au / WMR / 53

EVENTS – AUSTRALIAN WASTE TO ENERGY FORUM

Are you going to Ballarat?

Credit: Paul Benjamin Photography

AHEAD OF THE AUSTRALIAN WASTE TO ENERGY FORUM, BARRY SULLIVAN, COMMITTEE CHAIR, DISCUSSES THE DEVELOPING NATIONAL SECTOR.

Barry Sullivan says one of the biggest waste-to-energy challenges is lack of access to information necessary to make informed and considered investment decisions.

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waste-to-energy (WtE) facility in Creswick, Victoria is exploring how to inject clear, filtered green gas into the state’s gas network.

Diverting 2000 tonnes of organic waste via bio-digestion each year, the facility will serve as a case study, with replication potential highlighted by the state government.

With news of green gas and a number of high-profile WtE projects, public WtE perceptions appear to be shifting.

Images of smoke and burning plastics have been replaced by productive conversations about landfill diversion and the future of renewable energy.

It’s welcome news for the team at the Australian Waste to Energy Forum, which returns to the Mercure in Ballarat this year from 18-20 February.

In its fifth consecutive year, the forum aims to provide a platform

54 / WMR / February 2020

for all interested parties to discuss developments in Australia’s growing WtE sector. This year’s theme, “On the road to recovery”, has been selected to address two key areas: the application of waste hierarchy fundamentals, and changing perceptions about WtE facilities and their role within an integrated waste management strategy.

According to Barry Sullivan, Forum Chair, one of the biggest WtE challenges is lack of access to information necessary to make informed and considered investment decisions.

“We are finding there is a lot of misinformation in the public arena that inhibits project development,” Barry says.

“The issue with going to a technology vendor without basic knowledge is they will often say, don’t worry, we can make

this work. In other words, when you sell hammers, everything looks like a nail.”

He adds that before looking to technologies, people need to understand their waste stream, moisture levels, quantity and calorific value, as well as the type of offtakes they hope to produce.

“The committee, and conference host, the Australian Industrial Ecology Network, intend to foster that understanding with our event,” Barry explains.

The two-and-a-half-day conference will feature a range of informative thought leader driven discussions.

“It has always been a priority of the committee to seek out presentations that will address key themes through the program, instead of just grouping abstracts into sessions,” Barry says.

“The committee has closely monitored WtE projects and changing technology over the past seven years, and we want to highlight those developments to our audience.”

Nurturing community engagement and education is also the driver behind the committee’s decision to run with a single stream.

“As WtE is still in early phases, many don’t know if they need thermal or nonthermal solutions for example, so we decided to cover all WtE elements in the one stream,” he says.

“You don’t know what you don’t know, so it makes sense for all delegates

to attend each presentation.”

The program features a range of range of speakers including Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley, Blue Environment Director Bill Grant and a keynote from Veolia Kwinana Project Director Toby Terlet.

Toby’s presentation, Energy Recovery Facilities: What’s not written on the tin, will detail challenges faced by a WtE facility in Tyseley, UK, including major upgrade works at the same time as industrial action, heavy snow and a declining national public sector budget. This presentation will discuss how Veolia worked proactively through the challenges with City of Birmingham to further cement the successful longstanding partnership and resulting in a five-year contract extension.

To develop a thriving national industry, Barry says it’s important to not only showcase success, but share challenges openly.

“Last year we had a technology company present on their biggest failure, which provided a valuable lesson for everyone in the room,” he says.

Other discussion topics include WtE in a circular economy, anaerobic digestion, licence to operate, current project updates, project development considerations and future opportunities and developments.

“We are hosting a session where local governments can talk about future plans. It won’t feature cities with official requests for a proposal in place, but rather those that want the WtE community to know they are thinking about it,” Barry says.

Another will be how to develop technologies that provide return on investment, in spite of small tonnages.

“While WtE in Australia is certainly advancing, progress has been slow, as government agencies tend to rely on standards from Europe and North America,” Barry says.

“But Australia is a different animal with different requirements. We simply don’t have the tonnages other countries do and it’s important to develop technology around that.”

According to Barry, hosting the forum in Ballarat creates a sense of occasion.

“Not only is Ballarat accessible, with trains running every hour from Melbourne, but having a group of likeminded individuals converge on one place creates a real sense of community, and with everyone in town, the evenings are known for networking,” he says.

“We’ve now gained quite a reputation – people aren’t asking ‘are you going to the WtE forum?’ They’re asking, ‘are you going to Ballarat?’”

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE – SORTING AND SEPARATING WASTE MANAGEMENT IN ACTION – PLASTICS

Detecting carbon black STEINERT’S JOHANN HEFNER SPEAKS WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW ABOUT DEVELOPING SOLUTIONS FOR BLACK PLASTIC DETECTION.

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lack plastic, often considered the problem child of the resource recovery industry, has a notoriously difficult-to-recycle composition under traditional detection technology.

Traditionally, recycling facility sensor sorters detect and measure the nearinfrared spectrum of reflected light to distinguish one plastic material from another. However, because black plastic absorbs light rather than reflecting it, the material often goes unsorted and ends up in landfill.

While discussions of simply banning the product are commonplace, the problem persists. This is in large part due to its ability to make food look fresh under the harsh lights of grab-andgo hospitality operations.

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of convenience under current market conditions – paired with an understanding of the slowmoving nature of legislation – was the key driver behind STEINERT’s development of black plastic detection technology.

With a history dating back 130 years, the family-owned business is a world leader in sensor sorting and magnetic separation for waste and metal recycling. STEINERT’s Australian headquarters and manufacturing facility in Melbourne and test facility in Perth have been working to bring the company’s German technology to the Australian market since 2004.

According to Johann Hefner, STEINERT Sales Manager Resource Recovery, the company’s research and development strategy centres on

STEINERT’s research and development strategy centres on addressing existing problems.

56 / WMR / February 2020

addressing existing problems.

“Everyone involved in the plastics industry is concerned with strict legislation and a social sense of responsibility for recovering plastics,” Johann says.

“Black plastics represent a particular challenge because they cannot be detected with optical sorting technology found in standard recycling plants. While waste reduction and sustainable packaging design is the ultimate end goal, we felt it important to address the problem as it exists today.”

STEINERT began developing detection technology for challenging sorting applications in 2011, and, according to Johann, was the first company capable of detecting black plastics.

“When we developed the technology to detect black plastics, and thereby positively sort them, it was a significant breakthrough that allowed recycling rates to increase,” he says.

“By sorting black plastics from the general waste stream, STEINERT technology also facilitates pure grade sorting of the material.”

Using sophisticated airflow technology, Johann says STEINERT is able to cost-effectively sort flat and lightweight black material.

“The pure-grade separation of black polyolefins into their constituent parts, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene and acrylonitrile butadiene

styrene copolymers, allows polymer granulates to be replaced by mintcondition recyclates,” he says.

“This enables plastic processing companies to respond to the new challenges of the circular economy in a cost-effective manner, equipping them for all processes involved in plastic recovery.”

The nature of STEINERT’s technology, Johann says, allows operators to process at a large-scale industry level. He adds that via this technology, operators can separate and upgrade plastic residues to a plastic granulate, with properties similar to those found in primary raw material.

Upgrading residues to the level of raw material allows the waste to be used to manufacture durable quality products – meaning new plastics can be replaced with recycled materials.

Johann says STEINERT technology, including UniSort Black, UniSort BlackEye and UniSort Film, all use hyperspectral imaging technology.

“Hyperspectral imaging technology supersedes the point-to-point scanners previously used, and due to its finer resolution, covers 256 spectrum measuring points rather than the usual 16,” he says.

“This allows our machines to evaluate

even the slightest differences in material chemical composition.”

Prior to STEINERT’s UniSort BlackEye, Johann says operators had two choices: density separation or separation based on electrostatic properties.

“Both of these mechanisms had their limitations. For instance, density separation cannot distinguish between polyethylene and polypropylene, while electrostatic separation only works with dry and very homogenous material,” he says.

The UniSort BlackEye is capable of separating light and dark polymers between 10- and 44-millimetre fractions. It also features a feed and dispensing device with a material hopper, acceleration conveyor belt, containment hood and compressed air nozzle bar.

STEINERT’s UniSort Film, Johann adds, is suited for low-weight film, paper and other 2D fractions.

“The separation process is very demanding when it comes to light 2D components, many of which have the added issue of black pigment,” Johann says.

One of the challenges is that to achieve optimal sorting, material needs to remain in a stable position on the

sorting belt. As a result, operators are often forced to slow belts down, making sorting uneconomical.

“The UniSort Film design circumnavigates this issue through an elaborate ventilation system that allows effective acceleration on a high-speed belt, with speeds up to 4.5 metres a second,” Johann says.

“The machine’s targeted airflow is synchronised across the entire belt, meaning both the belt and air surrounding the material travels at the same speed. This enables a roughly 50 per cent higher throughput when compared to standard system designs.”

Johann says STEINERT’s philosophy is simple: using futurefocused technologies to solve the problems of today.

“We believe in developing technologies that allow our customers to generate added value in their field of work. And, as part of that commitment, aim to provide innovative solutions to the waste problems plaguing us right now, while always keeping our eye on what’s around the corner,” he says.

Contact - STEINERT Johann Hefner P 0499 500 801 E hefner@steinert.com.au W www.steinert.com.au

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE – SORTING AND SEPARATING

Single-stream success WASTECH ENGINEERING’S SCOTT FOULDS HIGHLIGHTS THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES TO SUPPORT A VARIETY OF MATERIALS RECOVERY FACILITIES.

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hen Freshkills Landfill in Staten Island, New York, one of the largest landfills in the world, closed at the end of 2001, it forced the City of New York to explore alternative waste management options.

One option mooted in the early 2000s to fill the gap was a materials recovery facility (MRF). According to a research paper published by the Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, a 150-ton-per-hour facility could handle all of New York City’s recyclables. The operations within the MRF were proposed to be as automated as possible, increasing speed of operation, reducing costs and improving material recovery.

More than a decade on, New York City and other cities across the globe have embraced best practice, with the next generation of screens, optical sorters and air separation technology providing an end-to-end solution.

In leveraging more than 25 years’ experience supplying waste and recycling equipment, Wastech Engineering has been offering technologies to allow MRFs to sort and separate a wide range of waste streams.

Wastech’s commingled recycling screen range features the latest in design and engineering from their US partner The CP Group. From the proprietary cam-disc style CP Screen (polishing screen) to the OCC Screen and Auger Screens, the CP Group continues to set

58 / WMR / February 2020

the pace for screening technology in kerbside recycling.

Scott Foulds, Operations Manager at Wastech, says the company’s range of screens provide full flexibility in MRF design for sorting and separating of various commodities.

“The flexibility of the MRF design, including which streams are captured, is ultimately designed around the outputs the customer wants for the markets they will sell into,” Scott explains.

“The CP Group in the US has implemented an extensive research and development program over the past 10 years to develop their screens to minimise wrapping and increase efficiency in seperation.”

Scott says the OCC Screen is an essential machine for any MRF. The screen effectively separates old corrugated cardboard (OCC) from other mixed fibre, containers and

debris. Characterised by its low maintenance and wrapping design, the screen drops all material under 300 millimetres through the screen for further sorting.

“99 per cent of what goes over the OCC Screen will be clean cardboard with a very high purity rate so you don’t need quality control,” Scott says.

He says the steel discs and shafts have been designed for reduced wrapping, with a lifespan of around 15-plus years due to their robust construction and quality design.

The glass breaker screen is the next step in the process which breaks and separates glass and fines down to a 50-millimetre-minus product. The glass is removed early in the sorting process to protect the longevity of the equipment upstream.

Air separation technology can then remove light materials from glass such

Wastech Engineering offers a variety of technologies for effective sorting and separating.

as small fibre, organics and plastics, with Wastech offering a host of systems through The CP Group or Impact Air. The NewScreen is ideal for MRFs processing higher volumes that want to capture old newsprint. It is designed to automatically separate large fibre from mixed paper, containers and debris.

“If you’re operating a smaller MRF, then the CP Screen could recover all the fibre. But it does come down to what markets the customer has to sell their products into. If they’ve got a market for mixed paper, newsprint and cardboard, it’s better to separate those items, especially if the end user is getting good value for money,” Scott explains.

The CP Screen ensures a clean stream of paper by eliminating residues such as small fibres and organic material by dropping this out through the screen.

The paper (2D material) goes over the

top of the screen and the containers (3D material) go off the back of the screen. The CP rubber disc screens can be adjusted for speed and inclination, allowing it to be varied from 30 to 40 degrees, which help improve the efficiency and quality of the screen’s functionality.

Scott says the CP Screen has numerous advantages over other separators, namely the quantity of throughput and quality of separation.

In continuing to expand its offering to Australian MRF operators, Wastech launched the CP Auger Screen in 2018 – which enables accurate separation of newsprint and large fibres from the material stream early in the separation process. This is particularly useful in higher volume MRFs. While robotics is largely an emerging technology, Scott says a variety of optical sorters can be used instead to

sort fibre and containers and achieve high throughput, capture rates and quality outputs.

“As an alternative to robotics, we’ve come up with a different design in our optical sorting range where we use a single line optical sorter on the container line.

“All the containers pass through an optical sorting head which determines the container type, whether it be aluminium, PET, HDPE or liquid paperboard.”

The container is then ejected into the designated hopper as it passes down the conveyor line. Scott says all of Wastech’s products are backed up by its 24-hour Service Centre, with 15 service vehicles on the road nationally.

Contact - Wastech Engineering P 1800 465 465 E www.wastech.com.au/contact-us W www.wastech.com.au

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE – SORTING AND SEPARATING

Sifting rubble AS QUEENSLAND’S INFRASTRUCTURE PIPELINE ACCELERATES, JIM MURPHY, LANTRAK WASTE DIVISION MANAGER, SPEAKS WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW ABOUT THE EFFICIENCY EFFECTS OF HEAVY-DUTY SEPARATION.

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orkers on Queensland’s Gateway Upgrade laid tools down in March 2019, after 15 years and a $1.1 billion spend.

Designed to unlock economic growth through congestion busting, the project saw the motorway jump from four lanes to six.

To manage material movement, the Queensland Government engaged earthmoving and plant hire specialists Lantrak to move and process clean fill.

Annually moving over 10 million cubic metres of clean and structural fill, the Gateway Upgrade isn’t Lantrak’s only landmark construction project venture, having worked on the Snowy Mountains Scheme and the Wonthaggi Desalination Pipeline.

In addition to its earthmoving service, Lantrak operates a waste and recycling facility in Swanbank, Queensland. The facility is licenced to accept C&D, clean fill and low contaminated soil.

Jim Murphy, Lantrak Waste Division Manager, says the facility prioritises investment in high-quality and heavyduty processing equipment. He adds that this was the key driver behind Lantrak’s recent Terra Select W 80 Windsifter acquisition.

“We needed a new piece of equipment to separate construction and demolition waste after it had been screened and crushed, so we engaged equipment distributor GCM Enviro,” he says.

“As Australia’s exclusive distributor of Terra Select equipment, GCM

60 / WMR / February 2020

The Windsifter is controlled centrally by a modern display.

Enviro was the obvious the choice on the parameters required.”

The Terra Select W 80 Windsifter is designed to separate heavy from light materials, such as stone from wood or concrete and bricks from timber.

It also removes other light materials such as plastic or paper. Jim says the machine’s efficient ability to separate impurities from useable material flows has streamlined Swanbank’s operations.

The Windsifter is equipped with a high continuously adjustable cleaning level, at throughput rates up to 120 cubic metres an hour in certain streams.

“The machine has a unique hopper with dosing roller, which provides closed operations independent of the screening process. This ensures an even infeed of material into the machine,” Jim says.

Material is fed via an upstream feeding conveyor, with equalisation and distribution conducted via a

proportioning drum and downstream acceleration belt. A compressed air nozzle then blows under the material, holding light impurities in the air.

“At the end of the acceleration belt the material is blown over the separation gap, before moving to the separation drum,” Jim says.

“The machine is also very flexible, with the ability to fine tune configurations via taps ducts and separate on heavy and light settings.”

According to Jim, the separator hasn’t disappointed, with minimal downtime or blockages. He adds that through constant dialogue between manufacturers and clients, GCM Enviro is able to ensure reliable customer-orientated servicing support.

“If our material intake grows like I think it will, I look forward to maintaining a long-term partnership with GCM Enviro.”

Contact - GCM Enviro P 02 9457 9399 W www.gcmenviro.com

PRODUCT SHOWCASE – SORTING AND SEPARATING

PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT – LANDFILL MONITORING EQUIPMENT

THE DOMINATOR DEPACKAGING MACHINE The Dominator Depackaging Machine is designed to separate food and liquid from outer packaging, and allows the reuse of waste material that would otherwise be sent to landfill at high cost. Developed after a bag of food accidently fell into a pellet press conditioner, the machine can handle food waste, plastic bottles, tetra pak, tin cans, plasterboard, sachets and pharmaceutical and bakery waste.

Expired or rejected food and faulty packaging can all be processed by the machine and used for anaerobic digestion, added to animal feed or in compost facilities as a wet additive. The machine can also depackage municipal waste for later waste-to-energy application. Municipal waste is loaded into an intake hopper where it begins the conditioning process. The waste is then augured to the Dominator and pumped into a holding tank, before being used to generate renewable energy.

The Dominator uses a motor to drive a solid steel shaft lined with paddles. Using mechanical and centrifugal forces, material is depackaged and forced through a mesh screen leaving two separated waste streams for further processing.

The Dominator is available in two different models, with an arrangement of different sizes depending on throughput

Expired or rejected food can be processed and used for anaerobic digestion.

and space requirements. Both models have a potential throughput of up to 25 cubic metres an hour. The machine is available in mild or stainless steel, with motors ranging from 15 to 75 kilowatts. Different screen sizes can be achieved depending on finished product requirements.

Effluent injection points can also be added to the barrel to assist with wet waste. The Dominator is an effective, easyto-use solution for separating packaging.

Contact - ELB Equipment P 1300 ELB EQU E info@elbquip.com W www.elbquip.com

GENOX PE FILM WASHING LINES Applied Machinery’s PE/PP plastic washing system facilitates high-performance recovery of difficult-to-recycle plastic films.

The PE/PP Film system is designed for washing plastic films with contamination levels exceeding 80 per cent. The process works to minimise the recycling waste flow rate and evaporation losses.

The process begins with pre-shredding and pre-washing, which removes a large portion of abrasive material, such as sand and grit to protect the rest of the system. Underwater force-washing paddles in the washing tanks then work to maximise washing efficiency.

Next, a high-speed washing system optimised according to specific material type liberates and separates contamination from film flakes. This is followed by mechanical (centrifugal and squeezing) systems that control the moisture content of the finished product. At less than five per cent moisture, the material output is suitable for high-quality pelletising.

The system features a film press, float-sink washing tank, centrifugal dryer, inclined friction washer and pre-washer.

Intelligent system automation ensures all component actions are sequenced and monitored.

The correct combination, sizing and equipment

The PE/PP Film system washes plastic films with contamination levels exceeding 80 per cent.

configuration of the equipment results in a reliable, efficient plastic recycling system producing high-quality materials ideal for sale.

The system is suitable for agricultural films, films recovered from MSW or MRFs, films recovered from landfills, postindustrial or post-consumer films and large raffia bags.

Contact - Applied Machinery Daniel Fisher P 03 9706 8066 E daniel@appliedmachinery.com.au W www.appliedmachinery.com.au

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE – EXCAVATORS

Demolishing waste GEORGE HATZIMANOLIS, REPURPOSE IT CEO, SPEAKS WITH WASTE MANAGEMENT REVIEW ABOUT ACHIEVING C&D RECYCLING PROCESS EFFICIENCY THROUGH HEAVY DUTY EQUIPMENT.

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s the nation’s third largest industry, construction predictably generates a significant amount of waste, representing 38 per cent of Australia’s total waste in 2017.

That said, the recycling sector has adapted quickly, with C&D recovery regularly hitting 90 per cent across major urban areas.

Repurpose It opened Australia’s first construction and demolition washing plant in March 2019, just 20 kilometres north of Melbourne’s central business district.

With a process capacity of 250 tonnes per hour, the facility accepts a variety of waste streams. These include traditional excavation waste such as rock, sand and silt and other unnatural inert materials, including concrete, grit and rail ballast.

George Hatzimanolis, Repurpose It CEO, says when dealing with material variability and tonnages of this scale, equipment reliability is crucial to achieving efficient recovery operations.

George adds that with stringent infrastructure project timelines and a steady influx of C&D carting trucks, he needs to ensure the Epping plant maintains maximum uptime.

To ensure streamlined handling and loading, George operates a range of Volvo excavators and wheel loaders.

He adds that Repurpose It acquired the machines through long-term equipment partner CJD Equipment.

“We chose Volvo equipment because we feel there is an alignment between Volvo’s energy efficiency engineering

62 / WMR / February 2020

Volvo wheel-loaders provide high torque power, low fuel consumption and large rimpull.

values and Repurpose It’s aim to reduce our carbon footprint,” George says.

“CJD has been the preferred equipment partner of Repurpose It since the business was established, and currently offer servicing and after-sales support for the entire Volvo fleet.”

Repurpose It operates three Volvo excavators out of its facility: an EC250DL and two EC220DLs. George says the excavators are used for general earthmoving, screen feeding, sorting and stockpiling. He adds that all three machines provide impressive fuel efficiency and operator comfort.

“Operator comfort and safety was a key factor for us, given our team is sometimes working eight hours a day in the machines,” he says.

All three excavators operate with Volvo’s modern D6 diesel engine, which reports 10 per cent extra fuel efficiency compared to competing designs.

On the loading front, Repurpose It decided on two Volvo wheel-loaders, an L110F and L220H. “The former provides quick and easy operations, while the latter’s 32-tonne

classification makes it the heavy hitter of the site,” George says.

CJD supplied both loaders with a collection of buckets, hydraulic breaks and grabs, including four-in-one hidump and light material buckets and fork attachments.

According to a new report from SGS Economics and Planning, Melbourne is set to overtake Sydney as Australia’s most significant economic city in 2020, largely on the back of construction.

This suggests George could see an influx of material over coming years.

“Our workforce is growing as a result of the new product streams we are developing, and we’re backing that up with investment in new technology and processes,” George says.

“But it’s also important for us to maintain the efficiency of our traditional heavy machinery, which CJD facilitates through a customer-focused service strategy.”

Contact - CJD Equipment P 1300 139 804 E enquiries@cjd.com.au W www.cjd.com.au

THE ONE

LAS VEGAS YOU NEED

SHOW

TO SEE

NORTH AMERICAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S LARGEST CONSTRUCTION TRADE SHOW

CONEXPOCONAGG.COM MARCH 10-14, 2020

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PRODUCT SHOWCASE – EXCAVATORS

JCB DELIVERS ITS FIRST-EVER ELECTRIC EXCAVATOR JCB in late 2019 made history after unveiling its first-ever electric excavator – the quietest digger in its range and offering zero emissions.

The machine sees the replacement of a diesel engine with an efficient, 48-volt electrical driveline with the latest generation automotive battery cells.

As part of its shift towards lower emissions, the zeroemission JCB 19C-1 E-TEC will allow the waste sector to maximise productivity in emissions-sensitive inner city environments.

A huge advantage is external noise. At 7dBA lower, the machine is five times quieter than its traditional dieselpowered counterpart.

Importantly, performance is not compromised on digging, with a fully charged electric machine capable of putting in a full shift in normal operation.

The machine also supports maximum uptime with no daily checks of coolant and engine levels required. On that front, the high efficiency of the advanced electrichydraulic combination means considerably lower cooling requirements. A small hydraulic cooler with a thermostatic electric fan and no engine radiator works to contribute to longer battery life and lower noise levels.

The zero-emission excavator will allow the waste sector to maximise productivity.

Initially, the mini excavator will be available with the ROPS/TOPS and FOGS certified canopy. As the electric excavator is based on the premium specification 19C-1, the excavator comes with proportional rocker switches for auxiliary functions and boom offset swing.

Its key features include a standard load-sensing hydraulic system delivering powerful digging performance. A convenient on-board charger with 230-volt input allows for six-hour recharging capability.

Contact - CEA

P 1300 522 232 W www.jcbcea.com.au

WEIGHING SYSTEMS Waste Management Review’s April issue details the latest solutions and innovative technologies for best practice weighing that allow fleet managers to gain more accurate insights into their payloads.

PARTICIPATION IN THE PROMOTIONAL FEATURE INCLUDES: A full page advert A feature professionally written by a Waste Management Review Journalist The article posted on the magazine’s website – www.wastemanagementreview.com.au – with free open access The article distributed in the industry-specific e-newsletter – Waste Management Review eNews Weekly

BOOKING DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2020 For more information about taking part in this promotional opportunity, contact:

Chelsea Daniel-Young on 0425 699 878 or email chelsea.daniel@primecreative.com.au

www.wastemanagementreview.com.au

SHAPING OUR TRANSPORT FUTURE

SUSTAINABLE PAVEMENTS MARGARET BROWNJOHN FROM THE AUSTRALIAN ROAD RESEARCH BOARD TAKES A LOOK AT LIFECYCLE ASSESSMENTS AND PROMOTING THE UPTAKE OF INNOVATIVE AND RECYCLED MATERIALS IN ROADS. Embodied energy contained in pavement materials from extraction and processing

EXTRACTION & PRODUCTION

Use of construction vehicles, machinery and energy use during initial construction

On-road emissions from vehicles using the road

CONSTRUCTION

USE

Use of construction vehicles, machinery and energy use while delivering maintenance treatments

MAINTENANCE

MATERIALS HAULAGE

Disposal of materials

END OF LIFE

MATERIALS HAULAGE Fuel use in transporting materials during construction, maintenance and disposal

MATERIALS & ENERGY

S

ustainable development spans economic, social, environmental and governance aspects. Sustainability is no longer a â&#x20AC;&#x153;nice to haveâ&#x20AC;?. The infrastructure industry in Australia is now driving outcomes that help reduce its ecological footprints. Many state and territory governments are also doing their bit to promote sustainability.

They have policy targets that govern procurement decision making.

This includes reducing their annual greenhouse gas emissions, local jobs creation and diverting waste away from landfill. Many states and

GREENHOUSE GASES

territories are also requiring that major infrastructure projects undergo an Infrastructure Sustainability Council of Australia rating. This is an independent assessment process to assess innovation, sustainability and continuous improvement and compared to business-as-usual.

ASSESSING SUSTAINABILITY A challenge in promoting the uptake of more sustainable pavement technologies is communicating its whole-of-lifecycle sustainability and lifecycle asset performance to transport practitioners. Often

ARRB is studying the lifecycle sustainability benefits of recycled content pavements.

there are win-win commercial and sustainability outcomes from the use of innovative pavement technologies.

As part of the National Asset Centre of Excellence (NACoE) partnership between Transport and Main Roads in Queensland and the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB), a number of innovative pavement technologies have been developed, tested and trialled for application on Australian roads.

ARRB conducted a study where the lifecycle sustainability costs and benefits of different pavement technologies were assessed. This

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SHAPING OUR TRANSPORT FUTURE

Assistant Waste Reduction Minister Trevor Evans and ARRB CEO Michael Caltabiano.

included quantification of greenhouse gas reductions over the pavement lifecycle.

These included the following technologies: • EME 2 • reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) • crumbed rubber in binders • foam bitumen stabilised (FBS) Bases • local marginal materials.

EME 2 is a high-strength asphalt used in high-traffic urban arterials and motorways. It often reduces the base layer thickness by up to 30 per cent, which means lower use of virgin materials. It also means fewer lifecycle emissions due to less use of materials, haulage and construction emission. Approximately three per cent of lifecycle emissions and lifecycle cost savings are achievable with the use of EME 2 in an urban context.

RAP is a reprocessed pavement containing reused asphalt. This means less use of virgin materials and less clearing of trees for quarries. There may also be fewer emissions from haulage. 5.1 per cent lower emissions

66 / WMR / February 2020

and lifecycle cost savings are also achievable. This is particularly notable where landfill levies and fees are applicable in regions like Queensland, which has an escalating levy each year.

The use of crumbed rubber in binders promotes local and circular economies, which both create jobs.

Crumbed rubber also reduces the imports of materials like polymer modified binders. It may be hauled large distances and still achieve lifecycle greenhouse gas reductions.

FBS is a processed pavement base with increased strength and resilience to flood events. This reduces the risk of rehabilitation required after a flood. Because of its stiffer and thinner base, it also has lifecycle emissions reductions.

Marginal materials are locally sourced materials. They are beneficial where higher performing virgin materials are expensive and required to be hauled long distances. Due to reduced haulage, up to 22 per cent reduction in lifecycle emissions are achievable. It also promotes local

industries in rural areas.

All technologies achieved lifecycle greenhouse gas reductions and commercial savings in the right context. General findings included that high durability and resilient pavements have good whole-oflifecycle sustainability performance.

The largest emissions reductions are also achievable through vehicle technologies, such as electric vehicles. But every year of delay adds to cumulative emissions in the atmosphere and over the pavement lifecycle.

Future work will include quantifying the benefits of additional sustainable materials, including, but not limited to, the use of recycled glass and warm asphalt. The tool provides a framework in which pavement options may be assessed on a project-by-project basis for smarter procurement decision making.

If you are interested in finding out more about this work and its potential application, or customisation to your needs, contact ARRB at sustainability@arrb.com.au

TERMINATOR SINGLE-SHAFT SHREDDER

READY FOR ANYTHING

The Komptech Terminator is a low-speed, high-torque single-shaft industrial shredder designed to process nearly all types of difficult waste, including heavy C&D debris, bulky waste, white goods, mattresses, tires and municipal solid waste.

TIRES

MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE

MATTRESSES & BULKY WASTE

HEAVY C&D

CARPET

WHITE GOODS

CONTACT US TO FIND THE RIGHT KOMPTECH SHREDDER FOR YOUR JOB!

1300 ELB EQU

elbquip.com

PALFINGER T22A DINO HOOKLOADER WITH AN ARTICULATED ARM

WORLD CLASS MATERIALS HANDLING SOLUTION LIFETIME EXCELLENCE

Gough Palfinger Australia delivers and supports the world-leading Palfinger range of innovative lifting, loading and materials handling solutions for land and marine applications.

We provide highly transportable and agile logistic solutions for the waste industry.

Tarp Systems

In Cab Control

Optional Front Bin Locking

Articulating Arm

The Essentials

Optional Adjustable Hook

Contact the team to find out more:

1800 HOOKLOADER 1800 466 556 | PALFINGER.COM.AU Gough Palfinger Australia - Head Office: 66 Industrial Avenue, Wacol, Queensland 4076