Waste Management Review

GreenSync secures CEFC funds

Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Implementation Plan
Green-tech startup GreenSync has secured $11.5 million from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Southern Cross Venture Partners to help expand its energy-tech operations to Asia.

GreenSync’s technology uses smart software to optimise energy resources in electricity grids, assisting transmission and distribution companies, as well as industrial and commercial facilities, and residential and remote precincts.

The Melbourne-based firm received $5 million from the CEFC’s Clean Energy Innovation Fund, with a further $5 million provided by Southern Cross Venture Partners, and the remainder from a private fund.

GreenSync CEO Dr Phil Blythe said the company’s transformation from peak demand services to the optimisation of electricity grids reflected changes to the energy market in Australia and internationally.

“As we move towards a new era where energy storage and digital control are essential to maintain stable grids, GreenSync will stay focused on innovations that harness the collective strength of all industry players, and deliver substantially new models for operating grids around the globe,” Dr Blythe said.

Blair Pritchard, Investment Development Director of CEFC, said their investment would assist the transition of the Australian energy market from the current centralised model, to a decentralised one that reduces the amount of power lost through the transmission process.

He said this would allow for better monitoring and managing electricity demand and supply peaks.

“Through the smart control of locally-generated energy resources, GreenSync is contributing to the growth of a new energy economy focused on a cleaner power supply and carbon reduction,” Mr Pritchard said.

Mark Bonnar, Managing Director at Southern Cross Venture Partners, said control systems such as Greensync would help enable the reshaping of the electricity distribution network.

 

 

Cleanaway contracted by Noosa Council

Noosa Council announced last month that Cleanaway has secured the Noosa collections, landfill and transfer station contract for 2017-2024.

Cleanaway will implement a new three bin collection service under the seven year agreement to single domestic dwellings across the urban areas of the Noosa region, as well as enhanced recycling initiatives and a greater range of bin sizes for waste and recycling collections.

Noosa Council said the Council was impressed with the range of competitive and innovative bids, but that Cleanaway’s proposal offered the greatest overall advantage for the Council’s objectives.

“Cleanaway has a known track record of providing a high standard of service to the Noosa community and this third consecutive contract is recognition of that service,” said Wayne Schafer, Noosa Council’s Waste and Environmental Health Manager.

Anthony Wetherspoon, the Manager for the Noosa area said Cleanaway will be working closely with Noosa Council to improve recovery and reuse of items. “From our bulk kerbside collection service, to improving landfill management and recovering a greater range of materials at the resource recovery facility, we’ll be supporting the community to achieve their waste reduction and recycling goals.”

“Cleanaway has a long and proud history of providing services to the Noosa Council and we look forward to the next seven years working closely with the Council’s waste management team to enhance services and increase waste diversion from landfill,” said Neil Perry, General Manager, Queensland.

The contract comes into effect from Friday 1 September, 2017, and covers collection of solid waste, recyclables and garden waste, management of the Eumundi Road Landfill and adjoining resource recovery facility.

Turning time into money

With the acquisition of Perth Waste in June last year, Suez shows no signs of slowing down.

To support its ambitious growth objectives, it relies heavily on its fleet of collection vehicles that were specifically designed for the efficient and safe transport of waste materials between Western Australian sites. Most recently, the fleet has been bolstered with a $3.5 million investment in Azmeb’s High Volume Side Tippers, which Suez’ WA State Equipment Manager, Peter Spight, considers ideal to navigate the difficult terrain and lengthy hauls native to the WA countryside.

“The company was successfully operating these trailers in Cairns,” says Spight, who has been responsible for the purchase of company equipment for over five years. “We collected and viewed the data on the efficiency of the units and bought our first two units in 2013. The quick tip time over our current moving floor fleet and the much lower maintenance were the two key factors in our decision to go with Azmeb.”

Azmeb’s one-of-a-kind tippers can unload up to 10 times faster than traditional moving floor trailers, offering major productivity gains for companies like Suez. The units feature hinged upper bodies which effectively double their volumetric capacity with little increase in tare weight, while their simplified designs require half the maintenance of its moving floor counterparts, according to Azmeb.

Spight says the purchase was approved on a tonnes-per-dollar basis, taking into account costs, maintenance, depreciation and purchase price. When compared to compaction and moving floor trailers, Azmeb’s side tippers came out on top over a seven-year period. “Particularly when considering unloading times, maintenance costs and capital outlay the side tippers ticked all the right boxes,” he explains.

Suez’s new fleet of 14 side tippers, operational since October 2016, are primarily responsible for transporting commercial and household waste from WA Landfill Services’ transfer station in Welshpool to landfill in North Bannister – a 130km trek. The side tippers run in a pocket road train configuration, consisting of seven units each hosting two trailers and a dolly.

Quick tipping times result in less time spent by the road trains at the landfill site, Spight adds, with the fleet managing up to three trips and carting 120 tonnes of waste per day. Further, after identifying that the mix of product was changing towards lower tare industrial and construction waste, Suez was able to specify larger capacity tubs on the new trailers.

The new WA Landfill Services trailers have a total volume of 69m3 compared to the previous trailers, which measured 63m3 – a 9.5 per cent jump in capacity which has helped Suez increase its payload and returns.

To read more, see page 46 of Issue 10.