January 2018

recycling Victoria

WA Community and Industry Engagement program

Applications are open for the Western Australian Government’s $1 million Community and Industry Engagement program.

Eligible projects may include development and implementation of waste management guidelines and improved practices, targeted training and knowledge sharing, diversion from landfill projects and waste education.

Related stories:

Funding is available to the waste industry, local governments, regional councils, peak industry organisations, research and educational organisations and community groups.

Previous recipients include Perth’s City of Cockburn, which secured nearly $130,000 to promote the rollout of its three-bin kerbside collection service.

Curtin University also received $50,000 to study the use of construction and demolition wastes as a complete replacement for raw natural aggregates in concretes.

Applications close on Monday, February 12. For more information head to the WA Waste Authority website. 

Surf Life Saving NSW announces new Return and Earn sites

Surf Life Saving NSW has revealed more than 70 surf clubs across the state have signed up to become donation sites for the NSW Government’s Return and Earn Container Deposit Scheme.

In partnership with Envirobank Recycling, community members can take eligible drink containers within the scheme to a local surf club and donate the 10-cent per container proceeds to Surf Life Saving. It is expected that more of the 129 Surf Life Saving Clubs in NSW will become donation sites throughout 2018.

Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton said the Surf Life Saving donation sites are a smart way for charities to benefit from the scheme.

Related stories:

“Not only do surf club donation sites enable people to help one of the state’s largest volunteer community organisations, they also provide additional and convenient drink container collection points for everyone.”

CEO of Surf Life Saving NSW Steven Pearce said the program has provided an entirely new way for club and community members to raise funds for the vital services provided by volunteer surf lifesavers.

“For every drink container donated by a member of the public, eight cents goes directly to the local surf club where the containers are deposited. The remaining two cents will be used by Surf Life Saving NSW to fund community education programs, help train lifesavers and provide vital lifesaving and rescue equipment to our clubs,” Mr Pearce said.

“Thanks to the generosity of our members and the community, if we capture just a fraction of the estimated 1.6 billion drink containers to be recycled over the next 20 years through the scheme, I have no doubt it has the potential to become a long-term source of fundraising,” he said.

According to Narelle Anderson, Managing Director and founder of Envirobank Recycling, in other states where container deposit schemes are already operational, charitable donations comprise the major component of the public’s reimbursements.

“Envirobank has been a long-term network operator in the Northern Territory scheme and it’s evident the program is much more than a litter collection initiative,” she said.

“With the right partnerships in place the scheme has the potential to raise substantial funds for many charities that deliver the vital services we need in our communities.”

 How Surf Life Saving Club Donation sites will work:

  • Participating Surf Life Saving Clubs will host secure and safe donation ‘cages’.
  • Club and community members will be provided environmentally-friendly and protective bags made from recycled PET to collect and store containers at home, school and/or work.
  • At club-designated times, community members can bring collected containers to the local surf club for drop-off and donation.
  • When cages are full, Envirobank Recycling will send a mobile collection truck to collect all containers and empty the cages. Donation proceeds will be recorded with Surf Life Saving NSW who will dispense the funds to the participating clubs.
  • Clubs will accept aluminium cans and plastic PET bottles. Containers must be empty with lids off.

Operational Donation Sites from Monday 22 January, 2018:

  • Birubi Point SLSC
  • Bulli SLSC
  • Cape Hawke SLSC
  • Cooks Hills SLSC
  • Forster SLSC
  • Gerringong SLSC
  • Killcare SLSC
  • Ocean Beach SLSC
  • Scarborough Wombarra SLSC
  • Shellharbour SLSC
  • Warilla Barrack Point SLSC
  • Woolgoolga SLSC

Household food waste grants open: Green Industries SA

The South Australian Government will provide more than $2.5 million of funding to support councils to introduce and maintain household food waste recycling.

Applications are open for the Kerbside Performance (Food Waste) Incentives Programme, which helps local government implement food waste systems, support high performance and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

Currently 150,000 metropolitan and regional householders are recycling their kitchen scraps as part of the programme subsidised by the state government through statutory authority Green Industries SA.

The funding, through Green Industries SA, is from a $12 million program that aims to reduce food waste in South Australia.

South Australian Government Sustainability, Environment and Conservation Minister Ian Hunter said research shows that it’s easier to get into the habit of recycling if there is a simple system in place – such as a lined ventilated caddy for the kitchen – and that take-up is maximised if there is a council-wide distribution of the caddy.

“Our incentive provides up to $25 per household for South Australian councils to implement food waste recycling, the highest incentive offered nationally,” he said.

Applications for funding are open until Friday 9 February. The incentive guidelines and application form are available here. 

MWRRG appoints new director of procurement

Victorian Government statutory authority Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group (MWRRG) has appointed Paul Clapham as its Director of Procurement and Contracts.

Mr Clapham has more than 30 years’ experience in the environment sector, with graduate and postgraduate qualifications in the subject. He has spent the majority of this time working within the Australian, UK and international waste and resource recovery industry. Having worked for some of the world’s largest engineering consulting companies, he brings a strong understanding of complex resource recovery technologies. Mr Clapham has also led a number of successful procurements of large-scale advanced waste and resource recovery infrastructure in Europe, including energy from waste solutions.

In additional to his technical achievements, Mr Clapham also led the UK government’s capacity building programs on new technologies for councils between 2002 and 2004. Other achievements include the delivery of projects for the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, the Australian Commonwealth Government, Sustainability Victoria, EPA Victoria, and the UK’s Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Since May 2017 he has been leading the development of the business case for advanced waste and resource recovery technologies within the metropolitan region. The business case is exploring opportunities for MWRRG to work with local government to procure and deploy large-scale solutions to divert residual waste from landfill through resource recovery.

MWRRG is currently working on a business case to inform council’s decision about joining a potential group procurement for municipal residual waste processing solutions in 2018.

Compass Group partners with OzHarvest to reduce food waste

Food services provider Compass Group Australia has joined forces with OzHarvest to cut down on food waste.

The partnership sees Compass become the first and major national food service donor for the food rescue organisation.

Related stories:

Compass Group Australia Managing Director Shelley Roberts said the group purchases around 50,000 tonnes of fresh food every year.

“By managing food sustainably and reducing waste, we can help our clients save money, help those in the community who are in need, and conserve valuable agricultural resources for future generations,” she said.

The Federal Government placed the issue of food waste on the national agenda at a recent Food Waste Summit.

OzHarvest Founder and CEO Ronni Kahn said fighting food waste requires collective action and working with national organisations like Compass is key to influencing change.

“We are proud Compass Group has come on board as a national food service donor, sharing our vision for a world with zero waste and free of hunger,” he said.

“In addition to donating surplus food, Compass has committed to providing funding that will help us provide 200,000 meals per year.”

EPA Victoria conducts surprise skip bin blitz

Environment Protection Authority Victoria (EPA Victoria) has conducted surprise inspections at twelve skip bin hire companies across Melbourne.

EPA’s Illegal Waste Dumping Strikeforce spokesperson Chris Webb said the inspections were looking for evidence of activities that are giving the skip bin industry a bad name.

“EPA has targeted skip bin hire firms because the industry has attracted a number of operators who dump the waste illegally, often in our forests or on private land, which allows them to outcompete genuine skip bin businesses by avoiding paying the fees for proper disposal and recycling of the loads,” Mr Webb said.

Related stories:

“The inspections have gone well, with EPA staff working in teams with Victoria Police and staff from Hume City Council.”

Mr Webb said the EPA has shared intelligence with the other agencies and are in communication with environment protection organisations in other states, as unscrupulous skip bin hire firms are a problem nationwide.

“There is a lot of waste being dumped in creeks and parks, in rented buildings and on private land, some of it including hazardous materials such as asbestos from construction and demolition sites around Melbourne,” Mr Webb said.

During the past two years, EPA has undertaken nearly 350 illegal dumping related inspections, issued more than 170 legal notices requiring a clean up, conducted prosecutions through the courts and issued Infringement Notices that represent a fine of nearly $8000 each.

The growth areas of Melbourne, such as the Cities of Hume, Brimbank and Whittlesea are the hotspots in the metropolitan area, and EPA is working with local councils there and wherever illegal dumping occurs.

Illegal dumping is a problem across the state particularly regional areas such as Bendigo, Mildura, Ararat and Geelong where dumping commonly occurs on farmland or on public land such as in state or national parks.

EPA says members of the public can help to clean up the skip bin industry by being savvy customers.

“Anyone hiring a skip bin should ask questions. If the price seems suspiciously cheap in comparison to other quotes, it may mean the real cost is being dumped on the community and attracting possible prosecution,” Mr Webb said.

EPA also encourages the community to watch out for suspicious activities – such as unusual truck movements at night, commercial properties or warehouses collecting piles of waste, or very cheap offers of waste removal – and to report it to EPA.

The agency has advice for skip bin operators on its website about the handling, transport and identification of industrial waste, contaminated soil, clean fill, organic matter, asbestos, acid soils, household rubbish and other likely contents of skip bins.

 

Mining waste recommendation from NT EPA

The Northern Territory Environment Protection Authority (NT EPA) has assessed a proposal north of Alice Springs to mine rare earth elements, with naturally occurring radioactive materials to be permanently stored onsite.

The NT EPA concluded the Arafura Resources Ltd’s Nolans Project could be managed to avoid unacceptable environmental impacts and risks.

Its key recommendations focus on ensuring best practice management of tailings, residue and waste during operation, closure and post decommissioning.

The agency noted potential contaminants and the presence of naturally occurring radioactive materials in waste streams warrant independent technical review and operational oversight to ensure the risks are minimised to the lowest extent practicable and to promote a transparent regulatory process.

The proposal is to mine rare earth elements, key components in many green and sustainable products, such as wind turbines for the clean energy industry and hybrid vehicles. The proposal includes open cut mining and processing over a 55 year mine life.

The proposal also includes groundwater abstraction from a new borefield and permanent diversion of an ephemeral creek.

The proposed site is 135 km north-northwest of Alice Springs and 10 kilometres west of Aileron roadhouse and Alyuen community.

NT EPA Chairman, Dr Paul Vogel, said the NT EPA identified potentially significant environmental impacts and risks associated with the proposal and made 16 recommendations to avoid and mitigate those impacts.

“This proposal comes with long term environmental risks that will require a high level of ongoing regulatory scrutiny across government,” Dr Vogel said.

The NT EPA considers there is potential for impacts on groundwater hydrological processes and associated environmental values.

The sustainable use and management of groundwater resources is important in an arid zone where the project is located.

The NT EPA recommends further hydrological investigations including refining the groundwater model, setting site-specific groundwater level triggers and adaptive management of groundwater use.

To ensure best practice closure and rehabilitation, the NT EPA considers the project should effectively integrate mine closure planning with mine operational planning and that progressive rehabilitation is undertaken during its operations.

The NT EPA has recommended that the security bond be revised based on the updated Mine Closure Plan to ensure the costs of rehabilitation and post-closure liabilities are not borne by the Northern Territory Government and the community in the event of the operator abandoning the site or becoming insolvent.

It notes that uncertainty remains around the potential for significant environmental impacts over the life of the project.

The NT EPA emphasises that the environmental commitments, safeguards and recommendations outlined in the Environmental Impact Statement, the Assessment Report and in the final management plans must be implemented by the proponent, with a high level of oversight and strong compliance enforcement by the relevant regulator throughout the life of the project to deliver acceptable environmental outcomes.

The NT EPA has provided its assessment report to the Minister for Environment and Natural Resources, Lauren Moss, for consideration.

TOMRA partners with SKM Recycling

Melbourne-based company SKM Recycling has selected TOMRA Sorting Recycling to supply its 3D laser technology for three new sorting facilities.

The 40 AUTOSORT units will be used across the three plants to process more than 350,000 tonnes of kerbside collected material per annum.

The primary focus of the new SKM Recycling plants will be to process paper, plastics, metals and glass and sort them into high quality products. The plants are expected to be operational in the beginning of 2018.

SKM’s Laverton plant aims to become the most automated recyclables processing plant on the continent by integrating multiple steps of TOMRA Sorting technology into the sorting of paper and other recyclables.

The new sorting technology is also working to extract a greater percentage of recyclable product from the residential recycling stream, facilitate the development of new recyclable grades to meet the demands of a changing market and reduce waste to landfill.

“Our confidence in their (TOMRA) technical knowledge and support is unwavering and is backed by TOMRA’s guarantee to perform. We are proud to be developing the most advanced materials recovery facilities in Australia,” said Robert Italiano, Business Manager of SKM.

Tom Jansen, Sales Manager at TOMRA Sorting Recycling, added that winning such a large contract means SKM Recycling have placed a lot of trust in the company and its newest technology.