For more than 20 years, DFS Industrial and Environmental Services has been run by the same two families, working to keep Western Australia as beautiful and preserved as possible.
Originally a stormwater servicing business started by two plumbers, Michael Tolomeo and Gino Dichiera, DFS Industrial and Environmental Services is now a multifaceted enterprise that encompasses Drainflow Services Maintenance, Drainflow Services Civil and Construction, DFS Traffic Management, and Revive Resources.
It has been proudly servicing local government authorities, main roads and other public and private sectors in Western Australia for more than two decades. Its latest ventures included expanding into the waste sector.
Lucinda Tolomeo, Operations Manager of DFS Industrial and Environmental Services, says it’s a perfect fit with the business ethos.
“In 2016 we expanded our business model to remove contaminants from stormwater and street sweeping waste,” says Lucinda.
“We were sweeping roads and collecting from stormwater systems hundreds of thousands of tonnes of waste annually that were ultimately taken to landfill. Not only was it a huge cost to our business but detrimental to our environment and our natural resources.
“We decided landfill wasn’t a good enough solution. Part of our ethos is delivering excellence in every aspect of our operations, so we asked ourselves: How can we do better here?”
Lucinda says the company looked at its eastern state neighbours and overseas for solutions and discovered hydro wash facilities.
Keen to alleviate the negative impacts of its waste streams and contribute to the transition to a circular economy, DFS built Revive Resources, the state’s first hydro wash facility in a metropolitan area. Located in Malaga, Perth, the facility was commissioned in August of 2022.
Lucinda says the hydro wash facility recycles various contaminated soils, construction and demolition waste, as well as hydro excavation, road sweeping and stormwater waste.
“There are hundreds and thousands of tonnes of street and drainage waste generated each year that is highly contaminated,” she says.
“It is full of inorganic materials such as heavy metals and hydrocarbons, as well as organic materials, which we aim to remove while ensuring maximum recovery of valuable fines.”
Lucinda says DFS received a grant from both federal and state governments to purchase an eddy current separator used to separate several materials, such as aluminium and copper, from the waste stream.
“The facility also holds a belt magnet to sort through ferrous metals which we collect and pass on to scrap metal recyclers, similarly, we also separate the plastics to pass on to a plastic recycler,” she says.
Throughout this process, water is recycled within the facility to reduce overall consumption, and chemical agents are used to clean, scrub, and remove heavy metals and hydrocarbon pollutants from the material.
“This is what sets our facility apart from other recyclers in Western Australia, making it the most distinctive aspect of our operation,” says Lucinda.
The result is clean sand and two sizes of aggregates – delivered back into the building and construction industry.
To facilitate expansion, DFS has secured land to build a second hydro wash facility in Western Australia. It’s also moving into food organics and garden organics (FOGO) processing.
DFS is currently sending clean organic matter separated from street sweepings and stormwater drainage to an external organic’s facility.
“Soon we will be building a composting facility, which will be used to process all clean organic waste derived from our hydro wash facility, as well as local government FOGO contracts,” Lucinda says.
She says it’s the right time to be moving into the FOGO space, coinciding with the state government’s rollout of the three-bin kerbside collection system. All local governments in the Perth and Peel regions will have to offer separation of FOGO from other waste categories by 2025.
“The State Government is pushing for FOGO, which we are really pleased with and happy to be a part of,” says Lucinda.
“We believe we are successful as a business because we know our state back to front, and we are excited to expand into FOGO, and any other sectors that would benefit Western Australia’s transition into a circular economy.”
Education matters
DFS is actively engaged in several working groups within the waste and recycling industry and is a member of the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia and the Waste Recycling Industry of Western Australia.
Lucinda says DFS firmly believes in the importance of taking part in conversations surrounding waste management and is excited to be part of the growing space.
Through its association with sector organisations and regular discussions with community and government bodies, DFS hopes to enact behavioural change within the industry and provide education, in particular about research findings from the new hydro wash facility.
Lucinda says the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, through research and publications such as the Stormwater Management Manual WA – Chapter 5, states that stormwater and road sweeping waste is heavily contaminated.
“DFS believes there needs to be better education at all levels to communicate this to as many people as we can,” she says.
She also hopes future legislative changes and regulatory enforcement will introduce stricter requirements for the management and processing of road sweeping and stormwater waste.
“Without proper cleansing processes through a hydro wash facility, all heavy metals, hydrocarbons and contaminants remain in the end product, which is marketed as clean sand, aggregates, and organics.
“We are hopeful the future will bring more stringent criteria to ensure all stormwater drainage and street sweeping waste must go through a hydro wash facility to ensure the end product is clean and properly recycled.”
Proper recycling is a costly process due to a combination of factors. It involves a complex chain of stages that require significant investment in specialised equipment, facilities, and labour.
“At DFS we cleanse waste materials to their purest form by removing all the contaminants and offer the market a product that has been properly recycled.”
She says Western Australia is resource-rich with its sand, and DFS wants to keep it that way.
“We want to give construction companies the chance to use our recycled sand and preserve the natural sand that we have in abundance across the state,” she says.
More to come
As a family-owned and independently financed business, DFS operates not just for profit, but out of a devotion to Western Australia.
“Everything we do for the business is because we care about our home,” says Lucinda.
“We will continue to advocate for better education and speak with others in the industry to learn as much as we can about the different waste streams.
“We enjoy sharing these conversations with other recyclers and organisations in the industry. We want everyone to succeed in this space because that means the planet will succeed.”
With six locations around Western Australia, one hydro wash facility, and plans for a second and a new composting site, Lucinda says DFS is excited for the future.
For more information, visit: www.drainflowservices.com.au
