Closing the loop: Repurpose It with Northern Ireland

Repurpose It- Invest NI - Closing the loop

Through using the latest processing technology from Northern Ireland, Repurpose It is maintaining its commitment to creating closed-loop solutions for waste and construction materials.

Repurpose It - material - Invest NI
Repurpose It’s material recovery process is now award winning.

Providing closed-loop solutions is a priority of many resource recovery businesses. As such, Repurpose It has integrated a range
of international technologies and local industry experience to enable closed-loop solutions for many different materials.

As Repurpose It Head of Commercial John McCluskey explains, the business’s origins laid the foundations for what is now a trusted integrated solution service.

“As opposed to waste management companies, we start with the end market and work backwards,” he says. “We recover resources and give them new life. We aren’t a landfill or a quarry, so for us it’s very much a closed-loop process.

“When I say a closed-loop process, I mean we take waste in, we recover the resources, and we supply high-quality products to the market. This is done in one process through best-practice technology.”

Awarded Westpac’s 2018 Business of Tomorrow and winner of two Premier Sustainability Awards in 2020, Repurpose It has already been recognised as one of Australia’s leaders in innovative resource recovery.

Through its unique integrated process, Repurpose It receives construction, civil, local council, and organic waste. The waste is
then given new life as construction and landscaping materials via the company’s washing, blending, soil and crushing plants.

“Our washing plant, and any materials through our washing process, has the ability to be integrated into our blending plant,” John says. “From there, our blending plant can take our low-grade materials and combine them into a fit-for-purpose material for the construction industry.

“That is very important for us. Any residue from either method is then able to be recovered via another process. It’s an extremely sustainable option for material recovery.”

Repurpose It is now looking to have an impact on the organics market, with the company commencing the construction of a three-phased solution to support the processing of FOGO (Food Organics Garden Organics) waste into landscaping materials.

The Northern Ireland effect

Resource Recovery Manager, Patrick Malanaphy, says the implementation of solutions from Northern Ireland companies CDE Global, EDGE Innovate, McCloskey International, Powerscreen, Telestack and Terex Finlay are supporting Repurpose It facilities.

“For a long time, Northern Ireland products have been the heart of our business. Not only are the products robust, but they are perfect for dealing with materials such as contaminated soils,” Patrick says.

“Historically, Northern Ireland has been the hub of engineering equipment for the world in terms of waste and construction.”

Products from each of these six companies have been used throughout Repurpose It’s processing facilities, including CDE Global’s $11 million washing plant.

Australia and New Zealand Regional Trade and Investment Director for Invest Northern Ireland, Peter Hendrikssen, says Repurpose It is just one of many companies who benefit from Northern Ireland solutions.

“Northern Ireland is home to a unique cluster of material handling solution providers who excel at engineering, are innovative and are truly global,” he says.

“This is evident on the Repurpose It site, with a range of Northern Ireland technologies and processing solutions working in unison in the recycling of C&D waste.”

CDE Global’s Australasia Regional Manager, Daniel Webber, says that the company’s close relationship to Repurpose It has resulted in a high-quality end product.

“With the Repurpose It C, D & E plant being the first of its kind in Australia, this was an exciting project for CDE. We were delighted to support the company in its mission towards a zero-waste world.” Webber said.

“Before the project progressed, we took Repurpose It on a tour of recycling projects across Europe and the United Kingdom to help the team gain a deeper understanding of different CDE solutions. This consultative approach ensured CDE provided the right wet processing solution to meet the company’s business goals.” Webber concluded. 

Similarly, EDGE Innovate’s contribution to Repurpose It’s picking station, trommel and stacking gear has produced high-quality outcomes, as Territory Sales Manager Tom Connolly explains.

“Equipment that we supply is very supportive of Repurpose It’s efforts to divert materials away from landfill,” he says.

“Through supplying the company’s picking station, we aid their efforts to differentiate materials which may be contaminated. That is one of the core qualities of our services for Repurpose It – enabling them to separate waste materials from quality commodities.”

The consistent supply of products and maintenance has supported Repurpose It’s processes, much like reclaimer provider McCloskey International has done.

Supplying through distribution, McCloskey International has delivered material processing equipment, from screening and crushing through to wet processing products.

Ben Frettsome, Product Line Director for McCloskey International, says the products provided aid the entire recovery and processing practice.

“We offer a mixture of screens, crushers, trommels, shredders and wash systems for the Australian waste sector,” he says.

“Support for the local waste industry is provided through our national distributors, where companies such as Repurpose It can reap the full benefits of our technology.”

When it comes to crushing, Repurpose It relies on Powerscreen products. Powerscreen is a manufacturer of crushers, screeners, and conveyors for the aggregates and recycling industries.

Joe Cassidy, International Sales Manager for Powerscreen, says that the supply of screeners for Repurpose It contractors has contributed to the company’s maintained success in material recovery.

“The versatility that our products show to customers such as Repurpose It is a major benefit of Powerscreen products,” Joe says.

“By being able to apply our machines to different applications, Repurpose It has produced high quality products.”

For stockpiling and feeding materials into the plants picking station, Repurpose It uses Telestack’s technology to improve the efficiency of its diverting operation.

Philip Waddell, International Sales Manager of Telestack, says Repurpose It’s continued use of its equipment is a reflection of its sustained product quality.

“We have over 35 years of experience across a broad range of sectors that include quarrying and aggregate, mining, recycling and ports and terminals amongst many others, and we believe in continually applying our learnings as we grow,” Philip says.

“In addition, they are supported locally in all aspects of after markets including installation, maintenance, part sales and field support.”

The removal of contaminated materials at the Repurpose It plants is one of the major functions of the facility. Repurpose It also employs the services of Terex Finlay for crushing and screening equipment.

By offering a normal and topside reclaimer to the site, Terex Finlay aid in optimising the efficiency of the Repurpose It recovery procedure.

The company’s range of products has provided the waste sector with longevity and quality, as Sales Director Joe Donelly explains.

“Our range of crushing equipment is engineered to provide versatile solutions in a range of recycling applications including asphalt, concrete, construction and demolition waste,” he says.

“Our range of screeners provide an efficient solution for the separation and sizing of mixed recycled raw materials in secondary aggregates or sands.

Joe adds that by recycling materials and converting them into new saleable products, it can help conserve important raw materials for the future.

Closing the loop

Solutions from Northern Ireland have helped Repurpose It to become Victoria’s largest construction and demolition material processor.

Not only has the quality of Northern Ireland products accelerated Repurpose It’s development into broader waste markets, but its variety.

“All those organisations are intertwined into our organisation due to their high quality and robust equipment. That’s also why we will be using their equipment for years to come,” John says.

“We have gear worth between $150,000 to $1 million, so we have got the full range of products from those businesses. That really speaks to the level of quality and that’s why we chose Northern Ireland products.”

As part of this year’s AWRE official seminar program, on 26 August, Repurpose It and Invest Northern Ireland will host an open panel discussion on using cutting-edge technology to create high-value resources from waste.

The AWRE free-to-attend seminar program tackles the industry’s most challenging and compelling issues today, and into the future.

Invest NI is Northern Ireland’s regional business development agency. It helps businesses to compete internationally and can connect Australian recycling companies with Northern Ireland materials handling solutions.

For more information, visit www.investni.com/invest-in-northern-ireland/materials-handling

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