October 2018

Yume Food wins three Premier’s Sustainability Awards

Yume Food has won three awards at the 2018 Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards, including the esteemed Premier’s Recognition Award.

The company was recognised for its efforts in developing an online marketplace for quality surplus food, reducing waste and landfill impact.

Earlier at the awards’ ceremony, Yume won the Innovative Products or Services, and the Small and Medium Enterprises categories.

The Premier’s Regional Recognition Award was presented by Victorian Government Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio to Gannawarra Shire Council for a program that puts sustainability at the heart of its local economic future, featuring the first large scale solar farm and battery storage in Victoria.

Yume Food connects suppliers with buyers to help mitigate the 9.5 million tonnes of food that annually goes to landfill in Australia.

Primary producers, wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers can be left with tonnes of surplus food for a variety of reasons, and a lack of time or the contacts to re-sell it. When they provide product details and information to Yume, it is then uploaded to the marketplace and made available to a growing network of buyers.

Related stories:

Yume Food aims to facilitate a seamless transaction between the buyer and supplier, helping to arrange the delivery of goods and can also manage donations to registered food rescue organisations, helping ensure edible food gets to the people who need it most.

Now in their 16th year, the Premier’s Sustainability Awards recognise individuals, organisations, governments and businesses working to create a more liveable Victoria for us all.

Sustainability Victoria (SV) Chief Executive Stan Krpan said year-on-year SV sees more Victorians showing leadership and advocating for a cleaner, healthier environment.

“Entrants continue to delight us with new and better ways to manage waste, water and energy – the Premier’s Sustainability Awards is an ideal showcase to celebrate their success,” Mr Krpan said.

Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the range of work these organisations demonstrates that sustainability is alive and well in every kind of community, business and government group right across Victoria.

For more information on this year’s finalists and winners, click here.

The 2018 Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards winners are:

Built Environment:

Lendlease, CPB Contractors, WSP, Aurecon, Level Crossing Removal Authority and Metro Trains Melbourne– Caulfield to Dandenong Level Crossing Removal Project. Clayton South. The Caulfield to Dandenong level crossing removal project will ease traffic congestion on Melbourne roads through the removal of rail crossings while also providing 22.5 hectares of greenfields linear parkland to local communities.

Community:

Kelly Mrocki: The Girl Who Saved the Frogs Incursion. Glen Iris. Kelly Mrocki runs an incursion for Early Childhood Education Services, reading from her books ‘The Girl Who Saved The Frogs’ and ‘The Boy Who Saved The Whale’, and providing hands-on sustainability experiences for our youngest citizens.

Education:

Beeac Primary School – Brolga Pathways. Beeac. Students from Beeac Primary School worked with environmental artist Peter Day to develop a project that educates the community about the brolga – a local threatened species – using the arts as a focus.

Environmental Justice:

GWMWater – Memorandum of Understanding with Dja Dja Wurrung – South West Loddon Pipeline. Horsham. A Memorandum of Understanding between GWMWater and Dja Dja Wurrung clans proves that respect for country and major infrastructure development can work hand in hand.

Environmental Protection:

Zoos Victoria and Phillip Island Nature Parks – When Balloons Fly. Parkville. A campaign by Zoos Victoria and Philip Island Nature Parks known as When Balloons Fly, Seabirds Die encourages people to use bubbles instead of balloons at outdoor events, reducing plastic pollution and saving marine life.

Government:

City of Melbourne, City of Moreland, City of Port Phillip, City of Yarra – Melbourne Renewable Energy Project. Melbourne. The Melbourne Renewable Energy Project marks the first time in Australia that a group of local governments, cultural institutions, universities and corporations have collectively purchased renewable energy from a newly built facility.

Health:

Beaconsfield Dental – Beaconsfield Dental Health. Berwick. A dental practice in Berwick leads the way in sustainability through features such as 126 solar panels, water tanks, energy efficient fittings, indigenous garden, dental product recycling programs and an electric car charger for patients’ use.

Innovative Products or Services:

Yume Food – Build a Marketplace Exclusively for Surplus Food to Reduce Food Waste. Windsor.  Yume is an online marketplace for quality surplus food products that connects suppliers with buyers – the business model ensures that all good food is enjoyed, which is better for consumers’ pocket and for the planet.

Large Business:

IKEA Richmond – IKEA Richmond Refurbishment Project. Richmond. A major refurbishment of the IKEA Richmond outlet has been achieved using key sustainability and energy saving principles, and is now used to teach the value of sustainability principles to customers, staff and the broader community.

Small and Medium Sized Business:

Yume Food – Build a Marketplace Exclusively for Surplus Food to Reduce Food Waste. Windsor. Yume is an online marketplace for quality surplus food products that connects suppliers with buyers to help mitigate the 9.5 million tonnes of food that annually goes to landfill.

People’s Choice: 

Compost Revolution is an online community education and logistics platform designed to scale household organics recovery.

It provides residents with composting, worm farming and bokashi fermentation skills and access to subsidised equipment, delivering products to their door on behalf of councils.

The platform helps councils meet landfill reduction targets, and divert money that would have been spent on tip fees, haulage and other costs, into organics recovery infrastructure. This delivers long-term cost savings and other benefits, while building more resilient communities and generating a more positive profile for councils.

IVECO previews next generation Euro 6 ACCO

IVECO has announced the next generation ACCO model that will be manufactured at IVECO’s Melbourne production facility, sharing the architecture with the Stralis X-Way.

Commercial vehicle manufacturer IVECO recently launched a Euro 6-rated Stralis X-Way as part of a new range specifically developed for vocational and construction applications. The range is suited to operations in which on-road work may also require a level of off-road mobility IVECO announced this week.

In terms of the next ACCO, the company is consulting with the waste industry to develop a variety of body mounting and chassis layout to suit a variety of bodies.

For waste collection applications, IVECO will continue to offer a dual control system.

IVECO Australia Business Director Bruce Healy said the ACCO was an Australian transport industry legend, and that given its status in the market, IVECO was working tirelessly to ensure a new ACCO would do the iconic nameplate proud.

“Developed for the Australian army in the years following World War II, the ACCO is Australia’s first locally-designed and manufactured truck,” Mr Healy said.

“Following its inception, the model quickly made the transition from army to civilian life and found a home in all manner of applications, from vocational work to line-haul and everything in between.

“In developing the new ACCO, IVECO has combined many of the much-loved attributes of the previous model with cutting-edge technology borrowed from the Stralis X-Way platform – it’s been a joint effort between our local engineering department and the design team at IVECO’s European headquarters,” he said.

Related stories:

ACCO models will feature SCR Euro 6, Cursor 9 engines with between 310 and 360 horsepower and 1300 and 1650 newton metres of torque with emission control handled via IVECO’s Hi-eSCR system. The engines will be matched to the Allison Generation Five 3200 Series, 6-speed full automatic transmission.

Aside from the adoption of new cleaner, more efficient Euro 6-rated Cursor engines, the new ACCO range has also made significant gains in the area of safety, which will position the model as one of the safest available in the heavy duty truck market.

Included as standard is Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Braking System (EBS), Advanced Emergency Braking System (AEBS), Electronic Stability Program (ESP), axle load indicator, electronic battery cut-out and L.E.D daytime running lamps and rear L.E.D lights.

Operators will also benefit from a new cabin design that offers additional visibility and comfort combined with the easy access the previous generation ACCOs were well regarded for.

Another familiar feature includes the three-piece steel front bumper with headlight mesh protection providing added durability and lower maintenance costs if these components are damaged in the field.

Inside the cabin, the operator is treated to an ergonomically-designed work space with modern instrument cluster and intuitive dashboard layout.

Creature comforts include a variety of standard and optional equipment including automatic climate control, ISRI air suspension seat for driver and passenger and heated and motorised mirrors.

But staying true to its heritage, the new ACCO has retained its simple interior design with the use of tough, hardwearing plastics and easy-clean trim for easier upkeep in dirty environments to provide the best of both worlds.

Pictured: The Euro 6-rated Stralis X-Way was launched at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre in October.

 

 

QLD Environment Minister opens Future Waste Resources Convention

Queensland’s Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch officially opened the Future Waste Resources Convention in Ipswich, speaking to waste and recycling industry representatives from across the state.

The minister told businesses and local councils that the state government’s priority is to work with the community and industry to reduce landfill and encourage resource recovery.

Related stories:

“I’m delighted to see that industry leaders are looking to the future, and preparing to make the most of the opportunities ahead,” Ms Enoch said.

“We are in a fortunate position to have internationally competitive businesses right here in Queensland, using cutting-edge technologies and processes for turning waste into valuable and profitable, products and services.

“We want to build on that competitive advantage,” she said.

The convention, located at Ipswich’s Workshops Rail Museum, focuses on realistic solutions to current challenges.

“Changing how we manage waste in Queensland will create jobs and drive significant economic growth as we make better use of resources and develop new industries,” Ms Enoch said.

Waste Recycling Industry Association of Queensland CEO Rick Ralph said the convention has brought together more than 250 attendees from across the industry, and state and local government.

“This is the largest convention of its kind in Queensland history, focussing on future waste and recycling solutions for the state,” Mr Ralph said.

“It is wonderful the convention is being held at one the oldest manufacturing centres to show the possibilities for the future.”

WA Govt releases draft strategy to reduce 20 per cent of waste by 2030

The WA Waste Authority has released a draft of its Waste Strategy 2030 for comment, outlining key strategies to reduce waste by 20 per cent by 2030.

Other key targets include increasing material recovery to 70 per cent by 2025 and 75 per cent by 2030, and to only recover energy from residual waste.

Related stories:

It also sets a target of sending no more than 15 per cent of the waste generated in the Perth and Peel regions to be landfilled by 2030.

Strategies to reach these targets include a food organics and garden organics (FOGO) kerbside collection system across the Perth and Peel regions by 2025, provided by local governments with support from the state.

The draft outlines implementing sustainable government procurement practices that encourage the usage of recycled products and support local market development.

A review of the waste levy will also be undertaken to ensure its scope and application meets the objectives of the Waste Strategy 2030.

Statewide communications to support consistent messaging on reducing waste will be developed as part of the strategy, alongside implementing local government waste plans to align planning processes with the new targets laid out.

Data collection and reporting systems will be updated according to the strategy to allow waste generation, recovery and disposal performance be assessed quickly.

A strategy to guide future infrastructure development includes a review of WA’s waste infrastructure and landfills to occur by 2020.

WA Environment Minister Stephen Dawson said in the report WA has an obligation to its current community and future generations to generate less waste, extract more resources and better manage the disposal of waste.

“Waste Strategy 2030 rises to address that challenge and the opportunities that better choices and better waste management present,” Mr Dawson said.

“We will have to work hard to meet the ambitious targets set out in this strategy and deliver against long-standing issues in the waste community. We won’t, for example, be able to meet our 2025 recovery targets without all metropolitan local government’s adopting a three-bin FOGO system, and I will work with those local governments to achieve this.

“Waste is everyone’s business – individuals, households, neighbourhoods, community groups, schools, small and big businesses, local governments, waste managers, the state government and the media,” he said.

Comments on the Waste Strategy 2030 should be sent to wastestrategyreview@wasteauthority.wa.gov.au and are due by Tuesday 6 November.

Cleanaway secures seven-year contract with City of Sydney

The City of Sydney has selected Cleanaway as its new waste and recycling provider with a seven-year contract beginning 1 July 2019.

Services for the council will include general waste, recycling, garden organics and bulk or hard waste and electronic waste kerbside collections.

Related stories:

The contract also includes 25 new vehicles which have Cleanaway’s integrated data platform installed. The system uses on board cameras to track collections and service events like missed pick-ups, broken bins and can be used for single-call customer service response. Cameras can also provide insights that aim to reduce contamination, improve recycling and increase truck safety.

Cleanaway’s education team will also provide the City of Sydney with sustainability training which aims to reduce waste sent to landfill and improve recycling rates.

Cleanaway Regional Manager – Sydney Metro Michael Sankey said the company looks forward to bringing its expertise to Sydney.

“As part of the contract, Cleanaway will be setting up a new facility and implementing new operational teams and some educational resources,” he said.

“Over the next seven years we’ll be working closely with the council’s waste management team to add value for the community and help the City of Sydney achieve their sustainability goals.”

Bassendean Council to go plastic free with Boomerang Alliance

The Town of Bassendean, WA, has joined forces with Boomerang Alliance to create a “Plastic Free Bassendean”.

The move is part of Boomerang Alliance’s Communities Taking Control (CTC) program, which will work alongside the Council over a 12-month period and engage the business community to review supply chains and transition away from single-use plastics.

Related stories:

The program aims to achieve wide-scale change through a reduction at the source instead of through community action and will engage local businesses, events, markets and organisations to switch from single-use plastic items to sustainable alternatives.

Boomerang Alliance received funding from the WA Waste Authority in July to bring the CTC program to WA after three pilot programs on the east coast have helped to reduce six single-use plastic items from food service and hospitality outlets in Noosa, Byron Bay and Wollongong.

Early program evaluations found a reduction of more than 30,000 single-use plastic items in one community in less than a year. Boomerang Alliance anticipates the final results will demonstrate significantly higher levels of reduction.

Town of Bassendean Mayor Renee McLennan said the council is firmly committed to going plastic free.

“We have a number of initiatives already underway across the Council area, but the opportunity to partner with Boomerang Alliance to create ‘Plastic-Free Bassendean’ will help us turn our vision into reality,” Cr McLennan said.

Boomerang Alliance CTC Program Manager Kellie Lindsay said the organisation is excited to confirm a partnership with the Town of Bassendean to create WA’s first plastic-free community.

“The CTC model has undergone rigorous testing through our recent pilot programs and we are confident that we can use our knowledge and well-established supplier networks to facilitate a major shift away from single-use plastics in the Bassendean community,” Ms Lindsay said.

Boomerang Alliance Deputy Director Jayne Paramour said the organisation hopes this will be the beginning of a state-wide program to change the plastic pollution landscape in Perth and Across WA.

“We look forward to engaging a local coordinator in coming weeks, to get the program into full swing and to seeing the whole of WA take up the challenge to go plastic free,” Ms Paramour said.

IVECO factory dual control systems

IVECO has offered a factory dual control system since 1992, providing refuse collection companies with an Australian-developed and factory-supported dual control steering set-up.

According to IVECO, unlike some manufacturers who retrofit their vehicles with products from after-market suppliers, the IVECO dual control system as fitted to the ACCO was developed in Australia to suit local conditions and extensively tried and tested in the field to ensure safety and reliability.

The IVECO-engineered dual control system offers a functional design, featuring a cross shaft and mitre box arrangement that does not require an additional steering box. The cabin dash is also duplicated with all the main controls conveniently located in the centre console.

Ease of operation is another key feature of the IVECO system with right-hand-side to left-hand-side drive actuated with the flick of a control switch and a pivoting ‘flip over’ transmission console.

As it’s developed in-house and installed along IVECO’s own local production line, the IVECO dual control system offers significant cost benefits compared to retrofitted systems. Other notable efficiencies arise at the time of maintenance or repair, with faster and more affordable access to parts and servicing via the IVECO dealer network.

www.iveco.com.au

A new cycle: Tyrecycle

Australian tyre recycler Tyrecycle is hoping to play an expanded role in the clean-up of legacy end-of-life tyre stockpiles across Australia through the expansion of its collection and processing capabilities.
Read More

Clean Energy Finance Corporation supports waste industry

The Clean Energy Finance Corporation’s Henry Anning speaks to Waste Management Review about the group’s diverse portfolio of finance options for the waste industry which support carbon abatement and energy and cost efficiencies. 
Read More

ACOR releases 10 point recycling plan for National Waste Policy

The Australian Council of Recycling has released a 10-point plan for results-based recycling, which has been submitted to the consultation process for the new National Waste Policy.

It aims to assist the industry and government reaching the goal of 100 per cent recovery of recyclable, compostable, reusable or recoverable materials and their diversion from landfill.

The plan details public policy measures such as reforming waste levies to focus on increasing recycling rates with an exemption of recycling residuals across each state.

It also recommends a $1.5 billion investment of waste disposal levy funds into recycling, with transparency and allocation to resource recovery objectives. This funding could potentially be used to invest in recyclate market development and commercialisation projects, improving infrastructure and technology used for sorting and reprocessing, investment into data collection for decision making, and investment into the cost of kerbside recycling.

A landfill ban for batteries, e-waste, and other potentially hazardous materials is recommended in the report as a way of making end of life producer responsibility the way to pay for recycling.

It also recommends a national recycling infrastructure audit, development of new metrics for waste, recycling and resource recovery activity beyond tonnes diverted, the examination of trends and how to optimise parallel container deposit schemes to build a sustainable domestic recycling sector through national industry development.

The plan includes the introduction of a resource recovery incentive for industry with different tax levels for virgin and recycled material in packaging and road construction.

Improving contestability in the recycling sector, creating a dedicated Clean Energy Finance Corporation funding initiative to support recyclate materials collection and sorting, and using more energy recovered from residual waste to generate sustainable energy are key measures to improve recycling according to the report.

The plan also outlines standardising recycling methods and improving government approaches to planning, regulation and enforcement.

To read the plan, click here.