Demolishing waste: CJD Equipment and Repurpose It

George Hatzimanolis, Repurpose It CEO, speaks with Waste Management Review about achieving C&D recycling process efficiency through heavy duty equipment. 

As the nation’s third largest industry, construction predictably generates a significant amount of waste, representing 38 per cent of Australia’s total waste in 2017.

That said, the recycling sector has adapted quickly, with C&D recovery regularly hitting 90 per cent across major urban areas.

Repurpose It opened Australia’s first construction and demolition washing plant in March 2019, just 20 kilometres north of Melbourne’s central business district.

With a process capacity of 250 tonnes per hour, the facility accepts a variety of waste streams. These include traditional excavation waste such as rock, sand and silt and other unnatural inert materials, including concrete, grit and rail ballast.

George Hatzimanolis, Repurpose It CEO, says when dealing with material variability and tonnages of this scale, equipment reliability is crucial to achieving efficient recovery operations.

George adds that with stringent infrastructure project timelines and a steady influx of C&D carting trucks, he needs to ensure the Epping plant maintains maximum uptime.

To ensure streamlined handling and loading, George operates a range of Volvo excavators and wheel loaders. He adds that Repurpose It acquired the machines through long-term equipment partner CJD Equipment.

“We chose Volvo equipment because we feel there is an alignment between Volvo’s energy efficiency engineering values and Repurpose It’s aim to reduce our carbon footprint,” George says.

“CJD has been the preferred equipment partner of Repurpose It since the business was established, and currently offer servicing and after-sales support for the entire Volvo fleet.”

Repurpose It operates three Volvo excavators out of its facility: an EC250DL and two EC220DLs.

George says the excavators are used for general earthmoving, screen feeding, sorting and stockpiling. He adds that all three machines provide impressive fuel efficiency and operator comfort.

“Operator comfort and safety was a key factor for us, given our team is sometimes working eight hours a day in the machines,” he says.

All three excavators operate with Volvo’s modern D6 diesel engine, which reports 10 per cent extra fuel efficiency compared to competing designs.

On the loading front, Repurpose It decided on two Volvo wheel-loaders, an L110F and L220H.

“The former provides quick and easy operations, while the latter’s 32-tonne classification makes it the heavy hitter of the site,” George says.

CJD supplied both loaders with a collection of buckets, hydraulic breaks and grabs, including four-in-one hi-dump and light material buckets and fork attachments.

According to a new report from SGS Economics and Planning, Melbourne is set to overtake Sydney as Australia’s most significant economic city in 2020, largely on the back of construction. This suggests George could see an influx of material over coming years.

“Our workforce is growing as a result of the new product streams we are developing, and we’re backing that up with investment in new technology and processes,” George says.

“But it’s also important for us to maintain the efficiency of our traditional heavy machinery, which CJD facilitates through a customer-focused service strategy.”

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Sifting rubble: GCM Enviro

As Queensland’s infrastructure pipeline accelerates, Jim Murphy, Lantrak Waste Division Manager, speaks with Waste Management Review about the efficiency effects of heavy-duty separation.

Workers on Queensland’s Gateway Upgrade laid tools down in March 2019, after 15 years and a $1.1 billion spend.

Designed to unlock economic growth through congestion busting, the project saw the motorway jump from four lanes to six.

To manage material movement, the Queensland Government engaged earthmoving and plant hire specialists Lantrak to move and process clean fill.

Annually moving over 10 million cubic metres of clean and structural fill, the Gateway Upgrade isn’t Lantrak’s only landmark construction project venture, having worked on the Snowy Mountains Scheme and the Wonthaggi Desalination Pipeline.

In addition to its earthmoving service, Lantrak operates a waste and recycling facility in Swanbank, Queensland. The facility is licenced to accept C&D, clean fill and low contaminated soil.

Jim Murphy, Lantrak Waste Division Manager, says the facility prioritises investment in high-quality and heavy-duty processing equipment. He adds that this was the key driver behind Lantrak’s recent Terra Select W 80 Windsifter acquisition.

“We needed a new piece of equipment to separate construction and demolition waste after it had been screened and crushed, so we engaged equipment distributor GCM Enviro,” he says.

“As Australia’s exclusive distributor of Terra Select equipment, GCM Enviro was the obvious the choice on the parameters required.”   

The Terra Select W 80 Windsifter is designed to separate heavy from light materials, such as stone from wood or concrete and bricks from timber. It also removes other light materials such as plastic or paper. Jim says the machine’s efficient ability to separate impurities from useable material flows has streamlined Swanbank’s operations.

The Windsifter is equipped with a high continuously adjustable cleaning level, at throughput rates up to 120 cubic metres an hour in certain streams.

“The machine has a unique hopper with dosing roller, which provides closed operations independent of the screening process. This ensures an even infeed of material into the machine,” Jim says.

Material is fed via an upstream feeding conveyor, with equalisation and distribution conducted via a proportioning drum and downstream acceleration belt. A compressed air nozzle then blows under the material, holding light impurities in the air.

“At the end of the acceleration belt the material is blown over the separation gap, before moving to the separation drum,” Jim says.

“The machine is also very flexible, with the ability to fine tune configurations via taps ducts and separate on heavy and light settings.”

According to Jim, the separator hasn’t disappointed, with minimal downtime or blockages. He adds that through constant dialogue between manufacturers and clients, GCM Enviro is able to ensure reliable customer-orientated servicing support.

“If our material intake grows like I think it will, I look forward to maintaining a long-term partnership with GCM Enviro.”

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NWRIC calls on COAG to set clear definitions and realistic timeframes

The National Waste and Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC) is calling on ministers to set clear material definitions and realistic export timeframes at this Friday’s Council of Australian Government (COAG) meeting.

According to NWRIC CEO Rose Read, the Prime Minister and Premiers’ decisions on waste export bans will be key to determining Australia’s future capacity to capture and reuse the millions of tonnes of recycled materials currently being lost from the economy.

“The NWRIC supports COAG’s proposed export ban of waste plastics, paper, glass and tyres, and is calling on COAG to extend the ban to unprocessed cars, white goods, unprocessed e-waste and waste machine lubricant oils,” Ms Read said.

“However, COAG must not shut down legitimate overseas markets for secondary resources recovered from recycled materials such as clean paper and cardboard.”

Furthermore, Ms Read said COAG must address the real source of the waste export problem: the lack of recycled resources being used by the manufacturing, packaging and construction industries in Australia.

“This lack of reuse of recycled materials has significantly stymied industry investment and innovation in recycling capacity over the past 10 years,” she said.

“If Australian governments do not require the manufacturing, construction and packing sectors to dramatically ramp up recycled content in infrastructure, products and packaging, then it will not achieve its 80 per cent resource recovery target.”

The NWRIC is calling on COAG to agree and commit to:

— Clear definitions on what waste can’t be exported.

— Realistic timeframes that allow time to build new processing facilities and secondary resource markets to develop.

— Procuring recycled materials for government infrastructure and mandating recycled content in products and packaging through the Product Stewardship Act.

— Fast tracking development application and licensing processes for expanding and building new recycling and processing facilities.

— Joint investment from commonwealth and state governments with industry for new processing equipment and facilities.

— Strong enforcement of the ban, ensuring government agencies are adequately resourced to ensure compliance.

“If COAG gets this decision right and supports it with joint national and state investment, it will create the foundation necessary to move Australia to a country that values its waste as a resource, keeps these resources circulating in the economy, creating less waste and more jobs,” Ms Read said.

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The right to repair: Officeworks

Ryan Swenson, Officeworks Head of Sustainable Development, explains the company’s commitment to viewing all operations through a waste lens.

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Study highlights greater pollution than previously estimated

Plastic waste in the ocean is making its way back to land and increasing pollution on Australia’s beaches, according to new research from CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency.

According to a CSIRO statement, the research explains why estimates of waste entering the ocean each year are 100 times larger than the amount of plastic observed floating on the surface, and suggests waste management strategies on land need to accommodate larger volumes of pollution than previously estimated.

“These findings highlight the importance of including the entire width of coastal areas in studies to understand how much – and where – debris gets trapped,” the statement reads.

“This is critical for developing targeted waste management policies, particularly in areas with large regional populations, to reduce litter ending up in our oceans and along our coasts.”

CSIRO Principal Research Scientist Denise Hardesty said researchers collected data on the amount and location of plastic pollution every 100 kilometres around the entire coast of Australia between 2011 and 2016.

“The highest concentrations of marine debris were found along the coastal backshores, where the vegetation begins,” Dr Hardesty said.

Utrecht University’s Arianna Olivelli, who led the analysis, said findings indicate that coasts are a major sink for marine debris, particularly for larger debris items.

“The debris recorded along the coasts was found to be a mix of littering and deposition from the ocean,” she said.

“The results suggest that plastic is moving from urban areas into the ocean, and then being transported back onshore and pushed onto land, where it remains.”

Ms Olivelli said onshore wind and waves, together with more densely populated areas, influences the amount and distribution of marine debris.

“The further back we went from the water’s edge, the more debris we found,” she said.

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NT Industry Summit to address local market opportunities

The Territory Waste and Recycling Industry Summit, held 1-2 April in Darwin, will provide an opportunity to discuss strategic developments in the Northern Territory’s resource recovery sector.

According to Waste Recycling Industry Association Northern Territory (WRINT) CEO Rick Ralph, the waste management and secondary resources industry, representing both private and local government operations, currently provides more than 1360 jobs for Territorians and turns over more than $152 million annually.

In 2017-18, the industry managed more than 517,800 tonnes of waste and recyclables, Mr Ralph said, ensuring more than one third of those materials escaped landfill.

“On March 13, COAG will meet to discuss how Australia will manage the proposed bans on the exports of glass, tyres, plastics plus paper and cardboard. The Darwin summit provides industry, local government and territory agencies with the opportunity to discuss the COAG meeting outcomes looking to the future,” Mr Ralph said.

The territories future recycling and diversion rates, Mr Ralph said, are directly linked to both the broader Australian secondary market reuse and new local market opportunities.

“The international challenges facing export markets compound this problem, and we need new local solutions and ideas to sustain and grow the industry,” he said.

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Michael Gunner will lead the summit, with a presentation on insights gained from a GHD analysis into commercial market opportunities.

“We will identify new opportunities for the territory to maintain its recycling systems and enhance landfill diversion, ensuring the waste and recycling industry remains a vibrant contributor to the economy, while supporting ongoing territory jobs,” Mr Gunner said.

According to Mr Gunner, in January, his government engaged consultants GDH to undertake an assessment of future commercial waste industry opportunities that could be developed locally.

“The summit will discuss that business assessment with our top priority being jobs. It will focus on potential new business solutions, as well as discussing how we can improve our local recycling performance,” he said.

As part of the summit Mr Ralph will ask attendees to identify and report on five key opportunities for the territory, which WRINT will present back to government for consideration and future implementation.

“The industry summit in Darwin will bring all stakeholders together, engaging key industry experts, and I am confident the outcomes will present new local opportunities to take advantage of the waste challenges in Australia and more particularly the NT face,” he said.

Northern Territory Environment and Natural Resource Minister Eva Lawler will also address the summit at a breakfast event on day two.

“Presentations throughout the summit will provide information from industry leaders on how business and government can continue to deliver innovative secondary resource recovery solutions and maintain community confidence in recycling,” Mr Ralph said.

For register click here.

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Washing billions of bottles: Applied Machinery

With onshore plastic processing set to grow, Daniel Fisher, Applied Machinery, details the streamlining ability of high-energy washing.

The onshore consequences of the upcoming waste export ban could see the domestic resource recovery industry swamped by mountains of plastic.

To fully capitalise on this, Daniel Fisher, Applied Machinery Project Manager, says plastic recycling operators need to invest in efficient and high-capacity washing systems.

“The significance of washing is often understated, with importance placed on seemingly more complex processes such as sorting and granulating,” Daniel says.

“But, given the nature of most plastic waste, and the fact it often takes the form of packaging, removing contaminants and impurities efficiently is critical to sustained operations.”

According to Daniel, Applied Machinery’s range of plastic-washing systems are designed for high-performance recovery of rigid and flexible plastics derived from a variety of sources.

“We’re able to facilitate modular systems to tackle HDPE and PET bottles, and depending on application requirements, can provide bale breakers, infeed conveyor belts, pre-shredders for wet or dry size reductions, pre-washers and screw washers,” he says.

In particular, Daniel says Applied Machinery’s HDPE Bottle/Container Washing System is well suited to operators hoping to take advantage of the upcoming domestic plastic processing boom.

Developed by Guangzhou-based equipment manufacturer Genox, the HDPE washing line is designed for rigid plastics.

Daniel says the washing system’s wear-resistant design works to maximise operating time and throughput via consistent processing.

“The high-speed washing system works to liberate plastic flakes from contaminants,” Daniel says.

“The washing tank’s under-water force-washing paddles then work to amplify washing efficiency, while mechanical and thermal drying systems reduce end product moisture.”

Shredding and washing are set at calculated intensities, Daniel says, to avoid over friction and material loss.

“Label separation can also be achieved through advanced wind separation,” he adds.

The system features an inclined friction washer, float-sink washing tank and vertical dewatering machine, before material passes through a zig-zag classifier.

In the current economic and political waste climate, Daniel says investing in a Genox HDPE Bottle/Container Washing System can deliver significant returns on investment.

“The Australian resource recovery industry will see major opportunities over the next few years, so the time is right for facilities to upscale their operations and capitalise on the next generation of plastic processing.”

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Shredding the unshreddable: Tutt Bryant

Waste companies are reaping productivity gains from Metso Waste’s M&J 4000M shredder, available through a new partnership with Tutt Bryant Equipment.

Tutt Bryant Equipment has had a long history of serving the waste sector through its iconic BOMAG and Metso brands.

With its various iterations, the machine has for decades helped reduce costs and improve safety through intelligent compaction. While Tutt Bryant is perhaps best-known for its landfill compactors, crushers and screens, the Australian supplier recently bolstered its presence in the waste sector with a new OEM partnership.

With branches in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth and Darwin and a number of independent dealers, Tutt Bryant Equipment is able to support the market effectively.

In September last year, Tutt Bryant became the exclusive distributor for Metso Waste’s mobile shredders, with the first machine sold to Cleanaway. The company offers an array of shredders to the marketplace, from the M&J 4000M to M&J 6000M, available for a variety of throughputs and applications.

Paul Doran, Tutt Bryant Equipment Business Development Manager, explains Metso Waste approached the supplier due to its long history with Metso Minerals in the quarrying sector.

“We’ve been the distributor for crushing and screening equipment for Metso since 2012,” Paul explains.

“Metso Waste realised it was a good fit for us as because of the broad range of products that Tutt Bryant equipment provide in the waste sector, including landfill compactors, crushers, screens, excavators and front end loaders.”

He says Tutt Bryant is seeking to expand its offering to the waste industry by supporting transfer stations with their processing needs.

“This is an opportunity for us to provide a variety of equipment, whether it be crushing concrete, screening waste material or reducing landfill volumes,” he says.

Metso Waste Recycling shredding technology is based on an extremely aggressive knife design and open cutting table, which provides outstanding performance when dealing with mixed and challenging materials.

“A lot of other shredders have a single shaft and rely on the shaft to cut the product, whereas with the Metso design, the knives drive the material into the cutting deck to break it up,” he says.

Paul adds that high-performance pumps maintain high torque levels, in addition to a variety of program settings on the knives allowing both shafts to cut in both directions and  asynchronously.

“They shred materials other machines wouldn’t shred due to a heavy robust engineering design,” Paul says.

He adds the shredder also comprises a detailed fleet management system to monitor the performance of the machine.

“You can get into an amazing level of detail on the pressures, how it’s running and how much fuel it’s using to ensure you’re getting the most out of your investment.”

These key features make M&J PreShred units extremely resistant to wear caused by materials and waste normally considered unshreddable, including solid steel, reinforced concrete and rocks. The machine has sensors that notify the operator of overloading which helps to protect it from damage.

Throughputs can be as high as 100 tonnes per hour depending on the type of input, number of knives specified for the cutting table and loading procedure. The interaction between the rotating knives on these shafts running asynchronously, and in both directions, ensures that the input material is constantly in motion. This prevents bridging and provides maximum shredding capacity.

With the Queensland waste levy underway, management at Cleanaway’s Willawong Transfer Station decided to start looking at shredding materials onsite to reduce volumes and improve separation.

The initial discussions between Cleanaway and Tutt Bryant Equipment were around Cleanaway’s requirement to purchase suitable plant to provide adequate reduction of municipal solid waste. This would enable efficient screening into separate products for further downstream treatment.

Due to great experiences with Metso crushers, the Willawong management team decided to explore the Metso M&J PreShredder range.

Further details and specification options on the M&J 4000M were discussed with Site Operations Manager Chris Thomson. The Tutt Bryant team gained a clear understanding of the impending needs of the site and ongoing volume increases. The large installed base of the units and Chris’ personal experience with Metso Crushers and Screens ensured confidence in the quality and support from Tutt Bryant.

After some benchmarking and considering several different supplier offerings, Cleanaway ordered the M&J4000M and it was delivered to Willawong in July 2019.

“The main reason for selecting the M&J 4000 was that we were confident in it providing the necessary volume reduction, and because of its twin shaft design, we knew it would be very reliable,” Operations Manager Chris Thomson says.

Chris attributes reliability to the Metso build quality and understanding that the production capacity would be there.

After five months of operation, Chris says the machine has performed far better than expected.

“It is user-friendly, even for staff with little exposure to shredders. We got a good feeling about how this relationship was going to go before the machine arrived as Metso Waste and Tutt Bryant senior managers came to site and met with us to discuss the machine and our application,” he says.

“The after-sales support and service from Tutt has been excellent. I can’t fault it.”

The M&J 4000M will be showcased at this year’s Waste 2020 Conference in May at Coffs Harbour.

To find out how the M&J 4000M will improve your material transfer, recovery or landfill operations, please contact Tutt Bryant Equipment on 1300 658 888 or metso@tuttbryant.com.au

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sustainable packaging

Sustainability Victoria opens packaging investment grants

Sustainability Victoria is offering grants of up to $50,000 to support organisations in Victoria to reduce packaging waste disposed in landfill.

According to a Sustainability Victoria statement, significant policy shifts in key markets for Victoria’s packaging waste have had a considerable, negative impact on the markets for these materials, primarily impacting plastics, paper and cardboard.

“The Investment Support Grants – Packaging will support small to medium sized enterprises, not-for-profits and social enterprises to overcome financial barriers associated with investing in projects that lead to packaging waste reduction, recovery and reuse,” the statement reads.

“To reduce the amount of packaging materials disposed of in landfill, we are supporting generators, recyclers and those that reuse packaging waste in Victoria to reduce waste generation, increase the quality and quantity of materials recovered and to grow demand for reuse.”

Eligible projects must be completed within 12 months, with a financial contribution ratio of 1:1.

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Export ban exemptions

Despite the export ban commencing July 2020, the Federal Government could allow trade to continue under certain strict conditions. We speak to Trevor Evans, Assistant Waste Reduction and Environmental Management Minister.

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