A partnership between international recycling company Galloo and equipment manufacturer STEINERT has led to a more effective way of separating non-ferrous metals for reuse.
Waste Management In Action
The state of the waste data
Governments are working with waste management data that is up to five years old. Mike Ritchie, Director of MRA Consulting Group, explains why an update is necessary.
The price of recycling
Is the current landfill levy system supercharging or stymying recycling? Industry consultants present their views on the somewhat polarising issue.
Tyre recycling on a growth trajectory
Australia’s largest and oldest recycler of tyres continues to expand its operations across Australia off the back of strong support from retailers, Tyrecycle says.
The company, which began in 1992, has doubled its recycling operation since partnering with Tasmanian horticulture firm Barwicks seven months ago.
Jim Fairweather, Tyrecycle CEO, says since the partnership launched last year, the percentage of tyres being recycled has grown from 30 per cent to 60 per cent.
“This equates to around 24,000 tyres per month or around 288,000 per year,” Jim says.
“In the last few months we’ve had another nine retailers come on board, taking our total in Tasmania to 25, which represents a significant win for the environment.”
Tyres previously going to landfill or stockpiled are now being processed through a purpose-built plant near Hobart.
From there, the tyres are transported to Tyrecycle’s state-of-the art recycling plant in Melbourne, where they are re-purposed for such uses as replacing fossil fuels as an alternate source of energy.
“The majority of used passenger and truck tyres are converted into tyre-derived fuel (TDF), with around 145,000 tonnes exported out of Australia every year.
“The extremely high calorific value of TDF makes it an attractive alternative fuel on an international scale.”
A recent report by the Australian Tyre Recyclers Association (ATRA) identified that end-of-life tyre by-product produces significantly lower volumes of carbon dioxide (CO2) than coal. The report stated that replacing one tonne of black coal with one tonne of TDF can save emissions of up to 1.05 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
To read more, see page 42 of Issue 12.