The sound of industry is in full force as we arrive at one of New South Wale’s regional container recycling hubs. The constant hum of a conveyor belt is interrupted only by the occasional hiss of air and the thunk of a can or bottle falling into a bin below.
In just a fraction of a second, three gigabytes of information are gathered. The size, colour, barcode, and shape of a container has been analysed. The ‘unique’ rejections are gathered later, some destined to join the wall of fame – a collection of unusual and one-off bottles or containers that line the shelves of Coffs Harbour’s Return and Earn Depot.
The eligible containers travel along a network of belts to bulk bins ready for reuse in Australia’s burgeoning circular economy. It’s a scenario repeated throughout the day.
More than 20 million containers pass through the Coffs Harbour Return and Earn Depot site every year, according to James Dorney, TOMRA Cleanaway Chief Executive Officer.
Coffs Harbour is one of five bulk drink container processing sites contracted by TOMRA Cleanaway to Sell and Parker. The Coffs Harbour Return and Earn Depot has been part of the New South Wales container deposit scheme since day one. Co-located with a scrap yard, a public weighbridge and a battery recycling point, the automated drink container processing site offers a unique opportunity for customers to return bulk drink container volumes.
“Co-locating all of these services in regional areas like this works well,” James says.
And according to Luke Parker, Chief Executive Officer of Sell and Parker, “it’s turned a pretty good scrap yard into a very good site that offers plenty of opportunity to recycle”.
Return and Earn launched in 2017 as the most ambitious litter reduction program implemented by the New South Wales Government.
Delivered in a tripartite partnership arrangement between network operator TOMRA Cleanaway, scheme co-ordinator Exchange for Change and the government, represented by the NSW Environment Protection Authority, the scheme has recycled more than 11 billion cans and bottles at return points across the state and contributed more than $54 million in donations to community groups and charities.
Millions of people have used the scheme’s reverse vending machines or visited a depot, but few get the chance to see what happens to their containers once they are deposited.
A behind the scenes tour of TOMRA Cleanaway’s network for Return and Earn during the recent Waste 2024 conference in Coffs Harbour, gave delegates an opportunity to witness the back-end technology and logistics capability that underpins TOMRA Cleanaway’s container deposit scheme network success.
The tour emphasised the importance of automation and manned collection points for recycling outcomes, along with the need for a foolproof system to prevent fraudulent activity.
Cloud-based technology tracks and verifies every container collected. And it’s not just the mechanics of how cans and bottles are moved around on site that relies on automation. Every person that deposits containers into the system receives a receipt with a barcode. Within that barcode is the time, date, and container count of what’s been deposited. A barcode reader inputs the information into the onsite computer system enabling transactions to be monitored, shutting down fraud opportunities.
A robust and fraud resilient network of return points that delivers on consumer centric principles is, according to James, at the heart of TOMRA Cleanaway’s network design.
“Making sure we have the right partnerships in place is important,” he says. “We choose to partner with organisations that are embedded in community service. This includes not for profit and social enterprise organisations – but also commercial operators like Sell and Parker here in Coffs Harbour.”
Designing and delivering a network to achieve so many outcomes may seem overwhelming, but ensuring core principles of consumer centric, automated, convenient, and aligned to community needs and populations means TOMRA Cleanaway is delivering the right mix across the state.
Reflecting back on the local experience at Coffs Harbour, James says automation is a key component at all depot sites, but the Coffs site is a little different. As a manned collection point using high speed automation, it’s set up to make it easy for customers to get direct eyes on the recycling process.
“Not only does it make our life a little bit easier, but it also helps people feel involved in the process,” James says. “People are happy to see what happens to their product and that it is being recycled.”
It’s a different format of return point, but the technology of the TOMRA Cleanaway Reverse Vending Machine is just as impressive. The behind-the-scenes tour continued at Coffs Home Co, one of the additional local Return and Earn machines for the town.
Here James unlocks the machine, where within the confines of what looks like a shipping container, multiple bins of glass and plastic drink containers and aluminium cans are accurately scanned, counted and separated.
From local technology hubs and logistics centres, customer drink container returns are monitored in real time and sensors send out notifications when bins are approaching fill levels to trigger collections.
There are eyes on every element of the operation.
James says that beyond the level of visibility the automation gives the container deposit scheme is a clean stream of recyclables that is contributing to circular economy outcomes.
For more information, visit: www.tomracleanaway.com.au
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