South Australia’s newest recycling facility, able to process 50,000 tonnes of recyclables per year from household yellow bins, has been opened at Kilburn.
The state-of-the-art $23.2million Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), owned by the Central Adelaide Waste and Recycling Authority (CAWRA), includes the latest in optical sorting technology to produce clean commodities ideal for developing local markets.
CAWRA, a joint initiative of the Cities of Charles Sturt and Port Adelaide Enfield, has designed and constructed the facility with funding of $4.36m provided by the Federal and State Governments’ Recycling Modernisation Fund. It will be operated by global leader in packaging and resource recovery, Visy.
In a first for South Australia, the MRF will include a modern and interactive education centre incorporating a full-length glass viewing wall and an elevated walkway, which will give school and community groups a unique close-up view of the entire recycling process.
Rebekah Schubert, CAWRA Executive Officer said CAWRA’s goal was to build the local circular economy by prioritising local markets.
“We want to see South Australia’s recyclables processed right here in South Australia. This facility means we will always have somewhere for our recycling to go and we will keep this local, in South Australia, at every opportunity to help grow our local circular economy,” Schubert said.
“Visy Recycling, a leading Materials Recovery Facility operator and a leader in supporting the Australian circular economy, will operate the facility.”
Federal Minister for the Environment, Sussan Ley, said that the Kilburn plant was at the forefront of a national transformation of the recycling industry and one of eight projects up and running in South Australia.
“We need to recycle more, to take responsibility for our waste and to help Australians better understand the value of recycling for our environment and our economy,” Ley said.
“The Morrison Government has made recycling a national priority and both the SA Government and CAWRA are showing that by working together we can deliver jobs and, in this case, find a new and productive use for plastics and glass.”
David Speirs, SA Minister for Environment and Water said: “South Australia is a nation leader when it comes to waste management and the opening of this new state-of-the-art recycling facility just north of the CBD will only further enhance this reputation.
“With the ability to process up to 50,000 tonnes of recyclables per year or the equivalent of 5000 trucks worth, this will greatly increase our ability to process materials right here in South Australia.
“This is not only good for the environment but good for the economy with three times as many jobs created for every tonne of waste recycled or reused instead of going to landfill.”
Angela Evans, City of Charles Sturt Mayor said establishing the MRF is a momentous achievement in the future of recycling.
“Our residents can now have visibility and confidence that our recycling will be processed locally and responsibly, to go back into the circular economy.”
Claire Boan, Mayor of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield said the MRF will be of great economic value to local businesses.
“Finding ways to recycle our waste and transform it into everyday products is good for businesses and diverting waste from landfill is good for the environment.”
The new MRF has been designed and constructed by Wastech Engineering and Pascale Construction.
CAWRA already has agreements in place to process recycling from City of Charles Sturt, City of Port Adelaide Enfield, City of West Torrens, Mount Barker District Council and Rural City of Murray Bridge.
For more information, visit: www.premier.sa.gov.au
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