February 2020

WA opens waste reform consultation

The Western Australian Government is inviting public comment on potential reforms to guide the future of waste management in the state.

The state government has released two consultation papers – Closing the loop: waste reforms for a circular economy and Review of the waste levy – to support the implementation of its Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030.

According to Environment Minister Stephen Dawson, the proposed reforms highlight the state government’s commitment to increasing resource recovery and tackling illegal waste disposal.

“The state government is committed to a cleaner and more sustainable environment. Becoming a sustainable, low waste, circular economy is key for protecting our environment for future generations,” Mr Dawson said.

Closing the loop: waste reforms for a circular economy outlines legislative proposals to improve waste management in WA including:

— Reforming landfill and solid waste storage facility licensing under the Environmental Protection Act 1986.

— Reviewing waste levy application at waste facilities, including new measures to reduce long-term solid waste stockpiling.

— Targeting illegal waste disposal through new compliance and enforcement mechanisms; and

— Strengthening waste reporting and tracking to ensure proper disposal.

Alternatively, Review of the waste levy canvasses broader strategic issues related to the waste levy’s design, including geographical area and a schedule of future levy rates.

To allow time for the review to be completed, Mr Dawson said there would be no levy increase for 2020-21.

“I encourage community and industry stakeholders to consider the proposals in the two consultation papers, as their feedback will contribute to the development of approaches to improve waste management,” he said.

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East Waste introduces SA’s first electric-powered collection truck

South Australia’s first electric-powered kerbside collection truck has taken to the streets of metropolitan Adelaide this week.

The new truck is owned and operated by waste and resource management company East Waste, a subsidiary of seven metropolitan Adelaide councils.

East Waste General Manager Rob Gregory said the new truck replaces a diesel-powered truck and, with zero emissions, will remove the equivalent of 20 vehicles generating 63 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year from Adelaide’s suburban streets.

The truck, supplied by Australian company Superior Pak with drivetrain technology from SEA Electric, is the first in a fleet replacement program.

“It will deliver financial gain to better manage the cost of kerbside collections of recyclable resources and waste,” Mr Gregory said.

“We conservatively project that our new electric vehicle will save more than $220,000 over the seven-year life of its diesel predecessor.”

According to Mr Gregory, East Waste has installed a 30 kilowatt solar system at its Ottaway depot to produce renewable energy for the truck’s batteries.

“Residents will fall in love with our new truck without realising it,” he said.

“With reduced air pollution comes the removal of noise pollution as the truck travels from house to house on bin collection day. It is almost silent.”

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Europe’s push for MRF automation: CEMAC

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.

In 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 first-of-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. 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 re-consider 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.”

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 – post-consumer 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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SMRC to launch bin tagging program

Western Australia’s Southern Metropolitan Regional Council (SMRC) authority is launching a new bin tagging program in select households across the region.

SMRC is undertaking the education program on behalf of three councils, with funding support from the state government, administered by the Waste Authority.

According to SMRC Chairperson Doug Thompson, bin tagging is part of the rollout of the new three-bin FOGO system that was implemented in 2019 in the City of Melville, City of Fremantle and Town of East Fremantle.

Mr Thompson said the program aims to educate residents about how to use the new system and provide individual feedback to improve their efforts at home.

“Recycling is a shared responsibility,” he said.

“By everyone working together to ensure they put the right thing in the right bin, we can help create a less contaminated waste stream.”

Community Waste Education Officers will work in pairs to make a visual inspection of the bin’s contents prior to collection.

“They will check for contamination, such as recyclables in the general waste bin, or contamination in the FOGO and recycling bins,” Mr Thompson said.

“Following inspection, they will place a ‘happy’ or ‘sad’ tag on the handle of the bin, which provides feedback about how well residents are using the bins or what can be improved.”

Mr Thompson said the program will focus on education rather than enforcement.

“Similar programs in other local government areas have shown most residents are interested in doing the right thing when it comes to separating their waste if they are given the correct information,” Mr Thompson said.

“In a small number of cases where residents’ bins show repeated high contamination following several visits, the bin will not be collected.”

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Bans at the border

With the first wave of export bans set to commence in July, Waste Management Review speaks with industry stakeholders about investment expectations and the globalised waste economy. 

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Whole bale delay, missed opportunity: Tyrecycle

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.

While 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 tyre-derived fuels to replace fossil fuel use,” Jim says.

“A ban, implemented sooner rather 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.

“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 domestic remanufacturing capacity and market demand for our materials, which in turn will create local jobs,” Gayle says.

“Positive procurement by governments and businesses, along with consumer demand for products with recycled content, will drive further development in the domestic market.”

ATRA predicts that the delayed timeline will leave the door open for the continued exportation of roughly     70, 000 tonnes of whole baled tyres per year, most of which is either burnt in the open or in highly polluting pyrolysis operations in India and Malaysia.

Rob Kelman, ATRA Executive Officer, advises however that Indian authorities are currently refusing authorisation for any pyrolysis imports.

“India’s Green Tribunal is leaning toward banning any imports of whole tyres that would be used in batch pyrolysis reactors,” Rob says.

“Surely, it’s a far more ethical and environmentally responsible approach for Australia to act first.”

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Cleanaway, Pact and Asahi to develop plastic pelletising facility

Cleanaway, Pact Group and Asahi Beverages have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly develop a plastic pelletising facility in Albury/Wodonga.

According to a joint statement, the facility is anticipated to process up to 28,000 tonnes of plastic bottles and other recyclables into flake and food grade pellets.

“The cross value chain collaboration uniquely combines the expertise of each participant,” the statement reads.

“Cleanaway will provide available feedstock through its collection and sorting network. Pact will provide technical and packaging expertise, and Asahi Beverages and Pact will buy the majority of the recycled pellets from the facility to use in their packaging products.”

Pact Managing Director and CEO Sanjay Dayal said the facility would service markets across the East Coast, and create approximately 30 local jobs in regional Australia.

“I am thrilled with this arrangement and the opportunity to work with Cleanaway and Asahi in making a meaningful step in improving the plastics value chain,” he said.

“The arrangement is clearly aligned with our vision to lead the circular economy, and will support Pact in achieving our 2025 Sustainability Promise to offer 30 per cent recycled content across our packaging portfolio.”

According to Cleanaway Managing Director and CEO Vik Bansal, the partnership will create valuable raw materials from the recyclables Cleanaway collects and sorts.

“It is a natural extension of our value chain and expands our footprint of prized assets,” he said.

Asahi Beverage Group CEO Robert Iervasi added that the venture would allow Asahi to utilise Australian sourced recycled plastic resins to assist its transition to using only recycled plastics.

“I am excited by the opportunity to participate in a market winning strategic alliance that closes the loop of the circular economy, and contributes to a sustainable plastics supply chain by combining our strategic capabilities,” he said.

The project is supported by an Environmental Trust grant awarded to Cleanaway, as part of the NSW Government’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative.

The facility is expected to be operational by December 2021.

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Yarra to introduce four bin kerbside system

Yarra City Councillors have voted to roll out a four-bin kerbside system, with separate bins supplied for organics and glass.

According to councillor Misha Coleman, the new waste and recycling collection model is based on a successful trial of 1300 households in Abbotsford in Melbourne’s inner north.

“The new service introduces a new food and green waste service that will be collected weekly, removing much of the material that causes odours,” she said.

“Another additional new bin will be added for glass, which will be processed locally and used to make new glass containers and for local asphalt.”

Under the new system, glass, commingled recycling and landfill waste bins will be collected fortnightly.

Ms Coleman said Yarra City Council first began the trial “because recycling in Australia is in crisis.”

“It’s time we did things very, very differently, and councils and communities like ours are providing the leadership to drive change in this industry,” she said.

“There is a growing trend of councils moving to greater separation of waste to reduce reliance on unsustainable landfills and to improve reuse of recyclable materials. Eleven other councils in Victoria are moving to a fortnightly landfill waste collection service.”

Ms Coleman added that as a result of the trial, Yarra has seen a dramatic reduction in waste sent to landfill: diverting roughly 60 per cent of all household waste.

“The benefits of this new system include a significant reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfill, a substantial increase in the quality of recyclable materials, and very significant reductions in truck movements around our city, which will reduce vehicle emissions,” she said.

According to Ms Coleman, under the 4-bin model, households will have an increased bin capacity of 50 litres per week.

“We surveyed over 400 residents in the trial area. Almost 80 per cent told us they think these changes are an improvement in managing waste, and just under 90 per cent support separating their waste for collection,” she said.

“Almost 73 per cent of trial participants were satisfied with the fortnightly garbage collection.”

Changes will come into effect from July 2020.

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Carlson LandfillGrade Machine Guidance: Position Partners

Machine guidance technology can have a significant impact on your bottom line, with the ability to drastically increase productivity and safety, while reducing fuel usage and machine wear, writes Andrew Granger, Position Partners Machine Guidance Product Manager. 

Carlson’s LandfillGrade solution was specifically designed for landfill operations. Unlike other solutions that are adapted from civil earthmoving applications, Carlson’s product caters for the machinery, materials and desired reporting that are unique to landfill sites.

With real time knowledge of material placement, operators can work efficiently to the survey design to increase density across cells and optimise compaction.

Accurate daily, weekly and monthly reporting tools to analyse material placement give managers more visibility across operations, to make informed decisions and manage more effectively.

Other benefits of the Carlson solution include:

  • Eliminating overfill for outer design slopes
  • Accurate recording of actual material placement
  • Safety enhancements through avoidance zones for gas wells and hazardous material placement
  • Keep on track of density with calculations of scale house weight and import
  • Forward and reverse compaction monitoring
  • Collect and stake points
  • Connect machines to the office via Tokara remote access network
  • Monitor machines in real time, from the office, with Carlson Command
  • Historical playback for machines and material placement

With branches in every state and territory of Australia, Position Partners also offers comprehensive support, training and data management services to give customers the back up and expertise required to get the most from machine guidance technology.

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Capital compost: ELB Equipment and Corkhill Bros

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

When 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 drop-off 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 nutrient-rich 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 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 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 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 heavy-duty 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.

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