A New South Wales-based company is helping regional and remote communities address environmental issues by taking waste solutions to the source.
Tyranny of distance has often been cited as an obstacle for recycling and waste recovery across Australia. Vast distances between towns and recycling facilities, high transportation costs and a lack of infrastructure can make resource recovery economically unviable.
But Jamie Walmsley is a man on a mission to bring solutions to even the most remote areas.
During the past eight years, the Owner-Operator of JLW Operations, based out of Cootamundra in New South Wales, has clocked up thousands of kilometres, travelling to mine sites and landfills in regional Australia, delivering an onsite shredding service.
In that time, he’s taken on off-the-road mining tyres, green waste, pallets, and mattresses. They’re all challenging materials that, when combined with the harsh climate of remote Australia, can take a toll on equipment. But Jamie has an ace up his sleeve – the Tana Shark.
Described as the most versatile waste shredder on the market, the Tana Shark operates as a pre-shredder, primary shredder, and screen in one machine.
“Mine site tyres are big, and they’re just so hard to deal with. They’re difficult to load and transport, costing valuable time and money,” Jamie says. “The Tana Shark chews through them and pulls the metal out as you go.
“It’s a machine that can handle anything I throw at it.
“A lot of equipment that comes from Europe hasn’t got the cooling system that you need in Australia. I’ve run the Tana in 40-degree temperatures and never had one give up on me.”
Jamie has seen the Tana Shark process 8000 tonnes of landfill waste at Port Hedland, the second largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, and in 2020 he spent three months at the Santos-operated Moomba gas field site in South Australia shredding pallets, large plastic drums and tyres.
The shredding campaign aimed to help extend the cell life of the Moomba landfill and reduce recyclable volumes in preparation for transport.
Shredding the size of waste increases the volume of material that can be transported on one truck, reducing transport costs and carbon footprint by decreasing the number of trucks on the roads.
The Tana Shark gives operators full control over the particle size, from 50 to 500 millimetres. There are 12 pre-programmed operating programs for different types of material and purposes of shredding. Extra customer-specific programs can also be added.
The programs adjust the machine functions to optimal level for achieving the wanted output. For instance, overcharge pressure limits, rotor revs per minute and conveyor speed can be adjusted.
At Moomba, the Tana Shark recovered 38 tonnes of steel from waste tyres, resulting in a 75 per cent reduction in transport costs for the remaining processed rubber.
Redundant pond liners were another troublesome waste stream at the site due to their size and composition. Shredding them reduced the total volume of the liners by about 80-90 per cent, making transporting and handling more efficient. Removing them from the landfill also increased the remaining cell life expectancy by about 40 per cent.
Overall, the Tana Shark processed about 80,000 cubic metres of general waste and 2000 tonnes of recyclables at Moomba.
“Having a mobile shredder is ideal for customers because they don’t have to invest in machinery, but they know they can reduce their waste when they need it,” Jamie says. “So, we just travel all over the place.
“When I started, there wasn’t much in the way of tyre recycling, especially out in Western Australia and remote areas. We have shredded a lot over the years, but certainly in the past few years the importance of recovering resources and not just burying tyres on site has grown.
“It’s taken a while, but we’re having an impact.”
With weeks spent on the road, it’s important that vital equipment is up to the task. Jamie has put his faith in the Tana Shark and distributor GCM Enviro since the beginning.
Over 10 years, he and GCM Enviro have built a relationship based on trust, flexibility, a strong work ethic, and a shared vision to sustainably manage Australia’s waste.
As a leading distributor of the latest in waste management and recycling equipment, GCM Enviro maintains constant dialogue between manufacturers and clients to ensure that design is governed by market requirements.
From shredders to landfill compactors, screeners and compost turners, more than 3000 machines sold Australia-wide have earned a reputation for their robust design and reliability.
In February 2025, Jamie’s eighth Tana Shark was loaded onto a trailer bound for Wollongong, Port Kembla and Forbes, New South Wales.
“I’ve been dealing with GCM Enviro and the Tana Shark for 10 years, and I can’t fault them,” Jamie says.
“It’s old-school service and backup.”
For more information, visit: www.gcmenviro.com
