Resource Recovery Facility Expansion and Enhancement grants awarded and project summaries

In the 2016 round (round 3) the Environmental Trust approved 9 grants, totalling $4,224,653.

Organisation	Project title	Amount $
Albury City Council	Albury waste management centre enhancement	298,320
Australian Paper Recovery Pty Ltd	APR baling and packing shed expansion project	153,750
Grima Environmental Services Pty Ltd	Grima resource recovery facility expansion	858,783
Kurrajong Waratah	Upgrade of material recovery facility-feed system and front-end loader	161,000
Lake Macquarie City Council	Resource recovery station at Lake Macquarie's landfill	530,000
Lismore City Council	Lismore waste sorting facility enhancement and expansion	1,000,000
Tox Free Australia Pty Ltd	Hazpak MK II - container washing unit	300,000
Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd	Greenacre resource recovery facility upgrade	250,000
Wollongong Recycling and Building Supplies Pty Ltd	Kembla Grange commercial and industrial material recovery facility and resource recovery facility	672,800
	9 projects totalling	$4,224,653

Albury City Council

Albury waste-management centre enhancement - $298,320

Albury Waste Management Centre is the region’s major waste disposal facility, offering a range of recycling, resource recovery and waste management initiatives. From works already undertaken, municipal and solid waste to landfill has reduced by 48% on 2010 levels and is projected to reduce further to 61% on 2010 levels by end of 2016. This project will introduce mechanical means to enhance resource recovery, achieving additional diversion of over 10,000 tonnes per annum.

Australian Paper Recovery Pty Ltd

APR baling and packing shed expansion project - $153,750

Australian Paper Recovery will expand its paper and cardboard baling and recycling facility in Smithfield. The project will involve installation of a new baler and associated infrastructure to process and bale additional paper and cardboard and plastic waste that was previously going to landfill. The project will increase processing capacity at the facility from 14,000 tonnes per annum to 19,000 tonnes per annum.

Grima Environmental Services Pty Ltd

Grima resource-recovery facility expansion - $858,783

Grima Environmental Services is a family-owned business that operates a collection and aggregation facility for commercial and industrial paper and cardboard at its site in Wetherill Park. The project will upgrade existing storage facilities to enable the installation of additional sorting and baling equipment. The facility will then be able to accept clean plastic film for recycling. The amount of recyclable material received and consolidated will increase from 60,000 tonnes per annum to 99,000 tonnes per annum.

Kurrajong Waratah

Upgrade of material recovery facility-feed system and front-end loader - $161,000

This project will increase the capacity of a recycling facility in Wagga Wagga by upgrading the in-feed system to enable the facility to reach its full capacity potential of 27,200 tonnes per annum, which will enable it to achieve a targeted recovery rate at or about 95%. The increased capacity will meet the projected community needs until 2026 and enable Wagga Wagga to accept material from local-government areas that currently do not provide or have limited recycling services. In the long-term this will allow kerbside recycling to be implemented in many more centres in the Riverina and Murray regions.

Lake Macquarie City Council

Resource-recovery station at Lake Macquarie’s landfill - $530,000

The project will construct a resource recovery station to recover up to 15,000 tonnes of material going to landfill. Recovered resources will include metals, e-waste, general recyclables, green waste, wood other timbers and recovered construction and demolition waste.

Lismore City Council

Lismore waste-sorting facility enhancement and expansion - $1,000,000

This multi-stage project will result in the recovery of recyclable material from the commercial and industrial waste and municipal waste from the Lismore Region. The first stage involves the manual sorting of the wastes to better assess the composition of the waste streams and will last for 12 months. The results from stage one will be used to design a permanent sorting system using screens, magnets and a manual sorting deck for stage 2. Stage 1 will see 12,500 tonnes sorted with the aim of recovering 2640 tonnes. Stage two will see 19,392 tonnes sorted, with 8039 tonnes of materials recovered for recycling and reuse.

Tox Free Australia Pty Ltd

Hazpak MK II: container washing unit - $300,000

This project will install a Hazpak MKII shredder at a St Marys facility to de-package household hazardous waste and separate the contents for use an alternate fuel source. The washing station will decontaminate plastics and metals for recycling.

Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd

Greenacre resource recovery facility upgrade - $250,000

An upgrade and modification to the Greenacre resource recovery facility will involve extending the existing recycling building for material recycling operations. Through the use of the material handler it is anticipated that an additional 3000 tonnes per annum of materials such as wood, metal, concrete, brick, plastic and mattresses will be recovered.

Wollongong Recycling and Building Supplies Pty Ltd

Kembla Grange commercial and industrial material recovery facility and resource recovery facility - $672,800

Through this project the Kembla Grange facility will be expanded to process an additional 26,000 tonnes per annum of mixed dry commercial and industrial waste. A commercial and industrial material recovery facility will be integrated into the existing construction and demolition resource recovery operations, extending the range of materials able to be recovered. The new processing equipment will deliver significant recovery infrastructure to the Wollongong region, with the capacity to fill a critical service gap brought about by the closure of a number of recycling facilities and landfills throughout the region in recent years.

In the 2015 round (round 2) the Environmental Trust approved 9 grants, totalling $4,547,125.

Organisation	Project title	Amount $
Australian Native Landscapes Pty Ltd	Expanded and enhanced wood waste processing - Tea Gardens	500,000
Cessnock City Council	Cessnock waste and reuse centre small vehicle receival centre	375,000
Direct Group Industries Pty Ltd	Expansion of Ingleburn wood reuse and recycling facility	433,960
Grasshopper Environmental Services Pty Ltd *	Arndell Park Commercial and Industrial Materials Recovery Facility	356,877
Lismore City Council	Lismore Materials Recovery Facility: recovery enhancement/expansion project	447,674
NSW Glass Recyclers Pty Ltd	Bottle and commercial plate glass reprocessing at Tuncurry Materials Recovery Facility	580,614
Remondis Australia Pty Ltd **	Thornton Commercial and Industrial Materials Recovery Facility expansion and Refuse Derived Fuel processing in the Hunter Valley	600,000
Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd	Horsley Park wood processing for energy recovery	1,000,000
Wyong Shire Council	Buttonderry waste management facility tip-face recycling initiative	253,000
	9 projects totalling	$4,547,125

Updates

* February 2017 - Grasshopper Environmental Services Pty Ltd have declined funding for their project . Details of the proposed project remain available for information purposes only.

** February 2016 - Redmondis Australia Pty Ltd have declined funding for their project in the Hunter Valley. Details of the proposed project remain available for information purposes only.

Australian Native Landscapes Pty Ltd

Expanded and enhanced wood waste processing: Tea Gardens - $500,000

Australian Native Landscape (ANL) project will process 18,000 tonnes per annum of wood waste currently destined for landfill at its licensed facility in Tea Gardens (in addition to the 12,000 tonnes per annum of wood waste ANL received a grant for in 2014). ANL will source pallet waste, timber offcuts, fence palings, selected tree waste and other wood waste streams from regional transfer stations, landfills and waste management facilities. The wood waste will be de-contaminated, ground to particle size, screened, coloured and packaged for market. The project will complement the existing wood waste operations on site and alleviate stress placed on landfill assets in the region.

Cessnock City Council

Cessnock waste and reuse centre small vehicle receival centre - $375,000

Cessnock City Council owns and operates the Cessnock Waste and Reuse Centre (CWRC) located two kilometres from the Cessnock CBD. Residents currently have access to a limited number of recycling options on the site and drop the remainder of their waste directly at the tip face. The site needs enhancement and expansion to enable an increase in the recovery of waste materials. Construction of a small vehicle receival centre will facilitate this recovery. The site is an isolated area and has a history of vandalism, so security of the CWRC is a high priority.

Direct Group Industries Pty Ltd

Expansion of Ingleburn wood reuse and recycling facility - $433,960

Direct Group’s timber reuse and recycling facility located in Ingleburn, is the only fully integrated closed loop commercial and industrial wood waste reuse and recycling facility in NSW. This project will scale up capacity from current 11,000 to 25,000 tonnes per annum. The additional wood waste will be collected and accepted primarily from manufacturing industries in Sydney and reprocessed into high quality Bio-Bedding for supply to the poultry and equine industries. The product is better quality and value than non-waste alternatives and will underpin the viability of these NSW businesses.

Grasshopper Environmental Services Pty Ltd

Arndell Park Commercial and Industrial Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) - $356,877 – Funding Declined

Update – February 2017: Grasshopper Environmental Services Pty Ltd have declined funding for their project. Details of the proposed project remain available for information purposes only.

Grasshopper Environmental will expand its Arndell Park MRF to process an additional 10,000 tonnes per year of mixed dry commercial and industrial (C&I) waste, which is currently landfilled. The project will integrate a C&I MRF into the existing commercial and domestic resource recovery operations to extend the range of materials for recovery to include higher order recyclables. A 68% recovery rate will achieve the diversion of approximately 177,905 tonnes of waste from landfill over the life of the project. The C&I MRF will provide competitive landfill alternative services to C&I waste collection providers in the Greater Sydney area.

Lismore City Council

Lismore Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) recovery enhancement/expansion project - $447,674

The expansion/enhancement of council’s MRF involves the installation of an optical sort unit for plastics to increase plastics recycling by 1800 tonnes per annum which diverts over 25,000 cubic metres of waste from the landfill. The MRF upgrade and storage shed will support the targets of the North East Waste Strategy in terms of the local vision for sustainable waste management and resource recovery in line with the WARR Strategy 2013–21 by further increasing recovery from the local MRF by 3500 tonnes per annum.

NSW Glass Recyclers Pty Ltd

Bottle and commercial plate glass reprocessing at Tuncurry MRF - $580,614

NSW Glass Recycling will install glass crushing plant at the Tuncurry Material Recovery Facility (MRF) to process an additional 9600 tonnes per year of bottle glass sourced from municipal kerbside services and 2500 tonnes per year of commercial plate and laminate materials sourced from glass and glazing businesses in the Mid Coast region. The project will deliver critical glass reprocessing capacity to the region enabling the viable recovery of glass materials that are currently landfilled or stockpiled. Recovered crushed glass (RCG) will be processed and supplied to established water filtration, abrasive, brick additive and glass insulation markets.

Remondis Australia Pty Ltd

Thornton Commercial & Industrial Materials Recovery Facility expansion and Refuse Derived Fuel processing in the Hunter Valley - $600,000 – Funding Declined

Update – February 2016: Redmondis Australia Pty Ltd has declined funding for its project in the Hunter Valley. Details of the proposed project remain available for information purposes only.

The Thornton Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) will be expanded to process refuse derived fuel (RDF) from non-putrescible mixed dry commercial and industrial waste. The plant will source waste feedstock through collection services that are currently disposed of to landfill. The Thornton commercial and industrial MRF will recover calorific-value materials for the production of RDF and additional product for higher-order recycling. The project will deliver major commercial and industrial MRF infrastructure to the Hunter Region.

Veolia Environmental Services (Australia) Pty Ltd

Horsley Park wood processing for energy recovery - $1,000,000

Veolia intends to increase recovery and diversion of wood from landfill. A processing station will be established under the Horsley Park Resource Recovery Facility licence which will process up to 40,000 tonnes per annum of wood materials. Due to uncertainty in the market over reuse of mixed wood material this material is often left as stockpiles and sent to landfill. Veolia intends to process the wood to a specification for use as an eligible fuel for energy recovery.

Wyong Shire Council

Buttonderry waste management facility tip-face recycling initiative - $253,000

The project will provide equipment for council staff on the landfill tip-face to sort through loads of mixed kerbside waste and suitable commercial and industrial loads to retrieve scrap metal (approximately 20 tonnes per week), mattresses (200 per week), clean timber (3 tonnes per week), mixed timber (5 tonnes per week). The materials will be placed directly into skip bins which limit soil from entering the stockpile loads prior to further processing. The scrap metal will be sold, clean timber processed and shredded mixed timber reused on-site for traction and soil control.

No grants were awarded in 2014.

In the 2013 round (round 1) the Environmental Trust approved 9 grants, totalling $5,197,157.

Organisation	Project title	Amount $
Australian Native Landscapes Pty Ltd	ANL Tea Gardens organics recycling facility	400,000
Global Renewable Australia	Eastern Creek UR-3R facility metals recovery and clean-up	250,000
Handybin Waste Services	Upgrade glass plant to improve capacity and product quality	100,000
Newcastle City Council	Summerhill small vehicle receival centre expansion	1,000,000
SITA Australia Pty Ltd	Enhancement of the Chullora commercial and industrial material recycling facility	1,000,000
SITA Australia Pty Ltd *	Enhancement of SITA's alternative waste technology facility to divert alternative waste technology residues from landfill	1,000,000
TES-AMM Australia Pty Ltd	Enhancements to Villawood electronic waste recycling facilities	206,482
Visy Recycling	Recovery of commodities and refuse derived fuel feedstock from material recycling facility/mill waste	1,000,000
Upper Hunter Shire Council	Scone recovery centre expansion	240,675
	9 projects totalling	$5,197,157

Australian Native Landscapes Pty Ltd

ANL Tea Gardens organics recycling facility - $400,000

ANL will expand and enhance its Tea Gardens facility to process 12,000 tonnes per annum of additional wood waste currently destined for landfill. ANL will source pallet waste, timber offcuts, fence palings, selected tree waste and other wood waste streams from regional transfer stations, landfills, waste management facilities and private businesses.

Global Renewables Australia

Eastern Creek UR-3R facility metals recovery and clean-up - $250,000

New machinery at the Eastern Creek facility will extract and clean more than 2500 tonnes of metals a year from mixed household waste, creating a high-value product for recycling and reuse. The existing equipment at the facility extracts metals primarily to protect the machinery as it processes and sorts waste for composting or plastic, paper and glass recovery. The metals have been too low-grade for sale and reuse and are currently sent to landfill. This project will increase the amount and improve the quality of metals recovered and thus reduce the amount being sent to landfill.

Handybin Waste Services

Upgrade glass plant to improve capacity and product quality - $100,000

This project will upgrade equipment at the Coffs Harbour glass recovery plant which will: (1) improve the efficiency of the glass crushing process; (2) produce more recycled product each day; and (3) ensure more glass waste is available to replace natural resources like beach or river sand. The equipment will take more contaminants out of the glass before it reaches the crusher, including paper and ferrous metals, speeding up the crushing process, improving the quality and helping to divert an extra 113 tonnes of residue waste from landfill each year. Glass is sourced from community bottle banks and household yellow-lid bins in Coffs Harbour, Bellingen and Nambucca, with the end product being able to be used for road-making, drainage and pipe-laying.

Newcastle City Council

Summerhill small vehicle receival centre expansion - $1,000,000

A 2000-square-metre undercover tipping floor will be built to receive mixed household and dry commercial and industrial waste brought to the site in small vehicles. New unloading bays and sorting equipment will make it easier to separate recyclable materials for reuse, including paper, cardboard, consumer packaging, plastics, timber and metals. A baling station capable of compacting a variety of recovered materials will be co-located in the extended undercover area helping to boost the amount of materials recovered for recycling and reuse, rather than landfilled, by 600%.

SITA Australia Pty Ltd

Enhancement of the Chullora commercial and industrial material recycling facility - $1,000,000

SITA will install new mechanical sorting equipment at its Chullora material recycling facility to process an extra 20,000 tonnes of business recyclables each year. The facility currently sorts and processes glass, paper, plastics, aluminium and steel from household kerbside yellow bins. Additional mechanical sorting equipment will enable the existing facility to process and segregate dry commercial and industrial waste for reuse.

SITA Australia Pty Ltd

Enhancement of SITA’s alternative waste technology facility to divert alternative waste technology residues from landfill - $1,000,000

* Update: SITA Australia Pty Ltd has declined the offer of funding, and withdrawn this project.

This project seeks to improve the facility’s performance by installing purpose-built succession of mechanical sorting equipment, including shredders, conveyors and, balers and magnetic separators that can recover plastics from the residual waste and turn them into pellets which can be used to make new plastic products or as fuel for energy from waste generation. The technology upgrade is expected to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill from the site by 80%, based on modelling from similar equipment used at other SITA facilities.

TES–AMM Australia Pty Ltd

Enhancements to Villawood electronic waste recycling facilities - $206,482

The expansion and enhancement of recycling activities in the TES–AMM Villawood facilities will increase capacity by an estimated 460% and open up new opportunities for electronic waste recycling in Sydney for products such as televisions, batteries, mobile phones and printer cartridges. New conveyor, shredding and automated sorting equipment will speed up processing to improve efficiency and enable the facility to handle and recycle locally many products that currently get sent to Melbourne or overseas for processing or simply end up in landfill.

Visy Recycling

Recovery of commodities and refuse derived fuel feedstock from material recycling facility/mill waste - $1,000,000

The funding will pilot opportunities to make better use of the 45,000 tonnes of residual waste recovered from recyclables at the Smithfield material recycling facility and paper mill, to process further and turned into fuel for energy. New equipment such as conveyors, shredders and bailers will be installed to harness fibre, plastic, metals, glass and a refined feedstock to be turned into refuse derived fuel. The upgrade will test and demonstrate the commercial potential for the technology and the end-product, with a view to rolling out to other Visy sites.

Upper Hunter Shire Council

Scone recovery centre expansion - $240,675

This project aims to establish a resource recovery shed to facilitate segregation of materials for reuse or recycling. An ‘opportunity shop’ is proposed to be incorporated to provide an employment opportunity, recover re-usable items and raise the community’s awareness of better waste-management practices. The new building and equipment will replace the current outdoor unsealed drop off area where residents drop off sorted garden waste and recyclables.