September 2019

Veolia hosts MRF education day

Veolia opened the doors of its Echuca materials recovery facility (MRF) to local councils and commercial businesses on 11 September, to educate them on MRF operations and processing.

Veolia Commercial Services General Manager Daniel Paone said educating customers and the wider community was an important part of Veolia’s approach to materials recovery.

“Veolia owns and operates the MRF in Echuca, which has a design capacity of approximately 20,000 tonnes per annum. The MRF processes mixed recyclables that are collected throughout the region,” Mr Paone said.

“By working with our customers, we can reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfill and avoid contamination risk, which not only has a negative impact on the environment, but puts the safety of our people at risk. The more our customers and the community understand how the facility works, the more effectively we can serve the community and our customers.”

Veolia Sustainability Coordinator Francesca Stafford said the open day highlighted a range of issues caused by contamination including safety risks for MRF employees, a reduction in commodity recyclability and an increase in sorting and disposal costs.

“Hosting an industry open day like this one is an essential component of our wider engagement strategy,” Ms Stafford said.

“Education and awareness is fundamental to sustainability, and allowing our clients to see the issues first hand will help them drive positive change within their local communities.”

Related stories:

Return and Earn consumer research released

According to recent Return and Earn consumer research, eight out of 10 residents are satisfied with the New South Wales container deposit scheme (CDS), and over two-thirds believe it contributes to long-term recycling outcomes for the state.

TOMRA Cleanaway CEO James Dorney applauded the New South Wales community for their role in the scheme’s success.

“The success of the scheme is a testament to the incredible efforts of the NSW community who in July, returned and earned more than two billion containers in just 19 months since the scheme began,” Mr Dorney said.

“The survey showed that more than half of NSW residents are using the scheme, which in turn demonstrates how easy access to drop-off points and a well-planned network of collections and recovery infrastructure are critical to the success of any recycling system.”

According to the survey, 55 per cent of the New South Wales population have used the scheme, up from 48 per cent in December 2018.

Additionally, the survey showed that 78 per cent believe the scheme will benefit the environment.

Cleanaway Solid Waste General Manager David Clancy said the scheme had far exceeded expectations, reaching one billion containers in a year and two billion in 19 months.

Mr Clancy estimates that Return and Earn is likely to hit three billion containers before the end of 2019, accounting for almost half of all beverage containers sold in the state.

“Container deposit or refund schemes incentivise customers to return their drink containers to collection points in exchange for a refund,” Mr Clancy said.

“They are a perfect example of delivering on the triple bottom line of sustainability – there’s less litter in the environment, refunds can be used to benefit local community groups, associations and charities, and finally recycled containers become a part of the circular economy, extending the use of existing materials while reducing reliance on natural resources.”

Related stories:

SA single-use plastic taskforce meets

A taskforce, with representation from 15 different organisations, has meet to help inform the next steps towards banning single-use plastics in South Australia.

The state government asked the taskforce to consider what impacts legislation might have on businesses and the community, and provide advice on what a phase out of single-use plastic straws, cups, drink stirrers and food service items might look like.

Environment Minister David Speirs said the taskforce is made up of a range of interested stakeholders, including environmental groups, business representatives, the hospitality industry and disability advocates.

“The group will discuss solutions and alternatives as part of any move to phase out single-use plastics, to ensure South Australians can transition smoothly,” Mr Speirs said.

“The taskforce will also seek presentations and meetings with those with a stake in any future changes to legislation, and will assist communication with the community and business.”

According to Mr Speirs, South Australia leads the nation in issues of environmental responsibility.

“The issue of our plastic use and plastic pollution is one of the most pressing topics of our time, and we won’t be left standing on the sidelines watching the impact on our environment go unchecked,” Mr Speirs said.

“We know that our interstate colleagues are eagerly awaiting the outcomes from our taskforce and from our plastic free precinct trials. We want South Australia to again lead the way nationally and provide a blueprint for how to reduce single-use plastics.”

Legislation banning single-use plastics in South Australia is expected to be introduced into parliament in the first half of 2020.

Members of the single use plastics task force include:

Australian Food and Grocery Council

Australian Hotels Association (SA)

Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation

Conservation Council SA

Environment Protection Authority

Green Industries SA

KESAB environmental solutions

Local Government Association of SA

National Retail Association

JFA Purple Orange

Disability Elders of All Ages

Restaurant and Catering Industry Association

SA Independent Retailers

Waste Management Resource Recovery Association

Woolworths Group

Related stories:

Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo announces speakers

The Australasian Waste & Recycling Expo has announced its upcoming 2019 Speaker Series, including a new stage addition.

Over the last 10 years AWRE has built a reputation for attracting some of the finest speakers from Australia and overseas to its two-day event, featuring leading minds from not only the waste and recycling industry, but all levels of Australian government and Top 200 ASX listed companies.

It appears 2019 will be no different, with speakers from the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, the Waste Contractors and Recyclers Association of NSW, Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, Australian Battery Recycling Initiative and Veolia Australia & NZ.

Headlining the Industry Forum, presented in partnership with the Department of Industry, Planning and Environment, will be a panel discussion on ‘The Future is Recycling,’ which will deep dive into the core issues, insights and opportunities currently facing the waste and recycling sector.

Panellists include Veolia Australia & NZ General Manager Resource Recovery NSW Christine Hodgkiss, Renew Chief Operating Officer of IQ Renew Graham Knowles, SUEZ Australia & NZ State General Manager NSW Tony Grebenshikoff and Waste Contractors and Recyclers Association NSW Executive Director Tony Khoury.

According to an AWRE statement, the event will also shine a spotlight on the national issue of food waste, with the addition of the new Food Waste Stage.

“From sustainable package solutions, updates on the national food waste strategy to presentations from true food waste warriors, AWRE is driving the conversation on food sustainability,” the statement reads.

“Key speakers taking to the Food Waste Stage include industry experts from Coles, Fight Food Waste Cooperative Research Centre, Australian Institute of Packaging, Yume Food Australia and many more.”

AWRE 2019 will take place on the 30th and 31st October at the ICC Sydney in Darling Harbour.

Register for free online here.

Related stories:

VIDEO: Terex TDS820 Slow Speed Shredder

The Terex TDS 820 features customisable shredding programs that give operators the opportunity to configure the machine to their specific requirements, reduce material wrapping and maximise production. Designed with independently-driven shafts, this double-shaft slow speed shredder is assured to give machine operators excellent performance in even the most challenging of applications.

 

For more information contact Finlay Screening, Crushing and Recycling Systems.

PhD candidate develops glass waste construction columns

University of Queensland PhD candidate Danish Kazmi is developing a technique to transform glass waste into geotechnical columns and reduce the use of sand in the construction industry.

The geotechnical engineering student is investigating the use of crushed glass waste as an alternative to sand for ground improvement during construction works.

“Both sand and glass waste have a similar chemical composition, so we expect them to behave similarly when optimally used in geotechnical construction,” Mr Kazmi said.

“My research looks at the performance of glass waste within ground columns as an environmentally friendly alternative to sand columns, which are commonly used at the moment.”

Mr Kazmi said the columns are designed to strengthen the earth below a building and improve its load-bearing characteristics.

“Using glass waste in this way not only preserves precious sand resources and promotes closed-loop recycling, but could also reduce the carbon footprint of the construction industry by cutting down on the amount of sand that needed to be quarried,” Mr Kazmi said.

“I have always been passionate about helping to create circular economies.”

Related stories:

Balancing the good and the bad of plastics

There is a raft of potential changes and interventions that can be made to better position plastics as the remarkable material that it is, writes Matt Genever, Director Resource Recovery, Sustainability Victoria.

I recall not too long ago seeing a 1950s TV advertisement from the United States promoting the virtues of disposable plastics. A typical American family seated around the dinner table, enjoying a meal on plastic tableware – off the plaid orange and brown tablecloth (classic 50s!) – and sweeping the whole lot into the bin when they’re done…plates, bowls, knives, forks…all of it.  Selling the dream of a “hassle-free” life.

Thankfully things have changed, somewhat, since then. We saw the first global plastic waste revolution in the 80s – then in the 90s, with the move away from traditional glass packaging spurring the creation of the first kerbside recycling programs. More recently, the focus has been on the significant impact of poorly managed plastic entering our marine environment and the accumulation of microplastics.   

It is fair to say that the balance isn’t quite right yet. This useful, flexible, malleable and now ubiquitous material can play an infinitely useful role in our world, from lightweight prosthetic limbs to 3D models printed seemingly from mid-air. On the flipside, its use has also become a pervasive vehicle to feed our throwaway culture.

In Australia, we generate around 2.5 million tonnes of plastic waste every year, that’s around 100 kilograms of plastic waste for every person in the country. Despite the options for reuse and recycling, almost 2.2 million tonnes (87 per cent) are sent to landfill (National Waste Report 2018). However, recently shoots of new growth have emerged, signalling a dramatic change in the way we use, recover and, ultimately recycle plastic globally.

There is a raft of potential changes and interventions that can be made to better position plastics as the remarkable material that it is.

Demand and supply both need a kick start

There has been a good deal of talk on the role of government procurement in stimulating growth in the recycling sector, and rightly so. This is a fundamental step we need to get right in order to grow a healthy recycling ecosystem.

One of the things that strikes me is the fragmented nature of our current secondary manufacturing market for recyclables. On one side, there are materials that have well developed markets that need little or no intervention at all – like the use of recycled aggregates in roadbase and other civil construction. On the other side, there are markets that, even if government sent a strong procurement signal, would not necessarily be ready to respond immediately.

Plastic is a great example of this. The emerging opportunities are endless, from compressed plastic railway sleepers to companies like Advanced Circular Polymers who are producing food-grade recycled rPET and rHDPE. But in reality, there are only a handful of companies currently producing domestic, market-ready recycled products at scale in Australia.

So, it is important for government and industry to work together to make sure that the supply side is getting the support it needs to scale up as the demand grows through procurement mechanisms.

Industry has the momentum in its supply chain

One of the key factors that helped the United Kingdom to turn around its recycling system was a shift in the supply chain.

Specifically, the major supermarket chains like Tesco and Sainsbury’s moved to control more of the waste and recycling flows in and out of their businesses, in some cases becoming quasi-recyclers in their own right.

In recent months, reflecting on the meetings I’ve had around investment in plastic recycling, it’s encouraging to see how many of these are from the packaging industry and food and beverage supply chain itself rather than from traditional recycling businesses. The convergence of public attitude toward plastic, new national packaging targets and the diminishing export market for mixed plastics is generating huge momentum.

You can’t spell circular economy without “jobs”

It is equal parts frustrating and astonishing that collectively we have not made a stronger link between recycling and the creation of new “advanced manufacturing” jobs in Australia. With a minimum wage of almost $19 and hour and wholesale energy prices sitting around 300 per cent higher than the US, it’s unlikely that we’re going to be a country that goes back to low margin mass-producing widgets. There is a huge opportunity for high-margin, bespoke plastic products to be made locally from recycled materials and exported internationally.

In its Advanced Manufacturing Roadmap, CSIRO notes that Australia could position itself as a sustainable manufacturing hub, focusing on high-value advanced materials and applications. At the core of these materials and products will be polymers, both natural and synthetic.  The options are there for us to either feed from energy-intensive virgin materials or plug in directly from a well-developed, domestic Australia recycling sector.

This paradigm isn’t new. Ten years ago, it was concrete. Five years ago, it was glass. We’ve built businesses, infrastructure and end-uses for these materials and we’ll do the same for plastics.

Related stories:

The behemoth single-shaft shredder

Applied Machinery’s BH Series heavy-duty single shaft shredder can be considered a “behemoth.”

The heavy-duty size reduction machine is designed for shredding a wide variety of materials with the powerful, wear resistant machine structure well suited to demanding recycling applications.

Applications include municipal solid, industrial and demolition waste, wood waste, plastics, alternative fuels and a range of other items.

Its v-cutting rotor design allows for staggered cutter positioning alongside heat treated and adjustable counter knives ensuring cutter clearance can be maintained.

A classifier screen enables accurate particle size control while a force feeding ram supports a precision machined chamber base with adjustable/replaceable brass guides.

The machine’s powerful electric drive motors, heavy duty oversized gearboxes and shock absorption system ensure smooth processing with improved performance. Its bearings, hydraulic opening design and electrical control panel mean the machine is robust and intuitive.

Other equally capable machines include GC Series Granulators, ideal for a range of materials such as plastics, rubber and fibres and K Series high performance single shaft shredders suitable for processing a wide range of materials.

Applied Machinery works with its customers to find the right machine for them, with a number of Genox shredders and granulators also available for niche applications.

Pacific Environment Ministers meet in Samoa

Waste Reduction and Environmental Management Assistant Minister Trevor Evans has meet with representatives from 21 Pacific Island Nations, New Zealand, the United States, France and the United Kingdom, to discuss key environmental issues facing the region.

Mr Evans attended the Talanoa Dialogue in Samoa, which is designed to facilitate participatory conversations about complex issues, as part of the 29th Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP).

SPREP Ministers called for urgent action to support the Pacific Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter 2018-2025, and urged members to accelerate policies and actions that embrace sustainable materials management and drive sustainable practices to reduce plastic pollution.

“A healthy and clean Pacific Ocean is essential to the quality of life and economic security of all Pacific Island Nations, and Australia is working with our Pacific family to make this happen, including investing $16 million to fund the Pacific Ocean Litter Project to tackle plastics polluting the region’s marine environment,” Mr Evans said.

“There are some tough and critical issues and no easy answers. But reaching shared solutions means having the conversation and mapping out agreed practical actions.”

According to Mr Evans, an Australia minister has not attended the biennial meeting in over a decade.

“Australia’s presence here builds on the outcomes of the recent Pacific Islands Forum, and reinforces Prime Minister Morrison’s message that Australia appreciates the issues faced by the Pacific are real and immediate,” Mr Evans said.

“Australia is fully engaged and strongly committed to working through these shared challenges in our region.”

Related stories:

Finlay: woodchips to energy

Veolia’s recent moves in the waste-to-energy market has seen them team up with specialist equipment supplier Finlay.

Populations are growing and, as a result, so too is waste generation. Conversely, landfill capacity is declining as urban areas become increasingly dense.

While the waste hierarchy privileges avoidance, reuse and recycling, interest in waste-to-energy as a solution for material that falls through the cracks is growing. Capturing this potential was the driving force behind Veolia’s decision to open a new facility in Horsley Park, New South Wales.

According to site manager Stephen Bernhart, the new resource recovery facility handles wood waste material, which it then processes into a wood chip product.

“After running multiple equipment trials in 2018, we have recently kicked into operation,” Stephen says.

He adds that the wood chip product will be provided to a customer where it will be used as a substitute for coal within a cement kiln.

Veolia’s facility processes a significant amount of wood waste, such as pallets, offcuts and plywood which need to be shredded, and has the capacity to receive 430,000 tonnes of general solid non-putrescible waste per year.

“We have detailed specifications we need to meet to supply our waste-to-energy customer, and a big part of that is ensuring we achieved a material size sub 50 millimetres,” he says.

“It’s quite a challenging task because it’s such a small grade, so we decided to invite multiple suppliers out to the site to run tests and demonstrate their equipment.”

Stephen says Finlay Screening, Crushing and Recycling Systems, a supplier of screening and processing equipment for the waste and recycling industry, stood out during the trials.

“Finlay were heads and shoulders above the rest in demonstrating not just what their equipment could achieve, but how it could achieve it consistently,” he explains.   

Finlay initially trialed a medium speed shredder, however, the resulting material didn’t quite meet specifications. Three weeks later they were back, with a Terex Finlay 693+ Super Track Screening Plant that, according to Stephen, worked extremely well.

“During the second trial there was a large lump of steel which had passed through the primary shredder into the secondary shredder,” Stephen says.

“The TDSV20 shredder shut down as intended, and Finlay representatives opened it up to remove the steel. The machine was back up and running in approximately three minutes – I was very impressed with how the equipment handled it.”

According to Stephen, Finlay also demonstrated how the shredding equipment could maintain the required tonnage throughput in spite of the small material specifications.

In addition to the screening plant, Stephen purchased a Terex Finlay TDS 820 Slow Speed Shredder and a Terex Finlay TDS V20 Mid Speed Shredder and Finlay 5032HD wheeled conveyor.

Built to process bulky, solid waste, the TDS 820 has a two-metre shaft manufactured with a fully welded tooth configuration. Stephen explains that the length allows for significant throughput and size reduction of material.

“The machine’s independent gearboxes enable each shaft to be run separately, which reduces material wrappage and facilitates viable shredding,” he adds.

The Terex Mid Speed Shredder has a twin-shaft, allowing it to perform both primary and secondary shredding. The TDS V20 also has the ability to self-protect against uncrushable material like steel, making it well suited to shredding waste wood materials.

“We have had no trouble meeting specifications after procuring the equipment, all three machines have been running very well.”

According to Stephen, there has been very little down time at the Horsley Park facility.

“There were one or two minor teething issues initially, but Finlay were able to handle them quickly and without fuss,” he says.

Finlay representatives also assisted on-site equipment training when the facility was commissioned.

“They are very forthcoming with their information and we were able to get local contractors trained up on how to run and maintain the shredders and screening plant as well,” he says.

“We are at a really exciting stage in our capability with an eye for expansion, so it’s crucial to have equipment that’s both reliable and efficient.”

Related stories: