Waste Management In Action

Two-hundred million bottles: Alex Fraser

A new glass additive bin at Alex Fraser’s Clarinda Recycling Facility is boosting its reprocessing capability by 40,000 tonnes a year and has the capacity to double that production annually.

Late last year, Alex Fraser was among 13 recipients of the Victorian Government’s $4.67 million Resource Recovery Infrastructure Grants program.

It used the $336,500 grant towards the construction of the new glass and brick additive bins at its Clarinda Recycling Facility, where they are used to blend recycled glass sand and brick into a new, sustainable roadbase product.

This single piece of recycling infrastructure is markedly increasing the distribution of recycled glass and brick into road and rail projects throughout Melbourne’s south eastern suburbs.

Delivering on end-market demand is a central focus for Alex Fraser, with Clarinda currently processing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of recycled products for use on road construction and maintenance projects across Victoria.

Peter Murphy, Alex Fraser Managing Director, says the facility is currently reducing the landfilling and stockpiling of problematic glass by 40,000 tonnes per year – the equivalent of 200 million bottles.

He adds that with the new additive bins in full production mode, Alex Fraser has the capacity to double this annual production.

“By reprocessing this priority waste into high quality sand, we’re able to supply rail and road projects with a range of high-spec, sustainable materials that cut costs, cartage and carbon emissions, and reduce the strain on natural resources,” he says.

“We’re pleased to be working with the Victorian Government to overcome one of the state’s biggest recycling challenges.”

Matt Genever, Director of Resource Recovery at Sustainability Victoria, says SV recognised the Clarinda Recycling Facility as an important site for resource recovery in Melbourne.

“Processing up to one million tonnes of recycling per annum, the site serves a dual purpose, both as a hub for C&D waste in the south-east and through supply of aggregate and sand into new construction activities,” he says.

“We are acutely aware of the shortage of quarried materials to supply the state’s significant infrastructure program and having a site of this scale located in close proximity to these major projects is essential in ensuring ongoing supply of recycled construction products and materials.”

Recently, the Southern Program Alliance opted to utilise almost 200,000 tonnes of tonnes of Alex Fraser’s recycled materials on the Mentone and Cheltenham Level Crossing Removal Upgrade (LXRA).

The project, expected to be completed in early 2021, is set to save 170,000 tonnes of material from landfill and will reduce the strain on natural resources by 185,000 tonnes.

With the additive bin now in full operation at the Clarinda Recycling Facility, Alex Fraser is increasing its handling of priority recovered materials – like glass fines and brick – to around 800 tonnes per week.

“Glass is a high-volume waste stream, so it is imperative its recycling facilities are well located close to the point of generation and close to its end-markets,” Peter says.

He adds that as inner-metropolitan quarries deplete, natural sand is being trucked up to 100 kilometres, driving up costs, traffic congestion and emissions.

The additive bin will not only help with Melbourne’s glass waste problem, but provide an inner city supply solution that reduces these impacts.

“We are not only reprocessing waste materials, but ensuring that the material is recycled into a valuable resource that is needed and contributes toward Victoria’s growing circular economy,” Peter says.

Alex Fraser’s Clarinda facility has the capacity to recycle a million tonnes of C&D waste each year. Peter explains that the reprocessed material typically goes out to road and rail projects as recycled aggregates, road base or asphalt.

“With the new additive bins, we are able to blend recycled glass sand and brick into a product that meets Vicroads specifications for most road bases which are being used in huge quantities on municipal works and Big Build projects throughout the south east,” he says.

You can read the full article in the July edition of Waste Management Review.

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Net zero diversion: Wastech Engineering

Jeff Goodwin of Wastech Engineering speaks with Waste Management Review about bolstering organics recovery with highly efficient equipment.

In its recently released Net Zero Plan Stage One: 2020-2030, the NSW Government outlines its plan to achieve net zero emissions from organic waste to landfill by 2030.

“Organic waste, such as food scraps and garden trimmings, makes up about 40 per cent of red-lidded kerbside bins. When sent to landfill, the decomposing material releases methane that may not be captured,” the plan reads.

“However, when this waste is managed effectively, through proper composting and recycling processes, methane emissions can be substantially reduced, soils can be regenerated to store carbon and biogas can be created to generate electricity.”

The plan follows similar initiatives in Victoria. With the state’s Recycling Victoria strategy targeting a 50 per cent reduction in organic material sent to landfill by 2030, with an interim target of 20 per cent by 2025.

Jeff Goodwin, Wastech Engineering’s National Product Manager Projects, is enthused by the announcements, highlighting Wastech’s long standing commitment to sustainable organics processing.

Food waste is a significant issue in Australia, Jeff explains, noting that a recent Rabobank Food Waste Report revealed that Australians wasted $10.1 billion in food waste in 2019.

“It’s heartening to see governments across the country committing to food waste reduction initiatives, which is something we at Wastech have been passionate about for a long time,” he says.

“Now is the time for waste companies and food waste generators to heed the call and start investing in efficient and high capacity food waste processing solutions.”

With a 99 per cent recovery rate for both dry and liquid products, Jeff says Wastech’s ATRITOR Turbo Separator is one such solution.

Available exclusively through Wastech, the Turbo Separator range comprises four models, making it suitable for a wide range of de-packaging applications including separating organics from food waste packaging and paper from gypsum.

“The Turbo Separator combines centrifugal forces, self-generated airflow and mechanical processes to remove organic material from packaging – allowing the recovered material to be recycled,” Jeff says.

“The machine can recover anything from bread loafs in plastic wrap, beans in tins cans, milk in cartons and even pet food in plastic pouches. The only material it can’t process is glass, given its sharding effect.”

Several Turbo Separator installations have been purchased recently by recycling companies across Australia, Jeff says.

“When people are eating at a food court it’s common to throw everything into one bin, creating a mix of food and packaging waste that has been traditionally difficult to recover,” he says.

“Using the Turbo Separator however, operators can take a garbage bag containing food waste and packaging, tie up the garbage bag and run it through the machine.

“This allows shopping centres, which produce high levels of food waste, to recover that material and divert it from the general disposal stream.”

However, these bags often contain contamination such as glass bottles, so Jeff says it’s prudent to consider an inspection station prior to the Turbo Separator to remove unwanted materials first.

He adds that as a rule of thumb, for every kilogram of food waste, 10 per cent is packaging.

“When you remove packaging from the organic material, you’re able to recover 90 per cent of each kilogram of food waste, which then saves that material from entering landfill.”

The Turbo Separator includes a variable-speed shaft fitted with paddles, which rotates above a number of screens. The shaft, Jeff says, typically runs between 100 and 1000 rotations per minute, generating air flow as well as centrifugal and mechanical forces.

“Packaged material is fed by an infeed conveyor into the separation chamber, where rotating paddles open up the packaging,” he says.

“The force of the paddles then creates a squeezing effect, which separates packaging from its contents and allows the packaging to retain its integrity.”

This, Jeff says, is an added benefit, with the Turbo Separator’s squeezing as opposed to shredding process producing organic material free of shredded packaging residue.

Depending on material type, the recovered organics can be used for animal feed, nutrient-rich compost or anaerobic digestion.

Jeff explains that the separator is also well suited to product destruction, such as water or soda from half drunken bottles. It can also be used at a commercial level to recover beverages that are past their sell by date or have been damaged or incorrectly packaged.

“For operators dealing with wet material, Wastech can fit the Turbo Separator with a pump that removes liquids from the recovered organic throughput,” he says.

The design of the machine is extremely flexible, for instance, if an operator is only dealing with dry material, the pump isn’t required. Or, if they are working in a confined space, the separator can be re-configured into a different arrangement.”

According to Jeff, Wastech is ready to assist as Australia continues the fight against food waste.

“Wastech has been working in this space for years and we’re in it for the long haul. We believe a future free from food waste is possible and are excited to work with waste companies and food generators to achieve it,” he says.

For more information click here. 

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Restore the soil: JR Richards and Sons and Jindalee Ag

Stakeholder communication is critical to the production of nutrient rich compost for soil regeneration. JR Richards and Sons and Jindalee Ag explain.

More than 30 per cent of the world’s land is moderately to highly degraded due to erosion, salination, compaction and chemical pollution, according to Restore the Soil: Prosper the Nation.

The 2017 report, written by National Soil Advocate Major General Michael Jeffery for the Prime Minister, argues that the combined effects of global insecurities – population increase, finite resource depletion and the effects of climate change – mean improving agricultural soil quality is imperative to global security.

“Soil is a critical national strategic asset,” Mr Jeffery explains in the report.

To progress the renewal process, the report outlines a number of recommendations, including engaging in regenerative farming practices through the application of organic composts and bio amendments.

The is a belief shared by JR Richards and Sons (JRR) and Jindalee Ag, two companies committed to the production of nutrient rich compost.

While two separate entities with unique and varied histories, JRR and Jindalee Ag have partnered to maximise their distribution capabilities.

JRR, a name synonymous with waste management and resource recovery, has been providing collection and processing services to local government and private operators since 1958.

They currently service kerbside collections for over 20 councils, with three state of the art in-tunnel composting facilities in NSW.

On the other hand, Jindalee Ag was established four years ago by Daniel Hibberson, who was driven by a passion to help farmers understand their soil and the microbial workforce beneath the ground.

Jindalee Ag works collaboratively with recycling and waste management operators such as JRR to support the transition to more profitable and sustainable practices within agriculture, horticulture and viticulture.

Mark Darwin, JRR Facilities Manager, says the two companies connected after a chance encounter in Queensland.

“When JRR first started processing FOGO for local governments in 2012, while we understood the technical processes and systems required to produce nutrient rich compost, we didn’t fully understand the end markets,” Mark says.

“As an organisation, we recognised the necessity to educate and build market awareness to be successful.

“We had estimated this would require several years of marketing, field trials, soil analysis and subsidising product to gain market penetration, something that we were committed to undertaking.”

JRR then met Daniel, and through discussions learnt he had already established significant market leads and value-added processes, selling to customers such as Costa Group and Lawson’s Grains.

From there, JRR and Jindalee Ag struck up a partnership, Mark says, with AS4454 and NASAA Organically Certified RichEarth compost produced at JRR facilities and sold through Jindalee Ag’s distribution network.

FORGING AHEAD WITH FOGO

Launched almost 10 years ago, JRR’s RichEarth composting business grew out of the Grafton Organics Recycling Facility (ORF) development. Located in the Northern Rivers Region of NSW, the facility was established through JRR’s Clarence Valley Council FOGO processing contract.

“Since then, our organic recycling and compost business has gone from strength to strength, with three ORF’s now fully-operational, producing high quality mulch and compost products,” Mark says.

All RichEarth compost batches are sampled and tested to ensure they meet the strict quality control requirements of the AS4454 Standard. Mark adds however that JRR and Jindalee Ag are dedicated to exceeding market expectations.

“Put simply, our approach is setting high standards and then bettering them. We are finding that there are facilities focusing on a gate fee for their revenue and then flooding the market with cheap product,” he says.

“We knew that to realise a return we needed to differentiate ourselves from the market and provide a value proposition to farmers by committing to and producing higher quality product.”

To achieve this, Mark says JRR and Jindalee Ag work to keep communication lines open through extensive stakeholder communications strategies.

“This involves working with councils to manage contamination and inform public education programs, as well as consistently engaging with collection drivers, contamination sorters, facility operators and the EPA,” Mark explains.

“Our processes include undertaking regular quality and site inspections, sharing test results and product images between sites and weekly teleconferences with stakeholders. These actions are all taken with the express intention to collaboratively discuss operations and identify issues.”

Furthermore, JRR and Jindalee Ag run on-site field days to educate the public and keep them engaged with the organic’s recovery process. 

According to Mark, proactively engaging with the public has a twofold effect.

“By observing the organics recovery process firsthand, people are more likely to understand the effects of contamination, and in turn, more likely to engage in better source separation practices,” Mark says.

“On the flip side, that engagement is also beneficial for us, as we get a better read on the public’s needs and how we could better service them.

“JRR and Jindalee Ag are committed to producing compost of value. The importance of returning organic matter and vital nutrients to the soil cannot be underestimated.”

With the NSW Government injecting over $24 million to support local councils improve FOGO kerbside services, Mark highlights JRR’s proven record of providing holistic FOGO solutions for local government.

“We believe in the importance of stakeholder communication in producing quality compost beneficial to Australian soils and work hard with all parties to produce the best organically certified compost we can,” he says.

Pictured: Mark Darwin, Daniel Hibberson and Ross Skinner. 

For more information click here.

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Partnership solution comes through for Austral pump maker, M&Q Equipment

When Queensland-based original equipment manufacturer, M&Q Equipment, was looking for a reliable local supplier to provide a range of bearings and bearing assembly components for their flagship slurry pumps, they turned to their trusted suppliers at BSC’s Wacol branch; which resulted in a partnership with Timken.

For over 25 years, M&Q has been a trusted manufacturer and supplier of high-performing equipment and the name behind the industry-recognised Austral slurry pumps.

The pumps are built in Brisbane, shipped around Australia and globally for use across a range of applications including mining and mineral processing, water and wastewater, sand processing, dredging, dewatering and more.

Among other uses, Austral pumps are fitted into wastewater processing facilities at bioenergy power plants around Queensland and New South Wales – where organic renewable materials are processed to produce heat, electricity, biogas and liquid fuels.

Adam Robson, Sales Manager at M&Q Equipment, says his company was looking for a local supplier that could help them meet their ongoing requirements for the refurbishment work done on site.

“Timken is a well-known brand already used in the industry and with their reputation for a high-quality product and excellent product availability, they were the preferred choice of brand for our bearings,” says Robson.

“Our local bearing supplier BSC has a close working relationship with Timken and we continue that today.”

BSC’s Wacol branch manager, Aaron Pickersgill says his branch had been working closely with M&Q over the years, supplying a range of products as and when required.

“Reliability and stock availability were very important factors for M&Q Equipment. They always really liked working with BSC because of our quick turnaround whenever they needed something and we wanted to make sure that we delivered on those expectations,” says Pickersgill.

M&Q was looking for a supplier that was not only well-recognised for quality excellence, but that could also guarantee regular supply and availability.

Moreover, M&Q was interested in working with a single supplier that could meet all of its requirements for different types of bearings, including tapered roller bearings, spherical roller bearings and cylindrical roller bearings.

To tick all those boxes, the BSC team recommended that M&Q work with Timken – who are a globally recognised bearing manufacturer with a strong local presence in Australia.

“The Timken products fit the bill perfectly,” says Pickersgill.

“The Timken brand obviously has a very good reputation in the market. They are a single brand with a wide portfolio of well-engineered and high quality bearings. More importantly for M&Q, the Timken company is great at stock management.”

Pickersgill and Brett Ayerst, Timken Regional Sales Manager then worked together to arrive at an optimum level of safety stock to ensure the required parts and components were available when an order came through.

“Safety stock is what we agree upon based on the feedback that we receive from customers. For example, if a customer says that they need 12 pieces of a certain component each month, we might decide to stock 24 of the product with our distributor to account for the safety stock, says Ayerst.

“Every time a new business arrangement comes into the equation, we then make adjustments in our inventory to account for that,” he explains.

Apart from having the assurance of regular supply of quality products, Robson says the partnership with BSC and Timken has also brought more cost-competitiveness to the Austral brand.

“The Austral pump is one of the handful of pump brands in the slurry pumping industry that are still built in Australia. We pride ourselves on being able to supply a product that is not only of top quality, but that is also extremely competitive pricewise. This is only possible with suppliers like Timken and BSC,” Robson says.

Pickersgill and Ayerst both made sure that the prices offered by both Timken and BSC enabled M&Q to compete in the market.

“Working with Timken and BSC allows M&Q to offer its flagship pumps at very competitive prices. As the supplier, we also wanted to make sure that our rates were competitive in the market to bring maximum cost benefits for our customer,” says Pickersgill.

Ayerst says the partnership between Timken and BSC is particularly successful as the two partners share the same vision in terms of customer service and integrity.

“It was very important for us that M&Q as the end user could reach out to us directly to talk about their requirements. It is this sort of open and trust-based relationship that we share with BSC that enables us to achieve the best outcome for customers,” he says.

“It’s a relationship that’s based around trust. We trust that BSC always does the right thing by us as well. It works. We have the same focus and same direction, so the chance of success greatly improves.”

Ten years since the partnership took off and M&Q started deploying the Timken bearings in Austral pumps, Robson says they have not experienced any product failures.

“M&Q has received multiple positive feedbacks from clients across all industries saying that Austral pumps have exceeded performance required and outlasted any other brands. We pride ourselves on our Australian-built pumps for the Australian market,” he says.

Read more articles like this at: www.lets-roll.com.au

 

                                               

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Unlocking the value in organics: Veolia

Veolia highlights the company’s comprehensive strategy and range of technologies to work towards a circular economy by diverting organics waste from landfill across Australia. 

Waste and recycling has never been more topical across the Australian political and public landscape.

With international recycling markets closing their doors to Australian recyclable exports, governments are encouraging the development of viable recycling markets within our shores.

This has included putting in place stronger policies to increase the diversion of organic waste from landfill.

An example is Victoria’s recently released Recycling Victoria strategy which included a $129 million package for kerbside reform.

This announcement included a target for 100 per cent of households to have access to separate food and organics recovery service or composting by 2030, as well as halving the volume of organic material going to landfill by 50 per cent between 2020 and 2030.

Over in NSW, the government is targeting net zero emissions from organic waste to landfill by 2030, with a variety of supporting policies.

The trends across organics diversion are welcome news for leading environmental solutions organisation Veolia, which has been at the forefront of sector innovation for decades.

Laurie Kozlovic, Chief Innovation and Strategic Development Officer, Veolia Australia and New Zealand, says organics recovery is firmly part of its business strategy to ‘Resource the World’.

“For Veolia, it is not only about landfill diversion, but importantly, improving soil health which is extremely relevant in an Australian context,” he says.

Veolia’s Bulla Organics Facility turns thousands of tonnes of organic waste into high-quality compost.

Carbon storage in soil offers a host of ecological benefits such as release of nutrients, water retention, and absorption of organic and/or inorganic pollutants.

Its sequestration also supports other ecosystem services derived from soils, such as farming production, drinking water supply and biodiversity.

This occurs by increasing the amount of organic matter in the soil, thus improving its quality.

The Rabobank 2019 Food waste report identified that food waste costs Australians $10 billion annually.

Of course, the approach to tackling the problem is to avoid the generation of organic waste in the first instance, and education is key.

Once organic waste is generated however, the right technology and capability can provide numerous beneficial circular economy and climate resilient outcomes.

In Australia, Veolia operates a comprehensive range of technologies including a number of in-vessel composting facilities as well as an anaerobic digestion facility which produces both electricity and fertiliser.

Veolia’s compost products are beneficially reused in a number of urban amenity, agriculture, rehabilitation and environmental remediation applications across the country.

Additionally, the company collects organic waste from its broad customer base which includes councils, commercial and industrial businesses.

This experience also extends to its water business where organics such as biosolids are managed and beneficially reused.

Laurie says that removing organics from landfill crucially reduces carbon emissions. He adds that equally, compost plays an important role in providing food security, improving soil carbon and crop productivity, and reducing the effects of drought.

“Organic waste recycling is a great example of how we can value the inherent properties of waste and keep the materials circulating through the economy,” he says.

Additionally, Laurie says that identifying the waste streams for recovery early on enables the right infrastructure to be developed. The end result is an integrated and holistic solution crucial for any zero waste ambition.

With organics recycling rates being around 52 per cent in Australia, there is ample opportunity for improvement and innovation.

Mark Taylor, Head of Solid Waste Treatment, Veolia ANZ, says that the best outcomes are when customers take ownership of their wastes from a process and recovery point of view. He says this then becomes a prime partnership for finding optimal solutions together.

Veolia’s innovations include Soil Advisor – an app that has been in development internationally for a number of years through Veolia’s agronomic hub.

It provides farmers with a tool to optimise compost application by analysing the long-term effect of the compost. Importantly, it looks at compost’s impact on changes to soil organic matter and soil carbon storage.

This digital tool supports the international “4 per 1000, Soils for Food Security and Climate” initiative launched during COP21 in late 2015.

The idea is that a four per cent annual increase in the amount of carbon in all soils worldwide would compensate for yearly increases in human-induced greenhouse gas emissions.

An example is Veolia’s partnership with iugis Group, for the exclusive distribution of onsite organic food digester technologies, including the ORCA product in Australia and New Zealand.

The mobile, onsite organic digester solution is suitable for customers in a range of market sectors.

The iugis technology mimics a natural digestion process, biologically converting organic food waste into liquid tradewaste.

It supports landfill diversion as well as providing an on-site solution for Veolia customers that may be in remote or rural areas, or some distance away from a dedicated composting facility.

As with all waste issues, a systematic and comprehensive approach is needed to deliver meaningful outcomes.

Veolia is ready to work further with governments, businesses and communities to convert the various organics policy ambitions, as well as their customer objectives into practical and relevant solutions.

However, Mark says Veolia needs all stakeholders to work together to create the framework and conditions necessary for the actions to be successful.

“Veolia will invest, however we need stable and reasonable policy, regulatory and contractual conditions. These conditions will enable long term and sustainable investments which are value creating for all partners,” Mark says.

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Building a successful CDS: Lion

As Victoria joins the rest of the states and territories with a Container Deposit Scheme commitment, Coca-Cola Amatil and Lion outline the key ingredients of a well-run scheme.

As the last state to make a commitment to introduce a container deposit scheme (CDS), Victoria will pave the way for what will become a truly national scheme.

Victoria, which will introduce a CDS by 2023, follows Tasmania, which last year committed to a scheme by 2022. Together, Coca Cola Amatil (Amatil) and Lion Co have operated CDS’ around Australia for more than 40 years.

As the schemes have been set up differently across the states and territories, the two companies play varying roles in other jurisdictions.

In NSW and ACT for example, Amatil and Lion play a role in the scheme’s coordination as part of the five beverage manufacturers managing the scheme through Exchange for Change in each jurisdiction.

In Queensland and Western Australia, the schemes have been developed as not-for-profit organisations, established by Amatil and Lion as members.

These four newer schemes build on the success of CDS’ in both South Australia and the Northern Territory, where both organisations have been scheme coordinators in what are some of the oldest producer responsibility schemes in the world today.

Jeff Maguire, Group Head of CDS Development & Implementation at Coca-Cola Amatil, says the two companies strongly support the planned Victorian and Tasmanian schemes.

“An effective CDS is at its core a producer responsibility scheme. The scheme will create a circular economy that will reduce litter, avoid unnecessary landfill, increase the volume of collected and recycled material, and importantly, minimise the price impacts for consumers,” Jeff says.

“Tasmania and Victoria are in a great position to look at how states are going with their schemes, including the schemes in NSW, ACT, QLD, and WA.”

He says it is important to draw a distinction between an independent scheme coordinator and operators of the collection point networks.

Some of the core tenets of this model of operation, he says, include having a producer led Scheme Coordinator with an independent chairperson and independent board members, which ensures accountability and transparency ie: a true producer responsibility system.

In the NSW, ACT, QLD and WA Schemes, the Chairs are appointed by the relevant Minister, giving the community confidence about governance.

Another key point of accountability in a well-run scheme, Jeff says, is audit controls. This ensures the containers, which are valuable commodities, are traceable and there is no double handling from the consumer through collection to recycling.

The challenge for government, Jeff says, is that the scheme is independent and ensures extended producer responsibility through accessibility and convenience. This means collection points must be established in areas where they are needed most, he says, regardless of the economics.

“For example, in Queensland we set up a collection service on the entire west coast of Cape York. It’s a lot of small communities but we think everyone should have the opportunity to claim their 10 cent refund,” he says.

Jeff says that as the producers of beverage containers, it is unacceptable that they end up in the litter stream.

Amatil and Lion see it as their responsibility to do what they can to reduce litter and ensure it doesn’t end up in waterways, and reduce landfill while increasing recycling rates.

For example, the scheme has been extremely successful in NSW, collecting over three billion containers and achieving the litter reduction goals. Before the Scheme, 160 million drink containers were littered in NSW each year.

This comprised 44 per cent of litter by volume. The scheme has resulted in an up to 57 per cent reduction in drink container litter and an annual average of 40 per cent reduction in drink container litter since the Scheme began in 2017.

Jeff says the core challenge is for the scheme coordinator to work closely with governments to ensure the collection point network is accessible and convenient for consumers.

“It is imperative that the scheme engage with all levels and all players in the waste and recycling industry to offer the most diverse and inclusive collection point network possible,” Jeff says.

He says a CDS offers significant and diverse opportunities not just for commercial waste operators, but also social enterprises, community groups and small businesses.

This is achieved through litter or donation drives, or by promoting the ability for the public to donate their refunds directly to chosen organisations.

In NSW through the collection point network it is possible to donate to a variety of charities and social enterprise groups when returning containers.

Over $1 million has been raised by donation appeals through bottle returns, supporting more than 430 groups.

In Queensland, more than 5000 community and social enterprise-based groups have established a scheme account for their organisation – allowing easy donations to them from community members no matter where they return their containers. Around $2.1 million has been paid to those groups and charities via donations since the scheme commenced.

However, despite minor differences in the models structures and operations, Jeff says that at the core, a CDS provides the potential for community benefits nationwide.

To that end, he estimates that when you add up all the schemes, with many of them worth anywhere from $400 to $600 million to the local economy, you end up with potentially a $2 billion industry.

“As Tasmania and Victoria consider design options for a CDS, we look forward to working closely and collaboratively with them, as we have in the other states and territories to set the schemes up for success,” Jeff says.

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Keeping fasteners locked tight in high moisture applications

Vibrational loosening is a common contributor to equipment fails. And in water and wastewater applications, the risk of fasteners coming apart is further exacerbated by the amount of moisture in the environment.

According to industry specialist Michael Rowe, who is the Product Manager of Adhesives and Sealants at BSC, the combination of vibration and moisture is a recipe for equipment failure.

“In the water and wastewater sector you’ll have a lot of moisture content, whether that be in pools or the general atmosphere. And wherever there is moisture there is corrosion,” he explains.

“Likewise, there will be a number of pumps and other machinery that is vibrating, and that vibration not only affects equipment but can go down the line to other structures. That vibration can cause fasteners to come apart.”

Additionally, mechanical fasteners have gravity to contend with. They come undone more easily than they can be locked back into place.

“For instance, when you have the torque at a specific tension, it will take 30% less effort for to undo than tighten it back up – it is comparable to an object that is being pushed up a hill as opposed to being rolled down,” says Rowe.

“Also, there is only 25-30% metal-to-metal contact in a fastener assembly – the rest is an air gap. To lock it into place or seal it up is essential to keeping your equipment working. This is because it can easily come undone from vibration or from the ingress of moisture, which causes corrosion in that area. When fasteners come undone that gives you untimely downtime, whether that be from equipment failure or leak points.”

Moreover, in the context of water and wastewater applications, these kinds of mechanical issues can have implications for the environment too.

“Again, making sure those fasteners are tight is vitally important,” Rowe stresses.

“Improving the machine reliability and performance will make the equipment and the surrounding structures safer. This is true for both personnel working at the plant, and from an environmental perspective. You want to prevent any bad spills from occurring.”

The long-established Henkel LOCTITE anaerobic adhesive range was designed exclusively for this purpose. The product range includes threadlockers, thread sealants, retaining compounds and the flange sealants.

According to Rowe, the LOCTITE anaerobic range, particularly the threadlockers, are considered “go to” products within water and wastewater industrial applications. This is because they are “proven to work” and can be used on different fastener materials, including dissimilar metals.

“If you have an assembly where you have dissimilar metals, for example an aluminium housing that uses mild steel bolts, the dissimilar metals and moisture will create electrolysis,” he explains.

“This is where an electrical current will arc between the two and start promoting corrosion. But a LOCTITE anaerobic adhesive can lock or seal those up; it will work effectively on different materials.”

Marco Battois, who is the Head of Marketing for Adhesive Technologies with Henkel Australia and New Zealand, reiterates the fact that Henkel have many years’ experience in the adhesive field.

“In fact, Henkel invented anaerobic resins over 60 years ago. And the red bottle that contains LOCTITE threadlocker adhesive is recognised worldwide. It is iconic,” he stresses. “The brand is recognised and established for being reliable.”

For this reason, Henkel have recently upgraded the packaging of the LOCTITE anaerobic range, featuring micro-engraving in two textured areas and a smart QR code with a micropattern.

The new upgrade covers LOCTITE 50ml and 250ml threadlockers, thread sealants, gasket sealants, retaining compounds and two-step structural acrylic bottles.

“The change in packaging started as an exercise to verify the authenticity of our product range, so customers could be sure their product was not counterfeit,” Battois explains.

“But it became an opportunity to include more product detail and information for customers. By scanning the QR code, customers will have access to the online portal where there is technical data, as well as how-to videos and a mobile product selector guide.”

Battois was quick to reassure that the new bottle designs will not impact the way existing customers apply the product to their equipment. The new bottles are compatible with the original hand pumps. And all IDH numbers remain unchanged too.

He also mentioned that Henkel were rolling out a number of innovations along with the new packaging, including a new handheld dispensing pump and a new “rattler” or “junker” machine that tests vibrational loosening.

“This will be used in our maintenance and repair workshops. These workshops are an integral part of the training we provide, and the rattler enables us to create what we call the ‘LOCTITE moment’ – this really shows the end user why they should be using the LOCTITE anaerobic products in their maintenance practices,” Battois enthuses.

“Of course, BSC play an integral role in facilitating these workshops too. Our partnership is very important in being able to directly work with customers to provide them with fit for purpose solutions.”

Rowe echoed Battois’s comments, reiterating the fact that the BSC sales force and technical team are also fully trained in the latest LOCTITE technologies and solutions.

“Henkel and BSC have been working together for over 40 years.  At BSC we work closely with Henkel in discussing how the likes of fasteners have issues and how the use of these products can provide the customer with the ability to prevent unwanted downtime and make sure equipment reaches its hopeful life cycle in a range of areas,” explains Rowe.

“Another one of the ways that the BSC teamwork is that if one of the BSC team is out in the field and comes across a concern with a customer, we can call on Henkel for advice. Because we have that direct relationship, we can ask Henkel to provide a technical analysis, and then together we will come up with a solution that best suits the customer’s needs and application.”

Read more articles like this at: www.lets-roll.com.au

                                                                               

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Upward mobile expansion: Turmec

After expanding into the Australian market in late 2019, Turmec’s CEO Brian Thornton outlines the company’s mobile approach to eddy current separation.

A world without landfill, Turmec’s mission statement, defines the company’s operations, with the plants it has designed and built diverting over 45 million tonnes of waste from landfill to date.

After a series of successful contracts in Australia, Brian Thornton, Turmec CEO, says the company thought the time was right to expand, launching its Australian operations in August 2019.

“We have years of experience, along with record tonnage processing and percentage of commodity recovery,” he says.

“And with new legislation in place, and waste companies starting to invest in new technologies to maximise their recovery rates, we felt it was the right time to make the leap and set up a new arm of the company down under.”

Brian notes that Turmec is well positioned to work with Australia’s growing construction and demolition (C&D) and commercial and industrial (C&I) recycling sectors.

“At Turmec, we design customised C&D and C&I recycling plants with a 98 per cent recovery rate, which means minimised landfill costs and maximised commodity revenue,” he says.

Brian adds that Turmec opened their Australian office to commit to the market and not just fly-in-fly-out.

“We are well established with many plants in Oz already and are here to stay,” he says.

For the Australian C&D and C&I markets, Brian highlights Turmec’s latest innovation, the Mobile Eddy Current Separator, as an efficient, mobile and low maintenance solution.

“We’ve taken mobile waste processing to a new level, with our Mobile Eddy Current Separator able to achieve high capacities within a compact design,” Brian continues.

“The machine is just three metres wide and high, yet can process 300 cubic metres of material an hour.”

Developed with Turmec’s long-standing partner IFE, the new machine has already had 4000 hours of reliable operation in the field, processing both C&D and C&I waste. And according to Brian, the team is now in the process of developing a Mark II machine.

The design is focused on providing operators with a combination of flexibility and robust performance from a mobile plant, with the option of jacking legs to give an extra two metres stockpiling height, while still maintaining the machine’s compact footprint.

Designed to bolt onto the back of mobile shredders for the wood industry or for post-processing glass, incinerator bottom ash or solid recovered fuel, the plant separates ferrous and non-ferrous materials.

“The mobile package comprises a vibrating feeder with an unbalanced motor drive, magnetic rotor, and conveyors for collection of ferrous and non-ferrous materials, with another for discharging residual waste,” Brian says.

Built to ensure the highest standards of durability, the mobile separator plant is ideally suited to waste processors serving multiple sites, demolition specialists, and operators of any scale in need of additional capacity from a standalone, robust and reliable plant.

“Turmec’s Mobile Eddy Current Separator is the product of many years’ experience designing, manufacturing and installing waste processing plants,” Brian explains.

“Our innovative design ensures the plant delivers high-quality output and a trouble-free, low maintenance service life.”

In addition to the Mobile Eddy Current Separator, Turmec offers plant upgrades and full service turnkey facility solutions, working around any existing operation to minimise disruption.

“Waste is an ever-changing industry, which means Turmec must innovate to offer its clients the best solutions, keeping them ahead of legislation and marketplace driven needs; every Turmec plant is custom designed to address specific needs and waste streams, and is planned with future growth in mind,” he says.

“We can adapt to any budget, floor plan or stage of the project, whether that means a completely new plant design or an insert into an existing plant.”

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Measuring essential temperatures: FLIR Systems Australia

With a commitment to corporate responsibility, FLIR Systems Australia will prioritise the delivery of its new line of thermal imaging cameras to operators responding to COVID-19.

In the wake of COVID-19, industry consensus is clear: waste management is an essential service.

While legislative recognition is still a matter of debate, waste management operators across the country are committed to maintaining their services for councils, businesses and the wider community in challenging times.

Despite the altruism of this commitment, individuals working in the waste management space, much like their medical and food service counterparts, are having to forego self-isolation.

As such, Sean Towner, FLIR Systems Australia Sales Manager Instruments, says it’s now more important than ever to prioritise appropriate health and safety monitoring.

He adds that by doing so, businesses can protect their workers and stave off potential operational disruptions.

“Like all businesses, FLIR have had to adjust our operations in light of the current COVID-19 situation. That said, we also felt it paramount to use our technological innovation expertise to help the international community adapt,” Sean says.

The result, he explains, is FLIR’s A400/A700 Thermal Smart Sensor and Thermal Image Streaming fixed camera – launched 31 March this year.

“FLIR’s thermal imaging technology has been used in waste facilities across the globe for fire prevention for over 40 years. From warehouses to recycling sites and waste to energy facilities, FLIR understands that protecting one’s site from damage is integral to keeping insurance premiums down,” Sean says.

“With the new A400/A700 line, we’ve built upon that existing technology to provide an efficient screening solution for monitoring equipment, production lines, critical infrastructure, and importantly, skin temperatures.”

The highly configurable smart camera systems provide accurate, non-contact temperature monitoring across a wide range of disciplines including waste management, emissions monitoring, facility maintenance and environmental, health and safety regulation.

According to Sean, delivery of the FLIR A400/A700 Thermal Smart Sensor solution will be initially prioritised for operators and companies responding to COVID-19.

“As the world works together to face the global COVID-19 pandemic, FLIR will prioritise initial deliveries of this new A-series camera to professionals using it in elevated skin temperature screening, as an adjunct to other elevated body temperature screening tools to help to fight the spread of the virus,” he says.

With multi-image streaming, edge computing and Wi-Fi connectivity, Sean says the range can help speed up data flow. This, he adds, improves productivity and safety for all operations and applications.

“FLIR designed the A400/A700 cameras with two configurations to better meet application-specific needs,” Sean says.

“The Thermal Smart Sensor configuration, recommended for measuring elevated skin temperatures, incorporates advanced measurement tools and alarms with edge computing to enable faster critical decision making.”

Furthermore, the Image Streaming configuration provides multiple thermal streaming capabilities to help optimise process control, improve quality assurance or identify potential failures that could shut down facility operations.

“Users can design their systems by choosing either the Smart Sensor or Imaging Streaming configurations, selecting either the A400 or A700 camera body based on the resolutions they need, and then adding lenses and a range of optional features to fit their application,” Sean says.

The smart sensor range also includes options to adjust measurements and alarms based on a reference temperature source, with advance image quality up to 307,200 pixels and a measurement accuracy of +/- 2°C.

Sean adds that with multiple field-of-view choices, multi-streaming capabilities, motorised focus control and optional compressed radiometric streaming over Wi-Fi, FLIR’s fixed-mount camera solutions can tackle complex remote monitoring objectives.

“The camera’s remote monitoring capabilities are an added value when considering how many people are currently working from home,” he says.

“Easy configuration also allows operators to tailor the monitoring system to their company’s quality, productivity, maintenance and safety needs.”

Through compressed radiometric streaming that cuts bandwidth, Sean says FLIR’s thermal streaming solution makes it possible to add multiple cameras without the cost of expanding infrastructure.

He adds that this is a significant advantage in light of current global economic challenges.

“Regardless of external circumstances, waste management operators are committed to getting the job done. This means it’s crucial we ensure both the personal health and wellbeing of operators and the maintenance and efficiency of their equipment,” he says.

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CDS success story: Exchange for Change

Return and Earn has delivered exceptional results across litter reduction and participation since launching in 2017. Exchange for Change explains the five key factors behind the scheme’s success. 

Since Return and Earn launched in December 2017, a staggering 3.4 billion containers have been returned for recycling.

Millions of containers are now returned every single day and more than $1 million has been raised for charity and community groups through reverse vending machines (RVMs).

Put in perspective, prior to the scheme’s commencement, more than 160 million drink containers were littered across the state each year.

Since the scheme’s launch, litter from drink containers has reduced by an annual average of 40 per cent in NSW, supporting the NSW Government’s commitment to reduce overall litter by 40 per cent by 2020.

The Return and Earn scheme is delivered through collaboration with three partners.

The NSW Government who designed the scheme; Exchange for Change (EFC), the scheme coordinator, and TOMRA-Cleanaway who operate the network of return points.

Importantly, it is an excellent example of producer-responsibility, with the beverage industry funding the scheme and the community receiving a 10 cent refund when they return containers.

Since the launch of the scheme in December 2017, 3.4 billion containers have been reused or recycled.

CEO of Exchange for Change, Danielle Smalley says it’s the collaboration between the NSW Government, EFC, TOMRA-Cleanaway, and the beverage industry that drives great results.

“Return and Earn has fundamentally shifted people’s thinking around litter and waste. The community is no longer seeing containers as something you throw away, they’re actually seeing it as a valuable commodity,” she says.

She says that it’s the community that has really benefited from the success of Return and Earn. Danielle highlights that there has been a significant reduction in litter.

The scheme has also created significant opportunity for smaller and local businesses to play a role collecting containers as over the counter return points or automated depots. This also generates the potential for local job creation.

Last, but not least, the scheme shares the wins with everyone, including consumers, councils and charities.

More than $1 million has been raised for official donation partners listed on reverse vending machine return points since the scheme launched, and countless more funds raised for charities, schools and community groups through their own return and earn activity.

Public participation in Return and Earn is also very strong, with 59 per cent of NSW adults having participated in the scheme.

The majority – 78 per cent of these participants, which is nearly half the population of NSW, return containers every month or more.

Danielle says it’s repeated behaviour that is really important.

“There was initially awareness building and then when people started to engage, it was about getting them to make it habitual and Return and Earn has been successful on both fronts,” she says.

“A great deal of the repeated behaviour can be attributed to the excellent customer experience. It’s accessible, easy to return and there’s an instant refund, so people come back again and again.”

This positive experience has been driven by the customer-centric design of Return and Earn, which mandated that return points needed to be located at convenient locations in existing paths of travel for consumers.

These community access principles were central to the tendering process for the scheme. On the ground, the customer centricity is being delivered through TOMRA Cleanaway’s network of more than 635 convenient return points widely available across NSW.

These include over the counter, RVMs, automated depots and donation stations. Variations between the type of return point, whether it be cash refund, donation or voucher, and the quantities they accept also make it easier for the public to choose a return system that suits them best.

The scheme is also data-rich thanks to a strong technology foundation through TOMRA Connect, enabling scheme partners to respond to issues quickly and rapidly adapt to the needs of the customers.

For example, a live data feed is connected to the Return and Earn website and the myTOMRAapp, helping NSW consumers find the nearest return point and to quickly check availability before returning.

The network of return points also enables real-time monitoring of the scheme, helping identify the busiest points and enabling evidence-based decision making on possible future locations and how best to optimise network use.

At the time of writing, in response to COVID-19, consumers could access Return and Earn for returns if it was in line with the most recent advice from the NSW Government Public Health Order.

The network operator has been able to adapt to the unfolding situation, introducing ‘touch-free recycling’ at RVMs with no need for consumers to touch machines, alongside a range of extra measures to ensure participants follow government advice on good hygiene and maintaining social distancing.

Looking at the future, there is real potential for the model of partnerships and producer-led responsibility to help deliver the NSW Government’s vision for a circular economy.

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