Aerofloat has been pivotal in helping the Australian plastic recycling industry clean and reuse its wastewater.
The plastics recycling industry has boomed in Australia since the National Plastics Plan came into effect in 2021. Michael Anderson, General Manager of wastewater treatment company Aerofloat says the aim of the plan was to ensure Australia becomes a major player in the global network for recycling plastics into consumer products.
Aerofloat has been working in the plastics recycling industry for eight years, designing major wash water and wastewater solutions that meet the specific criteria of multiple companies and councils across the eastern board. The company has won awards for its innovative designs and is now the industry’s go-to wastewater engineering company in Australia.
Following the announcement of the National Plastics Plan; Pact Group, Cleanaway, Asahi Beverages, and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners formed a joint venture known as Circular Plastics Australia.
Aerofloat designed and built the wastewater treatment system for Circular Plastics Australia’s first plant, located in Albury New South Wales. The plant processes up to four tonnes of PET plastic every hour, which is equal to around one billion 600ml PET plastic bottles a year.
“The joint venture has created a complete supply chain of recycled plastic in Australia on a scale that has never been seen before,” says Michael. “You start with mums, dads, and kids dropping off bottles for Container Deposit Schemes (CDS). Cleanaway has been picking up those bottles and transporting them to Albury. Circular Plastics Australia then recycles the plastic bottles before Coca-Cola and Asahi take the new bottles for re-use.”
Cleanaway also provides raw materials for the plant through its Material Recovery Facilities (MRF), which support the CDS.
The recycled PET these facilities produce will be used to create new beverage bottles for Asahi Beverages and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. It also provides new food and beverage packaging for Pact Group’s customers.
“Aerofloat’s design ensured a sustainable, long-term solution for Circular Plastics Australia in Albury. Clean wastewater from the system is reused as wash water within the plastics recycling facility or discharged to the sewer,” says Michael.
Circular Plastics Australia has enlisted Aerofloat again to deliver wastewater and wash water systems in its two new Melbourne plastics recycling facilities. A plant in Altona North is due for completion later in 2023.
Another plant at Laverton will focus on high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP).
“The new plant in Laverton can process two tons of HDPE and two tons of PP per hour. That means it’s going to process over 20,000 tonnes a year,” Michael says.
Adam Kornhauser, Site Lead for the Laverton facility in Melbourne, says the ventures will significantly contribute to ensuring a circular economy that benefits its local community.
“Australians want packaging that is recycled and recyclable and this venture will significantly increase that opportunity for consumers,” says Adam. “Our Melbourne plants support our vision of creating a circular economy by recycling plastic into plastic flakes and resin, which can be further processed into plastic containers.”
While the Melbourne plants advance Australia towards meeting its National Plastics Plan goals, the facilities must still meet the city’s strict water regulations.
“The wastewater treatment plants discharge into the Greater Western Water (GWW) municipal sewer, so all parameters must meet the requirements for discharge of trade wastes from industrial premises as a minimum,” says Adam.
Michael agrees that benefits to the environment must be considered across all areas.
“Our jobs at the Laverton and Altona North plants will be to treat the wash water generated from shredding and cleaning the bottles. Once it’s done its job, that wash water needs to be safely discharged into the Greater Western Water sewer network,” Michael says.
Aerofloat’s design engineers develop 3D modelling skills to ensure clients can envisage the solution prior to manufacturing and installation. Given the challenges at the Melbourne site differed to Albury, Aerofloat offered its 3D modelling to show how the sites’ specific needs would be met.
“We’ve developed wastewater and wash water solutions for the plastics recycling industry in both rural and metropolitan settings,” says Michael.
“The location of the site can significantly impact the design. For example, in regional New South Wales, water economy is essential to the design given scarce water availability. In Melbourne, one of the biggest challenges for us was the lack of space for wastewater treatment.
“By drawing on our project history, we are able to model and design the future set-up within 90 per cent of the final design.”
Aerofloat and Circular Plastics Australia have worked collaboratively on the major projects to ensure the objectives of the plants are met. Ensuring a design that would meet the specific requirements of the Melbourne sites was imperative.
“Circular Plastics Australia has worked with Aerofloat on previous projects,” says Adam.
“Aerofloat’s design engineers therefore understood our needs and were able to bring that knowledge from existing plants to ensure a robust design that would meet our requirements.”
With significant production volumes at the sites, wastewater flows are expected to be equally high.
“We are expecting average daily flows of around 120 cubic metres per day at Altona North and 400 cubic metres per day at Laverton,” says Adam. “Aerofloat’s design is expected to more than meet that demand.”
While installation is well underway in Melbourne, Michael has been proactive in growing the opportunities for further sustainable operations at the plants in Albury, Laverton and Altona North.
“At the moment, ensuring Circular Plastics Australia meets its recycling volumes is the first priority, however we have set up the plants ready for additional water re-use. That will be something we can address in the future if they want to reduce their water output further.”
Michael says Aerofloat has affirmed its place in providing sustainable solutions to the growing plastics recycling industry.
“Our knowledge,” he says, “helps us grow and remain the industry’s go-to wastewater engineering company.”
For more information, visit: www.aerofloat.com.au
