Cleanaway Organics Eastern Creek strengthens a trusted partnership as it tackles Sydney’s burgeoning organics recycling sector.
The diversion of food organics garden organics (FOGO) from landfill is a crucial component of more sustainable resource recovery and a key element of the National Waste Strategy.
The strategy aims to halve the amount of organic waste sent to landfill by 2030 and commits Australian state and territory governments to roll out FOGO collection services to metropolitan households and businesses.
In New South Wales, the State Government has mandated that all councils provide food and garden waste collections by 2030. Fifty-six councils had started their FOGO journey as of May 2024, according to NSW Environment Protection Authority (NSW EPA).
But collection is just the beginning of the process to close the loop on organic and green waste. Large-scale infrastructure is required to create compost and soil conditioners for reuse in agriculture.
Cleanaway Organics Eastern Creek has positioned itself as a leader in organics recycling as the Sydney market transitions to FOGO.
The Eastern Creek licensed composting facility is strategically located to play a pivotal role in processing 220,000 tonnes, or about 20 per cent, of Sydney’s mixed household and FOGO waste.
Such a big undertaking requires machinery that is up to the task. It’s not the first time Organics Eastern Creek has turned to Liebherr. The company recently purchased two Liebherr LH 30 M material handlers as part of a program to upgrade its fleet.
Wayne Howell is one of the operations leaders at the Organics Eastern Creek facility. He says Liebherr material handlers have proven to be reliable, efficient, and solid workhorses in an often-demanding environment.
“We had a fleet of Liebherr machines that had reached the end of their serviceable life – one of the units has close to 30,000 operational hours,” Wayne says. “Given our positive experience with the machines and service team at Liebherr we decided to renew the fleet.”
Liebherr material handlers are powerful and adept to a range of tasks in the waste sector, making them a preferred choice across waste management and recycling operations throughout Australia and New Zealand.
The LH 30 M stands out for its handling capabilities in every kind of application. The overall stability ensures a fast, powerful performance for lifting and loading work. The optimised design of the 140 kW engine supplies a high torque output for fast and strong movements. Load peaks are cleverly compensated to ensure that maximum torque is always available for highest handling capacity.
The two new Cleanaway Organics Eastern Creek additions will be receiving deliveries onsite, storing and loading hoppers, as well as loading products onto trucks.
Wayne says the ability to sit the mobile material handler in one spot on the outriggers and easily move it to other locations as required, is an advantage.
Operating up to 20 hours a day, six days a week, the material handlers not only need to be robust, but operator friendly.
Steering movement and outriggers can be conveniently executed using the joystick, eliminating the need to reposition during the work cycle, providing increased productivity.
In addition, the standard automatic idling function of the LH 30 M reduces the engine speed to idle as soon as the operator takes his hand from the joystick so that no hydraulic function is activated.
Proximity sensors in the joystick restore the original engine speed as soon as the operator’s hand is moved towards the lever again. This ensures that the set engine speed is available immediately. The result is a combination of fuel saving and reduced noise levels.
The nine-inch colour touchscreen display is intuitive in its operation and provides continuous information about all important operating data. The shortcut keys can be individually assigned and are selected quickly and easily with the menu strip.
The cab also optimises operator comfort and efficiency with an ergonomic design to help negate operator fatigue. Large glass panels, a choice of cab elevations and rear and side monitoring ensure the operator always has a clear view around the machine. The use of viscoelastic mounts, good insulation, and low noise diesel engines minimises noise emissions and vibrations.
In addition, the Liebherr Comfort driver’s seat (an optional extra that is airsprung with automatic weight adjustment, vertical and longitudinal seat damping and seat heating), allows the operator to concentrate on the handling capacity.
“The comfort of the cab, and its layout, make it easy to spend all day in the machine without feeling fatigued,” Wayne says.
“We’ve had good feedback from operators. Reliability and serviceability, make the LH 30 M a standout.”
Service times are also optimised with maintenance points easily accessible via large, wide-opening service doors. Being close to one another means that service work can be completed quickly and efficiently, minimising maintenance costs.
Key components such as the diesel engine, electronic components, slew ring, swivel drive, hydraulic cylinders and steel parts are developed and produced by Liebherr itself. This in-house manufacturing ensures components are optimally configured to each other. High-strength steel plates result in high torsional stiffness and optimum absorption of forces for a longer service life.
The clever control electronics permanently monitor the vital functions of the machine and components that are critical for safety are designed with redundancy to guarantee maximum reliability.
For any occasion when a spare part or extra help may be required, Liebherr has a worldwide sales and service network. A comprehensive range of parts is available on call. A simple ordering process and a high level of availability ensure fast delivery.
In addition to original new parts, Liebherr also offers reconditioned components within the scope of the Reman program which transforms used components into new parts in accordance with industry standards.
“Liebherr’s after sales service is high standard,” Wayne says. “The team responds quickly if we need help during regular maintenance. Machine reliability and spare parts availability make Liebherr a good business partner.”
For more information, visit: www.liebherr.com.au