Expanded polystyrene recycling
Grants program 2012-2013
To help increase recycling rates for expanded polystyrene (EPS), NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the Australian Packaging Covenant (APC) have issued grants to 19 organisations to a total value of $933,000 to build new EPS recycling infrastructure across NSW.
The grants will enable the purchase of EPS recycling equipment, such as cages, shredders and compactors to collect and reduce the volume of EPS to make it economic to transport and recycle back into plastic products. The program will recycle an additional 1,183 tonnes or 59,000 m3 of EPS per year.
In 2011, less than 10 per cent of EPS was recycled, being one of the most poorly recycled plastics in NSW. It is estimated that 12,000 tonnes of EPS is disposed of to landfill each year, taking up 240,000 m3 of landfill space.
The following organisations received funding to establish EPS recycling facilities and services. The new recycling services will become available to local communities around NSW during October 2012. To find EPS recycling services in your area go to:
Successful applicants
| Name | Type | Facility Suburb | Amount Funded | Overview |
|---|
| Mai-Wel Limited | Not-for-profit | East Maitland | $54,935 | Mai-Wel is an Australian Disability Enterprise and an existing recycler of paper, e-waste and hard plastics. They will work with local government and businesses in the Hunter area to add to the existing quantities of EPS that they receive with e-waste. |
| Fuji-Xerox Australia | Business -EPS generator | Alexandria | $35,000 | Fuji-Xerox have been recycling toner cartridges and other parts for their machines for 12 years. They take back cardboard and plastic packaging when delivering their machines and recycle it. This equipment will improve their EPS recycling rates at their warehouse. |
| Handybin Waste Services | Business - Recycler | Coffs Harbour | $54,879 | Handybin Waste Services, a local waste and recycling contractor, have helped Coffs Harbour and surround councils achieve the highest rates of recycling in NSW. They will provide free drop-off services at established recycling depots and collection services for large generators. |
| Albury City Council | Local Government | Albury | $53,400 | Albury is a large regional council who have been working hard to reduce waste to their large regional landfill via their Halve Waste Program. They will work with a regional network of councils to introduce EPS drop-off points and harvest EPS from the commercial waste. |
Recycorp Pty Ltd | Business -Recycler | Milperra | $55,000 | Recycorp is a small business that has been recycling plastics for 3 years. They will use this grant to value-add loose and compacted material by pelletising it in NSW and selling it to local manufactures of polystyrene products. |
| Sydney Fish Markets Pty Ltd | Business - EPS generator | Pyrmont | $54,890 | Sydney Fish Markets is the largest working fish market in the Southern Hemisphere. They use EPS boxes extensively for handling fresh fish. Air and road freight companies prefer to use the EPS boxes because they are light and insulating. The Fish Markets will use the grant to recycle EPS that is currently going to landfill. |
JR Richards & Sons | Business -Recycler | Orange | $50,000 | JR Richards & Sons has owned and operated materials recovery facilities throughout NSW since kerbside recycling started in the 1990's. They will use the grant to provide EPS recycling services to Orange and the surrounding region, complimenting their work under the Orange Waste Project. Orange is a growing regional centre with several large generators of EPS including Styrotec, a local EPS manufacturer. |
| Challenge Disability Services | Not-for-profit | Tamworth | $50,000 | Challenge Disability Services is a social enterprise that has been operating Materials Recovery Facilities in the Tamworth region for 15 years. They will work closely with Tamworth Regional Council to provide EPS recycling services at existing recycling drop-off points and at the entrance to the regional landfill. They also plan to offer a free collection service to their existing commercial customers. |
| Mission Australia | Not-for-profit | Dunmore | $39,700 | Mission Australia is a social enterprise operating a Resource Recovery Centre (RRC) on behalf of Shellharbour City Council. They will provide a free drop-off services at their RRC and collection services for large generators. The compactor will allow Mission Australia to expand their recent trials of EPS recycling. |
| Australian Foundation for Disability | Not-for-profit | Campbelltown | $55,000 | AFFORD is an Australian Disability Enterprise and an existing recycler of paper and e-waste. They intend to service the EPS recycling needs of the large distributors of electronics (including computers) in the Macquarie Park/North Ryde area. |
| Tox Free Solutions Ltd | Business - Recycler | Eastern Creek | $55,000 | Tox Free have delivered household, commercial and hazardous waste management services for 12 years. They will collect and compact EPS at their existing St Mary's facility with a focus on linking with recycling contractors and significant local generators of EPS. |
| Edco Contracting Pty Ltd t/a Watts Waste | Business - Recycler | Smithfield | $48,000 | Watts Waste is a family owned Australian company who have been providing waste and recycling services for more than 40 years. They aim to incorporate EPS recycling into their broader recycling services. Watts Waste will provide drop-off EPS recycling services at Smithfield and Oxford Falls. They will also provide commercial EPS collection services in the Sydney area. |
| Kempsey Shire Council | Local Government | South Kempsey | $43,600 | Kempsey Shire Council operates their own waste management centre and has developed recycling services for a large range of materials. They also operate 3 transfer stations where recyclables can be dropped-off. They will provide free drop-off services at established recycling depots and collection services for large generators. |
| Dial-A-Dump Industries Pty Ltd | Business - Recycler | Eastern Creek | $52,000 | Dial-A-Dump is one of NSW's largest recyclers of construction and demolition wastes. They will locate their compactor at their 'Genesis' mixed waste treatment facility in Western Sydney so that they can add EPS to the many materials that they already sort and recycle. EPS will also be sourced from the many large logistics businesses in the area. |
| Randwick City Council | Local Government | Matraville | $35,000 | Randwick City Council has been operating Recycling Centres for over 35 years. They will promote EPS recycling to their residents and major local institutions like The Prince of Wales Hospital and the University of NSW. |
| Shoalhaven City Council | Local Government | West Nowra | $50,000 | Shoalhaven City Council contract Subloos to operate 10 recycling depots throughout the Shoalhaven Shire. They will allow drop-off of EPS at each of these facilities and use existing truck runs to bring the material to their new West Nowra Recycling Materials Storage Shed for compaction prior to sale. |
| Eurobodalla Shire Council | Local Government | Surf Beach | $49,400 | Eurobodalla Shire Council own and operate three waste management facilities on the South Coast. They will use the grant to locate a compactor at their Surf Beach facility and place cages and bags at existing recycling drop-off points around the shire. This will add to existing resource recovery services on-site, including a tip-shop, tyre and white good recycling. |
| Wingecarribee Shire Council | Local Government | Moss Vale | $49,589 | Wingecarribee Shire Council own and operate an award winning Resource Recovery Centre near Moss Vale in the Southern Highlands. They will work with neighbouring Wollondilly Shire Council to add EPS recycling to existing drop-off centres around their Shires. |
| Great Lakes Shire Council | Local Government | Tuncurry | $46,900 | Great Lakes Shire Council will work with Great Lakes Community Resources, who employ the disadvantaged within the community, to operate the EPS compactor next to their existing 'tip shop'. They will offer a free drop-off EPS recycling service to residents and will offer a collection service (for a fee) to local businesses that generate larger quantities of EPS. |
Next steps
NSW EPA will support and monitor the new EPS recycling facilities from October 2012 to June 2013. At the end of this period the lessons learnt by grant recipients will be shared with other potential recycling service providers around NSW, to help further boost EPS recycling.
Page last updated: 26 September 2012
