Waste + Water Management Australia V42.2 - August 2015

WASTE + WATER MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA AUGUST 2015

ENVIRONMENT SUSTAINABILITY PUBLIC HEALTH SINCE 1973

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Editorial and Publishing Consultants Pty Ltd

ABN 85 007 693 138 PO Box 510, Broadford Victoria 3658 Australia Phone: 1300 EPCGROUP (1300 372 476) Int’l: +61 3 5784 3438 Fax: +61 3 5784 2210 www.epcgroup.com Publisher and Managing Editor Anthony T Schmidt Phone: 1300 EPCGROUP (1300 372 476) Mobile: 0414 788 900 Email: ats@epcgroup.com Deputy Editor Rex Pannell Mobile: 0433 300 106 Email: rex@epcgroup.com National Advertising Sales Manager Yuri Mamistvalov Phone: 1300 EPCGROUP (1300 372 476) Mobile: 0419 339 865 Email: yuri@epcgroup.com Advertising Sales - SA Jodie Chester - G Advertising Mobile: 0439 749 993 Email: jodie@gadvertising.com.au Advertising Sales - WA Licia Salomone - OKeeffe Media Mobile: 0412 080 600 Email: licia@okm.com.au Graphic Design Annette Epifanidis Mobile: 0416 087 412

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Copyright ©2015 - EPC Media Group

CIRCULATION 6820 Registered by Australia Post Publication No. 100001890

ISSN 1838-7098

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Editorial

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News

August 2015 Volume 42 Number 2

12 Innovative Solutions 13 Waste Expo 2015

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16 Cover Feature 20 Sponsored Content 22 Bidstrategist.com 24 Special Report:

Melbourne Resilient Cities

27 Renewable Energy

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30 Project Feature: ADL Stormwater 33 Project Spotlight: WA Urban Water 34 Focus On Water 40 Major Project: WA Groundwater

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42 C&D Recycling 44 Product Focus: Tsurumi Pumps 46 Landfill Pricing Report 49 Special Report: Preventative Maintenance Scheduling

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About the Cover

After nearly 15 years of operation, the City of Stirling in Perth’s inner-north has replaced its single bin ‘all in’ residential collection service with a new 3-bin residential waste, recyclables and garden organics residential service. One of the largest and most complex residential service roll-outs ever undertaken in WA, the new City of Stirling contract saw MASTEC deliver over 133,000 bins of various size and complete over 77,000 lid changes to the residents’ existing bins.

Turn to Page 16 for the full story.

Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

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EDITORS COLUMN

Simplicity is the key to recycling success It would now be fair to say that the majority of Australians are better informed than ever before in terms of ‘environmental awareness’, and most are prepared to ‘do their bit’ to improve the environment and reduce their environmental footprint.

One only has to look at the participation rates that are being achieved by recycling services around the country to see that this is indeed the case.

That said, it is also clear that despite the efforts of many manufacturers, industry groups, NGO’s and statutory authorities and recyclers, we still have a long way to go in terms of improving our overall recovery and recycling rates and in reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill – especially in terms of packaging.

While there is clearly no ‘quick fix’ solution to this complex challenge, I do believe that one of the key issues still facing the nation’s recyclers, relates to the ease with which many packaging products and materials can be recycled.

Despite the excellent work that has already been done by many waste and packaging industry bodies and private sector companies in developing and implementing the National Packaging Covenant and the array of other innovative product stewardship programs now in place, when it comes to packaging design and methodology there is clearly still much to be done.

The success of any recycling operation, or for that matter, any task requiring widespread public participation and 4

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co-operation, undoubtedly lies within the speed and ease with which the task can be achieved. Even those who are keen to recycle will generally only do it if it is quick and easy to do.

Today, most people lead busy lives with family and work commitments at a premium.

This fact often makes them either unable or unwilling to invest their time in needlessly complex practices of any kind including recycling, even if they agreed ‘in principle’ with recycling and waste minimisation.

The bottom line is: if it’s not easy to do, it won’t be done.

For example, when faced with a combination of recyclable and nonrecyclable packaging materials (including non-recyclable plastic film around a recyclable cardboard box or packing consisting of a mix of recyclable and/or nonrecyclable materials), a large percentage of people will simply place all of the material into one group (even going so far as to stuff all of the smaller packing materials into the larger box for easy disposal) and then deposit it into one bin.

In situations such as this, it matters little into which bin the rubbish is deposited. The householder is either sending recyclables to the landfill, or contaminating the recyclables stream with non-recyclable material.

What’s more, even if the person has the foresight to dispose of the outer plastic film packaging separately, they would still be unlikely to dismantle any combination packaging material in order to separate it into the correct processing stream.

While I understand that the cost of designing, tooling and manufacture suitable packing can represent a significant impost for manufacturers, good packaging solutions represent the first step in effective recycling.

With that in mind, if we’re indeed serious about increasing recycling rates, I believe that more must be done to actively encourage improvements - both in packaging design and purchasing habits.

After all, the best way to maximise our recycling efficiency is to make recycling as easy as possible.

Yours cordially Anthony T Schmidt Managing Editor

Tell Us What You Think!

We value your opinion and welcome your feedback and input.

Send your thoughts to ats@epcgroup.com

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A true, honest price.

Conditional discounts, specials and even cash giveaways are all the rage in the electricity industry; usually for paying on time, purchasing both electricity and gas together or signing on multiple sites (including your residence).

They all sound good but ask yourself the following questions:

1. What is the rate they are discounting from in the first place?

2. Who ends up paying for all of this?

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If you want to partner with a business only specialist who will give you their best rates, no gimmicks, year after year then talk to BlueNRG.

To see how much you could save, send a photo of your bill to 0438759111 or sales@bluenrg.com.au

Phone 1300 355 755 www.bluenrg.com.au

INDUSTRY NEWS

Agsafe shortlisted for international stewardship award Agsafe General Manager, Alison Carmichael, recently announced that the organisation has been named as a finalist in the international Agrow Awards 2015 for ‘Best Stewardship Programme (Accreditation & Training, drumMUSTER and ChemClear)’.

“The award category recognises outstanding schemes that manage agrochemical or agbiotech products in the marketplace in a sustainable way,” she said.

“We are in good company with Croplife Australia also being shortlisted for their Pollinator Protection Initiative, along with Andef Brazil, Impev Brazil and The Mediae Company.”

The Agrow Awards were developed to reward excellence in the crop protection and production industry. This is the eighth instalment of the prestigious awards which calls for applications from around the globe.

Ms Carmichael reflects that Agsafe has grown over 22 years from a small, industry accreditation program to become Australia’s largest industry stewardship organisation servicing the agricultural and veterinary chemical industry, farmers and other users of chemical products.

Since its establishment, Agsafe’s drumMUSTER program has safely collected over 25 million drums across Australia.

The organisation provides safety advice and training to over 1,400 retail premises through its Accreditation & Training program, ensuring that around 95% of the chemical retail industry is committed to staff and customer safety.

“Stores achieving Agsafe accreditation are maintaining compliance and reducing risk in an industry which deals with products with the potential to create serious risk to the environment, users and the wider community,” said Accreditation & Training Manager Frances Cameron.

Agsafe is also active in removing the pollution risk posed by unwanted chemical products. The drumMUSTER program

collects and recycles empty agvet chemical containers, while ChemClear collects and sustainably destroys unwanted or out-ofdate chemicals. drumMUSTER and ChemClear National Program Manager Allan McGann said, “Agsafe’s product stewardship programs are an integral part of the Australian agricultural landscape. The commitment to the programs from all stakeholders demonstrates the importance of chemical and container management. We are extremely proud to be nominated for such a prestigious international award.”

The winner will be announced on 17 September 2015 in London.

Turning food and coffee waste into compost for parks A program that takes food scraps from Melbourne’s laneways and turns them into compost for parks and gardens headlines a three-year plan to green the city and divert waste from landfill.

The Degraves Street Recycling Facility, in the central business district, uses a food dehydrator to turn food waste into a compost-like soil conditioner.

It is one of 10 waste-busting initiatives included in the draft Integrated Waste Management Program 2015-18, endorsed for consultation by the Future Melbourne Committee.

The Integrated Waste Management Program 2015-18 identifies opportunities to reduce waste by targeting five key areas: residential and commercial organic waste, e-waste, shared recycling hubs and improved cardboard recycling.

Cr Arron Wood, Chair of Council’s Environment Portfolio, said the program built 6

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on the success of existing initiatives while planning ambitious new ones to manage waste for a growing city.

“The number of households we collect waste from has grown 33 per cent in the past six years. With more people comes more waste and an opportunity to turn rubbish away from landfill and increase recycling,” Cr Wood said.

The Integrated Waste Management Program 2015-18 will continue five successful initiatives launched under the former plan, including the Degraves Street Recycling Facility, the high-rise recycling project, compactors and recycling hubs in laneways and the Green Money recycling rewards program.

“From a recycling plant below Degraves Street to a frequent-flyer style program that earns residents points for recycling, we’re changing the face of waste disposal in Melbourne,” Cr Wood said.

“The Degraves Street Recycling Facility is a classic case of waste not, want not. We’re taking the unwanted scraps from thousands of meals and coffees and using them as compost for our parks and gardens.

“Our high-rise recycling program has seen 180 tonnes of recycling diverted from landfill from 78 buildings, while 5,000 households have signed up to Green Money, a program that allows our residents to earn rewards points for recycling,” Cr Wood said.

INDUSTRY NEWS

G7 pledge to cut greenhouse gases The G7 industrial nations have agreed to cut greenhouse gases by phasing out the use of fossil fuels by the end of the century.

The decision taken by Germany, Britain, France, the US, Canada, Japan and Italy was announced by German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, on 8 June – the final day of talks at a Bavarian castle.

Chancellor Merkel said the G7 leaders had committed themselves to the need to “decarbonise the global economy in the course of this century”.

They had also agreed on a global target for limiting the rise in average temperatures to a maximum of two degrees centigrade over pre-industrial levels.

As host of the summit, Ms Merkel said the leading industrialised countries were committed to raising $100 billion in annual climate financing by 2020 from public and private sources.

In a 17-page communique issued after the summit, the G7 leaders agreed to back the recommendations of the IPCC – the United Nations’ climate change panel – to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions at the upper end of a range of 40 per cent to 70 per cent by 2050, using 2010 as the baseline.

Ms Merkel also announced that G7 governments had signed up to initiatives to work for an end to extreme poverty and hunger, reducing by 2030 the number of people living in hunger and malnutrition by 500 million.

The governments would, she said, work on initiatives to combat disease and help countries around the world react to epidemics, including a fund within the World Bank dedicated to tackling health emergencies.

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View of City of old Cairo, Egypt, during mid-morning rush hour. Photo Courtesy: World Bank/Dominic Chavez

City planning and management crucial for sustainable global development Rising inequality and poverty are becoming increasingly concentrated in urban areas around the world, and are posing a challenge to city leaders, according to United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson.

Mr Eliasson told the World Cities Summit in New York – 8 to 10 June – that leaders would have to adapt to the demographic and cultural shift that was taking place in cities in order to make them economically viable, environmentally sustainable and socially vibrant.

“Urbanisation can be a transformative force for sustainable development goals by making cities and human settlements safe, resilient and sustainable.”

Mr Eliasson said that in 2050, around 70 per cent of the world’s population would live in urban areas. Cities were where 80 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) was generated – they also accounted for just over half of global greenhouse gas emissions and 75 per cent of global energy consumption.

Close to one billion of the world’s urban dwellers still lived in dire, even lifethreatening, slum conditions and the figure was projected to rise to 1.6 billion by 2030.

Some 2.5 billion people in the world lacked access to improved sanitation, not least in urban areas.

“Rising inequality is today a universal concern and very much a reality in cities.

Poverty is increasingly concentrated in urban areas,” Mr. Eliasson said.

There were, he warned, also growing difficulties in integrating migrants, creating ethnically and socially fragmented areas of cities.

Insensitive planning and inaccessible infrastructure and public services also built barriers which prevented women, people with disabilities and senior citizens from benefitting from urban development.

“If cities join forces with governments, the private sector, civil society and urban planners, they can become the hubs for climate and development solutions.

“But there is no one-size-fits-all approach. And that is why it is important for countries and cities to develop urban policies that capture their own unique circumstances and aspirations.”

On sustainable urban planning and design, the Mr. Eliasson said human rights and the rule of law must be promoted and protected.

“Equitable urban development and inclusive growth must be ensured. Civil society and democratic participation must be expanded. Environmental sustainability must be pursued.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

Boosting carbon storage research in Australia A $48.4 million research facility is set to play a major role in advancing research for carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology in Australia by creating stronger links between industry and science.

The Perth-based National Geosequestration Laboratory (NGL) was opened on 22 July. It will focus on ways to advance CCS – a technology that will become increasingly important as Australia’s resources industry continues to develop and export, while reducing carbon emissions.

Minister for Industry and Science, Ian Macfarlane, said NGL was a venture between CSIRO, Curtin University and The University of Western Australia, bringing together world-leading technology and equipment to research, assess and develop sites for the long-term storage of carbon.

“The ability to store large volumes of carbon dioxide safely at a reasonable price 150811_WWM_HalfPage.pdf

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will have a significant impact in securing the benefits of Australia’s energy sector well into the future,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“Carbon capture and storage is recognised internationally as a technology that can reduce carbon emissions. The International Energy Agency believes CCS has the potential to reduce emissions into the atmosphere by as much as 13 per cent by 2050.

“The coal and gas sectors are major contributors to our economy and to our diverse energy mix.

“They are also vital in powering economic development in some of the world’s most rapidly growing countries, so this research in CCS technology is particularly important for Australia.”

Minister Macfarlane urged industry to take advantage of the world-class facility at its doorstep.

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“NGL is well equipped and located in one of the world’s most significant oil, gas, energy and minerals regions, making it ideal for industry to get involved in storage research.

“Industry investment is essential to translate CCS research into commercial applications and the government looks forward to working with industry to develop CCS, including joint initiatives through NGL.”

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INDUSTRY NEWS

Improving GBR water quality and addressing climate change An additional $100 million over five years to improve water quality in the Great Barrier Reef is a key feature of the 2015-16 Queensland Budget.

Additionally, local governments will share in $15 million over the next three years to combat the impacts of climate change through the establishment of a Climate Change Adaptation Fund and the development of a Queensland Climate Change Adaptation Strategy.

Steven Miles, the Minister responsible for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, said the Budget delivered on the government’s promises to tackle some of the key threats facing the reef and to help coastal communities prepare for rising sea levels, storm tides and erosion.

“We have committed an additional $100 million for reef water quality initiatives, scientific research and tools to help business transition to better environmental practices,” Dr Miles said.

This would include encouraging primary producers to reduce fertiliser and sediment run-off through sustainable industry practices.

Dr Miles said the Great Barrier Reef Water Science Taskforce was on track to deliver an interim report to the government

by December, advising on the best investment strategies for the commitment to achieve the government’s reef water quality improvement targets.

“We have also put an extra $2 million over the next two years towards a cutting-edge project that gives people near real time information about the quality of water in the Great Barrier Reef.”

The government is partnering with the Local Government Association of Queensland to deliver $12 million to coastal councils to assist with developing local plans and options to deal with their escalating climate risks.

Applications will open from October this year.

“If we are to collectively reduce the cost of climate impacts and protect our people and economy, the state needs to provide leadership and support to councils,” Dr Miles said.

“The remaining $3 million will go towards developing and implementing a Climate Adaptation Strategy in collaboration with industry and local government.

“The strategy will support regional councils in non-coastal areas to address impacts from our changing climate.”

Dr Miles said the government was also delivering on its promise to reinstate world class coastal planning laws because planning decisions should reflect sea level rise projections.

“We want to ensure people have the right direction and advice when making long-term decisions. However, we won’t leave local governments to manage this risk on their own – we will support them to better consider current and future coastal hazards.”

New era for biofuels in Queensland

Energy Minister, Mark Bailey, said the economic and environmental benefits of ethanol were recognised world-wide and the government was committed introducing a biofuel mandate from 1 July 2016 to help the transition to a clean energy economy.

Mr Bailey said it proposed to introduce the Liquid Fuel Supply (Biofuel Mandate) Amendment Bill in 2015 – a bill which would prescribe a phase-in of ethanol-blended fuel.

He said the government was considering commencing the mandate at two per cent of the total volume of regular unleaded petrol and E10 fuel sold in Queensland.

Forums were held throughout June in Brisbane and regional centres to encourage industry, key stakeholders and the community to have their say about the ethanol mandate.

Minister Bailey said with input from industry and the community, the government would develop a measured and sensible approach to help achieve sustainable biofuel and bio-manufacturing industries for Queensland.

“We want Queensland to be part of a sustainable energy solution. We will work closely with industry on the amount of the mandate so that it grows in line with production capacity.

“Importantly, we want local industries to capture the market share to ensure that any ethanol sold in Queensland comes from Queensland.

“There’s also an opportunity to boost the use of biofuels like biodiesel blends to take advantage of the growing demand for diesel.”

Mr Bailey said there were several bio plants on the drawing board in Queensland, including two plants in development, and strong interest from the private sector to explore opportunities.

A joint Deloitte Access Economics/QUT study predicts bio-refining in all its forms could contribute more than $1.8 billion in gross state product to Queensland and create up to 6,640 jobs over the next 20 years.

The Queensland Government is assessing responses to a discussion paper outlining plans for an ethanol mandate to grow the biofuels and bio-manufacturing industries, and create more jobs in the state.

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INDUSTRY NEWS

NSW budget focus on water and waste initiatives Hundreds of millions of dollars has been allocated in the 2015-16 New South Wales Budget to deliver crucial water and waste reform initiatives.

In the area of water expenditure, the biggest single allocation was $186 million to assist eligible households with the financial costs for the supply of potable water. NSW Minister for Primary Industries, Lands and Water, Niall Blair, said there was also a significant focus on the delivery of vital water projects across NSW. Mr Blair said $130 million had been set aside for water saving infrastructure projects, funded by the Commonwealth under its Water for the Future program, to assist in bridging the gap to the Basin Plan.

Another $38 million would be spent to secure long-term potable water supplies and manage effluent effectively in regional communities, while $16 million would be

used to implement water reform initiatives in the Murray-Darling Basin. $11 million would be spent on programs to improve water and sewerage services for eligible Aboriginal communities. $26 million would be allocated to help the community prepare for floods and coastal erosion. The funding would support councils to develop and to implement coastal and floodplain management plans, and to undertake works to restore and protect the state’s coastline and estuaries.

In the waste sector, $66 million (within the EPA’s budgeted expenditure of $160 million) would be allocated to transform waste management in NSW and to increase education around better waste management practices across the community.

An additional $49 million would be contributed to these programs from

the Environmental Trust to support a total investment in waste and resource recovery of $115 million.

Environment and Heritage Minister, Mark Speakman, said more than $160 million would be allocated to the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to ensure strong environmental regulation of industry and enforcement of environmental legislation, and a strong response to pollution incidents

INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

Smart Sink Filtration System An innovative solution to a common problem The innovative, Australian-designed Smart Sink, provides a smart and simple solution to an extremely common problem - fine waste matter being washed down sinks.

By installing the Smart Sink waste collection system, fine matter can be completely eliminated from entering into normal liquid waste disposal areas.

Each patented smart Sink system utilises several independent collection units joined by a valve system to ensure that even the finest waste material cannot escape. With the primary filtration point collecting up to 92% of waste material and subsequent filters then ensuring that total waste management is achieved, owners can be assured that their investment in environmental protection is paying dividends.

Operating via a standard water source the Smart Sink employs a 3 Polypropylene bag

collection system within the stainless steel sink system, which is designed to collect and concentrate waste which can then be simply removed from the unit and disposed of independently of the system as desired.

The Smart Sink system offers a high degree of flexibility in use. From 450 mm in-situ bench top units to completely stand alone or more mobile systems (suited to both indoor and outdoor applications) can range from use by professional businesses within shopping centres to more highly specialized industrial systems.

Anyone needing to clean equipment in elevated or other non user friendly situations will find the larger, mobile, Smart Sink invaluable. In situations where waste product is being removed and collected onto a hard surface a wet vac can be used in conjunction with a larger, mobile, Smart

Sink to both maintain cleanliness of the work area and proper collection and disposal of waste material.

From boutiques to boat yards, the Smart Sink not only helps the environment, it also addresses a number of workplace health and safety issues.

The Smart Sink backs efficiency in operation with a well presented appearance thanks to the use of stainless steel – even up to marine grade – within primary collection units to which filtration material is attached.

The unit’s stainless steel construction assures owners of the utmost durability of their units as well as a smart appearance.

For further information, including trade enquiries, please email: info@smartsinks.com.au visit the website: www.smartsinks.com.au or visit us at Waste Expo in Melbourne, 7th & 8th October, 2015.

WASTE EXPO 2015

This is a FREE industry conference!

Register at www.wasteexpo.com.au for free entry to the exhibition and your free conference tickets now, be quick as seats are limited.

FREE INDUSTRY EXHIBITION & CONFERENCE

7th & 8th October | Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre

Experience the latest in waste management, resource recovery and sustainability products and service innovations this October at Waste Expo, Victoria’s largest and longest running waste management, recycling and sustainability event.

Waste Expo is both an industry exhibition and conference, featuring a totally free education program.

Open to all industry delegates, Waste Expo’s education program features two full days of thought-provoking panel sessions, case studies and seminars across areas such as Social License, Infrastructure Planning, Community Engagement, Behavioural Change, Using Food Waste, Product Stewardship/EPR, Emissions Reduction Fund, Resource Recovery and more.

Key Sessions include an Opening Address by Stan Krpan, CEO Sustainability Victoria, Statewide Waste and Resource Recovery Infrastructure Plan (SWRRIP) seminar by Sustainability Victoria and the Metropolitan Waste and Resource Recovery Group, Council Bulky Waste Collection: Data and opportunities for recovery, Case study and practical lessons learnt for the circular economy, The ‘Pull Through’ Effect case studies, Mixed Plastic Recycling, Mattress Recycling, PVC Recovery and much, much more.

On the show floor expect to see over 100 exhibitors and brands showcasing products, services and solutions for businesses including Government, Corporate, Hospitality, Commercial, Transport and Healthcare. This is your opportunity to make invaluable business connections, discover innovative solutions, keep up to date with industry trends and meet new and existing suppliers.

When: Wednesday 7th October, 8:30am – 5:00pm

Thursday 8th October, 8:30am – 5:00pm Where: Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre For full seminar program information, speaker line up, exhibitor details and your FREE entry, please visit: www.wasteexpo.com.au

RISK MANAGEMENT

Reducing the risk of Uncontrollable Fires and Toxic Smoke in Waste and Recycling Facilities

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ires in landfills, transfer stations or recycling facilities can be incredibly hazardous for both the on site operators and the environment.

Fires are invariably resource intensive, long duration jobs with the potential to create significant interference and detriment to normal community activity, including public health issues.

Together with external ignition sources, self-combustion, (heat development due to pressure) and spontaneous chemical reactions between the disposals and methane gas-building are all potential fire creators and concerns at these plants.

In May 2015 a major fire started at the Wingfield Recycling Depot in South Australia, the fifth fire at this facility in 18 months. John Fetter, SA Waste Industry Network secretary told the ABC “This has happened one too many times and we’re concerned about the health and wellbeing of our employees who work around the site and the local residents as well, and it’s just got to stop.” The cause of the fire from 18 months ago is still being investigated and the measures implemented so far have not prevented the most recent fire, which was still burning 2 days after it started.

A smouldering fire in Chester Hill, NSW left nearby residents angry about the incident as the fire burned for two weeks causing toxic smoke to spread through the neighbourhood. Chester Hill resident and former Bankstown councillor Pam Gavin said “the smell of burning rubbish and acrid smoke is appalling”. An EPA spokeswoman said “the fire, though contained, reigniting

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occasionally, which was a characteristic of smouldering fires”. Residents were advised that if they had pre-existing heart and lung conditions, or young children, to keep their doors and windows closed and limit their time outdoors.

From a firefighting perspective, landfill fires not only result in heavily contaminated firefighting water, they are also extremely hard to extinguish.

The water does not always reach the potential fire hot spots that can still smolder anywhere within the waste.

Think of it like a campfire; the hotter and longer it burns during the night, the more lasting the coals will burn. You only have to peel off a few layers in the morning for that fire to come right back to life. A landfill fire could easily burn for 2-3 weeks if not 100% extinguished.

With millions of tons of waste to feed the fire, detecting a potential threat before it has time to grow into an inferno is critical.

Interestingly, in July 2012 a review was commissioned by the Fire Services Commissioner of Victoria into improved fire management in landfill sites. The report stated that “...early intervention is essential to prevent any fire from developing into a large and difficult to extinguish event. Once a fire is well established there seems no substitute for copious quantities of water to contain the spread and enable access by machines to physically disturb and remove the burning material. The application of more water is often needed until it is certain that all burning material has been extinguished.”

Fire is also seen as one threat that is becoming increasingly important to the regulatory controlling bodies as well as many environmental groups. Early response to a fire that could damage or impact on equipment operating or controlling treatment plants will assist in reducing waste, environmental damage and pollution.

Having regard for the issues a reliable early warning smoke detection system coupled with a pre-planned response strategy is one way to enable early intervention.

Very early warning detection can assist in mitigating the fire risks in waste treatment or recycling facilities by detecting smoke from a fire or any potential smouldering smoke event such as: • Overheating and faults in electrical switch equipment and cabling • Spontaneous combustion events • Potential fires from high frictional heat sources in large collection and sorting equipment.

• The ignition of onsite fuel and toxic chemicals which can lead to a potential fire • Human error • Faults and the overheating of pumps and machinery • Gas leakage Aspirating Smoke Detection (ASD) has long been seen as one of the most reliable and effective means of detecting fires in industrial facilities. With manageable controls and sensitivity capability of detecting the smallest amount of smoke an appropriate purpose built ASD will have a high resistance to background pollution or contamination

RISK MANAGEMENT

providing early warning and time to intervene and respond before a fire gets out of control.

ASD systems essentially consist of a main detector or controller and a sampling pipe network with multiple holes that draw in air from the surrounding area. The air is typically filtered removing much of the contaminants or dust that creates unwanted alarms before it is analyzed by the detector. ASD systems can even detect smoke before it becomes visible to the human eye, significantly reducing the time required to identify, investigate and determine the source of the fire.

Furthermore, ASD systems incorporate automatic integrity monitoring to ensure an alert is raised at any time the ASD’s ability to detect smoke is compromised, ensuring that no real alarm goes undetected.

Adhering to the Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003, the Essex City Council

in the UK have opted to develop five new waste transfer stations to support the delivery of new waste. As part of their waste strategy the council, with a number of organizations in the waste management industry are working to produce new guidance for fire safety.

The industry already operates within an existing set of safety regulations, which includes guidelines for handling flammable and combustible materials, but there is a growing feeling that more specific direction is required.

For one of its waste transfer stations the Essex City Council has opted to use a very early warning smoke detection system, VESDA VLI, which is designed to perform reliably in an industrial environment where high levels of background dust exist.

The key features that were considered when investigating the suitability of the industrial smoke detection system for waste treatment plant were:

• It must be an active, monitored sampling system • The installation to include a purpose built industrial detector • Include a fully monitored intelligent filter • Offer reliable detection performance • Provide consistent sensitivity over the life of the detector • Be robust with product longevity • Ensure ease of maintenance Whilst ASD systems are the ideal choice for these environments it must be remembered that waste treatment facilities are extreme environments with varying conditions where machinery and equipment with lots of moving parts exist. Conditions differ from plant to plant where some areas of the plant may be ideally suited to ASD, others may not.

Regardless, a reliable very early warning fire detection system with a preplanned response strategy is essential to protecting the facility, community and the surrounding environment.

Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

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COVER FEATURE

Meeting the

Challenge of Change After nearly 15 years of operation, the City of Stirling in Perth's inner-north has replaced its single bin ‘all in’ residential collection service - which processed the City’s residential waste stream through an Alternative Waste Treatment (AWT) facility - with a new 3-bin residential waste, recyclables and garden organics residential service.

One of the largest and most complex residential service roll-outs ever undertaken in WA, the new City of Stirling contract included the delivery of over 133,000 bins of various sizes, together with over 77,000 lid changes to the residents' existing bins.

W

ith a population of over 223,000 in approximately 85,000 households across thirty of Perth's northern suburbs, the City of Stirling is the largest Local Government area by population in Western Australia.

Encompassing an area of approximately 104 square kilometres, the city stretches from Railway Parade, Mount Lawley in the east, to Scarborough, Trigg, North Beach and Waterman in the west and features a rich, diverse natural and physical landscape.

Over the past 15 years, the City’s residents have been using a single 240 litre 'all in' weekly residential collection service, which saw the collected waste and recyclables taken to an Alternative Waste Treatment 16

Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

(AWT) facility for separation and processing.

With the AWT facility processing well in excess of its initial intended capacity (it was originally designed to process 55,000 tonnes per annum but was actually processing 85,000 tonnes per annum) and nearing the end of its operational design life, the City of Stirling took the decision to move to a 3-bin residential service which enabled the separation of waste, recyclables and garden organics at the source.

Sean Sciberras,

Manager Waste and Fleet with the City of Stirling, commented: “Even though our previous system has served us well for almost 15 years, the AWT facility was at the end of its serviceable life - both operationally and in terms of its processing capacity. While the new 3-bin system represents a major change in our residential services, we believe that it will deliver significant benefits to the City, both in terms of cost, efficiency and, most importantly, improved recycling and resource recovery outcomes,” he said.

As is the case with any change to a residential collection system, introducing the new 3-bin system was not without its challenges; hardly surp r i s i n g l y, given that the new service effectively

COVER FEATURE

Maximising Recycling & Resource Recovery In keeping with Council's focus on maximising resource recovery / recycling and minimising the amount of waste being sent to landfill, the new 3-bin residential collection service is based around: • a weekly garbage service using a new MASTEC®140 litre 'squat' bin with a red lid; • a fortnightly service for comingled recyclables using (where bin condition permitted) the householders' existing 240 with a new yellow lid; and • an alternating with fortnightly garden organics service using a new MASTEC® 240 litre bin with a lime green lid.

The new 3-bin system is also in line with the WA State Government / Waste Authority WA 'best practice' guidelines for residential collection services .

Indeed, the introduction of

required residents to totally rethink their household disposal habits and engage in ‘source separation’ of their waste, recyclables and garden organics into separate bins. In addition, the roll-out had the added complexity of providing residents with a choice of opting into the garden organics services.

Importantly, despite the massive ‘challenge of change’ facing the City and its residents, the combination of an extensive multi-faceted education program, MASTEC’s ‘high-tech’ bin delivery system (which was able to track the progress of the bin roll-out and report anomalies in real time) and, of course, a high level of cooperation between Council and MASTEC who were awarded the bin and lid supply and Assembly & Distribution contract, saw these challenges overcome and everything in place for the commencement of the new services on June 29.

“As well as representing a major change to the way Council delivers residential waste and recycling services, rolling out the

the new City of Stirling 3-bin collection services was assisted by a Waste Authority WA grant.

The 240 litre fortnightly garden organics service was offered as an 'opt in / opt out' for ratepayers, with the bins automatically delivered to all properties over 400m2 in size. Residents with smaller properties were able to 'opt in' and request a garden organics bin, whilst those that had bins delivered could choose to 'opt out' of the service. Council also provided ratepayers requiring additional disposal capacity with the option to increase the size of their weekly 140 litre bin to a 240 litre MASTEC® bin with a red lid for an additional annual service

new 3-bin system was also one of the biggest logistics challenges in the City’s history. And as is the case with all roll-outs such as this, we needed to be sure that everything was ready and in place for the June 29 start date,” Sean Sciberras said.

“We're extremely happy with the way the roll-out progressed. MASTEC were able to deliver the majority of the bins and complete most of the lid changes prior to the commencement of services; and their scanning and reporting system not only meant that we were able to accurately monitor progress of the deliveries, it also enabled us to address any issues as they arose. Interestingly, even though the new system required the residents to totally change the way in

charge. To assist residents to make the most of the system, each of the bins feature an easy-to-read usage guide which has been hot-stamped into the top of the lid to provide information as to the contents that can be placed in the bin.

“We believe that the new 3-bin system provides an efficient and easy-to-use method for residents to maximise their recycling results - which is particularly important, given that our residents have been used to placing everything into one bin,” Sean Sciberras said.

“The hot stamped graphics on the top of each bin lid makes it easy to see what can be put in each bin, and the supporting information that was given to each household with their new bins makes it clear which bins go out for collection on which days,” he said.

which they handle their household waste, recyclables and garden organics, there has been strong support for the new system,” Sean Sciberras added.

“Indeed, the majority of the calls that we've received during the initial roll-out of the new services have been from people wanting to ‘opt in’ for a garden organics bin and to make sure that they utilise the new services correctly to get the most out of them,” he said.

Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

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COVER FEATURE

Managing Complex A&D Requirements For most councils, rolling out bins for a new residential collection service is one of the largest and most complex logistics and data management tasks with which they will ever be involved. What’s more, the complexity of the task is further compounded when introducing services with a choice of bin sizes, those that have ‘opt in’ choices for some or multiple parts of the system, or those that include a reuse / repurposing component for existing bins (through new lids, etc). Logging bin serial numbers with property data, ensuring every household has a bin and, most importantly, making sure that the task is completed in time for the commencement of the new collection service(s), are all critical factors in the bin Assembly & Delivery process, and a failure in any of these areas can spell disaster for the council and the collection contractor alike.

With that in mind, the success of the City of Stirling roll-out - which is probably best described as ‘one with the lot’ in terms of options and complexity - stands as an excellent example of the benefits of MASTEC's high-tech bin delivery system.

Commenced mid-April the Assembly & Distribution process involved lid changes and deliveries to approximately 85,000 households. The bins and

MASTEC® TRU360 Used for Multi-Unit Dwellings Multi-unit dwellings which previously used bulk bins are being supplied with MASTEC® TRU360 360 litre bins with red lids for waste service and yellow lids for recyclables.

Delivering the ideal combination of increased capacity (360-litre brimful body capacity) with a smaller physical footprint, MASTEC TRU360 has been specifically designed to overcome the issues associated with lifting a range of bin sizes with the same vehicle. This has been achieved through the MASTEC TRU360’s unique ‘Positive Grip’ contoured

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Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

body design, which allows the collection vehicle’s grab arm to ‘wrap around’ into the contoured sections, thereby maximising contact between the bin and the lifting arm and enabling it to maintain a good grip on the bin during the entire lifting cycle.

Multi-dwelling units were also given an opportunity to 'opt in' and receive an additional 240 litre garden organics bin.

High-Tech Systems Deliver Outstanding Data Accuracy As well as helping to provide a fast, efficient and streamlined Assembly & Distribution service, MASTEC’s high-tech bin delivery system delivers a highly accurate dataset which can be used to verify Council GIS rate / property data.

Utilising state-of-the-art hand-held scanning units, together with a specially developed proprietary software package, the systems provides an extremely accurate and easy to use method of registering and tracking bin serial numbers and, if installed, RFID tag numbers to individual properties. What's more, the GSM-enabled scanners also provide a constantly updated ‘live data stream’ during the delivery process, thereby enabling instantaneous access to

up-to-date information relating to the current progress of the roll-out process.

At the time of delivery, the crews scan the barcodes with the lightweight handheld scanner/transmitter, and data is automatically transmitted (together with date/time stamp info) via the GSM digital network to the MASTEC’s central database as a ‘combined’ record containing all of the relevant data for the bin including bin type, size, location and property ID. Importantly, in any instances where there may be a discrepancy in the GIS data (no house at location, incorrect address, etc.) the operator is able to enter an exception code that provides a clear explanation as to why a bin could not be delivered to the address.

lids for the new City of Stirling Services were transported in bulk from MASTEC’s Adelaide manufacturing plant to a temporary depot in Lansdale, which provided a central site from which the MASTEC crews could prepare and collect bins and lids for delivery throughout the city.

The lids on the residents’ existing 240 litre bin was changed to a new bright yellow lid in readiness for repurposing as a comingled recyclables bin.

Bins that were not suitable (damaged or unable to have the existing lid removed without damaging the bin) were replaced with a new MASTEC® 240 litre bin with a bright yellow lid. Not surprisingly, this was the most difficult aspect of the roll-out process to quantify in advance, being that it is all but impossible to ascertain the condition of existing bin stocks until re-lidding is attempted. By the time the roll-out was completed, a total of 77,000 bins were repurposed with new lids, while some 8,500 new bins were required to replace those that were unfit for service. The bin changeover / delivery crews were also responsible for collecting the old unsuitable bins for

As well as providing an extremely quick and easy way of collecting all relevant data for each bin, the fact that the data is scanned rather than written manually, also eliminates problems or issues relating to incorrect information being written down and/or illegible run sheets - further improving data integrity. Furthermore, as a ‘live’ data transmission system, it also provides an accurate ‘real-time’ picture of how the bin roll-out process is progressing at any given time.

recycling - removing the wheels and axles and returning them to the central depot for transport.

At the same time, the MASTEC crews also delivered over 84,000 new MASTEC® 140 ‘squat’ bins with a bright red lid for use with the weekly garbage collection service. The unique ‘squat’ design and wider circumference enables the collection vehicle's grab arm to get a secure grip on both a 240 litre bin and 140 litre bin without requiring any adjustment.

The field crews also delivered a further 40,000 MASTEC® 240 litre bins with lime green lids for the garden organics collection service.

Importantly, the majority of the bin delivery / changeover was completed in time for the June 29 service commencement date, ensuring a smooth start for the new services. Speaking about the City of Stirling contract, MASTEC's National Sales and Marketing Manager, Peter Donnell, commented: “We’re very pleased with the results that we were able to achieve for the City of Stirling. With large and complex roll-outs such as this, having everyone working together toward the same goal is a critical factor in being able to meet the required deadlines, and I believe that this is highlighted by the outcomes that were achieved.”

“With that in mind, we’d like to thank the City of Stirling for its efforts in helping to ensure that the roll-out was able to progress to completion as smoothly as possible,” Peter Donnell concluded.

For further information on the full range of MASTEC products and services please visit www.mastec.com.au or phone 1300 MASTEC (1300 627 832) Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

19

SPONSORED CONTENT

UrBin Series II Rear Loader

Now with Bucher IQ Touchscreen Technology Since its launch in 2010, the UrBin Rear Loader has been a valuable addition to the range of refuse products at Bucher Municipal. Over the years the UrBin Rear Loader has continuously improved and developed based on feedback from customers and years of operational experience in the field. UrBin, which stands for Universal Rear Loading Bin lifter, has now evolved to be even more powerful, stronger, faster, quieter and more efficient than ever before, delivering what is most important to the customer and their operators:

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Durability

• The UrBin Series II body and tailgate have been re-designed for increased strength and durability for a longer working life, which in turn provides lower maintenance and whole of life costs.

• The slide channels in the tailgate are now made from heavy duty Domex steel for greater strength and durability.

Productivity • The UrBin Series II body and tailgate have been developed to be lighter than its predecessor, providing a greater payload capacity and therefore improved productivity for the operator.

• The geometry of the sweep blade has been improved to provide greater compaction force.

20

Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

• The grease points on the slide and sweep blades are now more accessible for easier maintenance.

• The clamp bar on the wide comb bin lifter has been re-designed to have the ability to manage a greater variety of bin types.

• The UrBin Series II boasts the new Bucher IQ system with integrated CanBus and Touchscreen technology and an advanced user interface that puts all system and operation controls at the operators finger tips and all on the one screen for improved operator productivity.

Safety • Safety interlocks and carefully placed Emergency stop buttons provide operator safety during bin lifter and compaction operation.

• Viewing windows are fitted to both sides of the tailgate so the operator can safely monitor lifting and packing operations from either side of the vehicle.

• The Large 10” screen, with 4 camera split view capability, is standard and provides greater vision of camera views for both safety of the operator and surrounding objects.

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• New electrical control system provides greater reliability for maximum up time and less downtime during service.

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Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

21

BIDSTRATEGIST.COM

Three Reasons Why ‘Templating’ Is A Bad Practice When Developing Your Approach to A High-Value Bid

by Jordan Kelly www.bidstrategist.com There’s an endless list of reasons why relying on templates is highly inadvisable in high-value tenders and proposals - and I’ve covered certain of these in my columns to date.

However, the advisability of adopting an “anti-template” policy is just as pertinent to bid strategy formulation, as it is to the production of the end submission.

Here are just three reasons why what I call “templated thinking” should be hotly avoided when formulating strategy:

1

Genericism vs Uniqueness: A Process that Doesn’t Match the Required Mindset

Once the nature of a procurement or project is understood, a bid team should endeavour to identify and place focus on the characteristics of that procurement or project that are unique to that specific project.

Thus, past the first few hours of a strategy development session, trying to run it with the use of pre-formulated, generic outlines is potentially counterproductive.

22

Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

2

Strategy Development Should be Led By A Strategic Thinker

The ability to run a group through a questionsbased, columnised template - or a series of them - is not the approach a genuine strategist would take, Kelly says.

A true strategist will allow conversations to evolve naturally, channelling the thinking and discussion along in a lateral and flowing - albeit well-controlled - fashion, fully developing all threads of input. This is something a template simply can’t achieve.

3

A Template-Directed Discussion Will Hit An Early Wall

By its very nature, a template just can’t go deep enough in the development of strategy.

At best, the conclusions resulting from a templated approach will stop the discussion at a generically pre-determined point and quite possibly (well) short of the best possible strategic decision.

Jordan Kelly is a bid strategist and consultant. She is author of ‘Think & Win Bids: Winning High-Value, High-Stakes Bids through Superior Questioning, Listening and Thinking Skills’.

WWM readers can subscribe to her free newsletter - ‘The Bid Strategist’ - at www.bidstrategist.com

Strategy formulation should be a fluid process I’ve seen, for example, workshop agendas that have tight little windows of time for the discussion of competitive intelligence. And another very precise window of time to run the participants through some columnised series of questions relating to inside knowledge on decision-makers.

What’s never considered or catered for, is the widely varying extent to which these various aspects of investigation need to vary from bid to bid, in terms of their strategic contribution to the approach or proposition that it ultimately tabled to the client or customer.

A tight and well-formulated strategy can result only from a synthesis of moving parts. And I’ve never seen a template with the required stretch, movement and overall flexibility to allow bid strategy workshop participants to go adequately deep and wide in their thinking. In short, it’s an art . . . a highly developed skill that can’t - and shouldn’t - be reduced to a questionnairebased activity.

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SPECIAL REPORT

Making greater Melbourne a more resilient city

A

ground-breaking resilience strategy covering metropolitan Melbourne is being developed by the City of Melbourne and 31 metropolitan councils.

The strategy is designed to strengthen Melbourne’s ability to identify and manage shocks, including natural and man-made disasters, as well as social and economic stresses.

“A resilience strategy is, I believe, something that leading cities around the world will start to embed in their everyday operations,” said Cr Arron Wood, Chair of the City of Melbourne’s Environment Portfolio.

“Building resilience into policies, structures and networks will be critical to heading-off the shocks we know will hit our cities in the years to come.”

Cr Wood told Waste and Water Management Australia that the strategy would be informed by an Australian-first Preliminary Resilience Assessment which had been developed over the past six months.

Chief Resilience Officer, Toby Kent, developed the assessment in consultation with leaders in local, State and Federal Government, academia, emergency management, environment and the community and health sectors.

Cr Arron Wood

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Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

“Even though Toby’s position is housed at the City of Melbourne, his role in putting in place the strategy is metrowide. It’s really about Melbourne as a whole.

“His remit is to deliver the strategy under the terms of funding from the Rockefeller Foundation – to bring together the Mayors and senior executives of the councils involved, and the heads of government agencies and emergency services.

“Emergency services are moving more and more into the resilience space – they are not simply responding to disasters but are working in the good times to develop and implement policies, projects and structures that will mean cities like Melbourne can bounce back from any shocks,” Cr Wood said.

The Chief Resilience Officer’s two-year tenure at the City of Melbourne is being funded by the Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities initiative.

The City of Melbourne was one of the first 32 cities invited to participate in the 100 Resilient Cities Challenge in 2013, from 400 cities that applied.

Cr Wood said that on 9 June, the assessment was endorsed by the Future Melbourne Committee on behalf of the 31 local government areas that make up metropolitan Melbourne.

He said the assessment identifies and recommends further work in five focus

areas; focus areas that are all framed as questions, reflecting the 100 Resilient Cities initiative guidance and the fact that all parties to the strategy were still at a point of enquiry. The five framing questions are: • How can we support individuals and communities to take more responsibility for their own and each other’s health, wellbeing and safety?

• How do we create and sustain places where our buildings, infrastructure and activities promote social cohesion, equality and health?

• How do we provide diverse local employment opportunities that support an agile workforce, prepared for the jobs of the future?

• How do we preserve and strengthen our natural assets and ecosystems alongside a growing population? And; • How can existing and emerging policies and practices more effectively contribute to building Melbourne’s resilience?

Cr Wood said plans already existed to deal with disasters and social and economic stresses, and the resilience strategy would form the glue that would knit together those disparate plans.

“The aim is to develop a suite of actions and pilot projects. We’re not just looking for a strategy document; we’re looking for pilot projects to trial before the end of the exercise.

“We will see a lot of work on the strategy in the second half of this year. It has to be delivered by April 2016.

“This is a huge challenge, but building a more resilient city is also a huge challenge. I think the strategy and the tight time line is reflective of the challenge that is placed on a city when a disaster strikes.”

Cr Wood said the development of the strategy was being overseen by a resilience steering committee with a membership including Municipal Association of Victoria CEO, Rob Spence; Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner, Craig Lapsley; Mark Duckworth from Victoria’s Department of Premier and Cabinet; and representatives from the City of Melbourne.

“This strategy shouldn’t be a 300 page document; it should be quite a punchy, simple, clear document that identifies gaps in existing measures and provides a coordinated overlay.”

Cr Wood said a second tranche of cities, including Sydney, had been added to the 100 Resilient Cities initiative and that meant Australia’s two largest cities were part of the global network – a network which focused on sharing information.

He said Melbourne and Sydney would, no doubt, shares outcomes from their work.

“The City of Melbourne regularly hands over IP (intellectual property), which has taken a lot of money to produce, to local governments to help make their cities better.

“An example – and a major resilience initiative in its own right – is the Urban Forest Project; a global award winning project for us.

“It aims to double the forest canopy cover and cool the city by four degrees. We are developing a framework, with Victorian Government support, that will be freely available to any local government that wants to use it.

“The more cities that are healthy, thriving and resilient, the better off the global community will be. It’s not a ‘them and us’ approach.”

Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

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CSIRO’s heliostat field in Newcastle which will be replicated on a smaller scale in Japan. Photo courtesy CSIRO.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Solar panels key to Moreland Renewable Energy Project

Car component maker moves to solar with CSIRO CSIRO’s solar technology has been exported to Japan in a move that further demonstrates the viability of solar as an international trade industry for Australia.

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) will establish a field of 150 heliostats in Yokohama to run research projects.

MHPS received funding for the field of heliostats from the Japanese Ministry of the Environment – the funding was allocated to develop and verify technologies for enhancing measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The CSIRO-designed heliostats are being constructed by a South Australian manufacturing company actively coping with the downturn in the automotive industry.

Heliostat SA was created by Precision Components – a company heavily involved in the car industry – in association with May Brothers, an Adelaide-based energy and information technology company; Enersalt, a renewable energy and desalination company; and the University of South Australia.

It is the second international deployment of CSIRO’s solar thermal tower technology, following a similar project in Cyprus.

Solar thermal tower technology uses a field of mirrors. The angle of the mirrors is under computer control (heliostats) and each of them rotates accurately to reflect and concentrate sunlight onto a receiver on top of a tower.

In this application, the concentrated sunlight is used to create superheated

steam, which can then be used to drive a turbine for generating electricity.

Energy can be stored cheaply as heat in solar thermal systems, giving this technology great potential for medium to large scale power, even when the sun isn’t shining.

The CSIRO heliostat design is smaller than conventional heliostats and uses an advanced control system to get high performance from a relatively inexpensive design.

CSIRO’s Energy and Resources Executive Director, Alex Wonhas, said the two projects were a strong vote of confidence for the science agency’s solar capabilities.

“These projects are the fruits of more than a decade of solar thermal research emanating from our energy centre in Newcastle and demonstrate the growing worldwide appetite for concentrated solar power,” Dr Wonhas said.

“To have CSIRO’s heliostats selected

by MHPS, a global leader in energy proves our technology is up there with the best in the world.

“Our successful collaboration with Heliostat SA also shows the benefits of science working closely with industry to create value for the Australian economy.”

The Federal Government provided $1 million of matched funding from its Automotive Diversification Program to Precision Components which enabled the car manufacturer to diversify into renewable energy.

The newly unveiled Moreland Community Renewable Energy Project focuses on solar panels being used to reduce the carbon footprint of the City of Moreland in Melbourne’s inner north.

To date, at least 450 solar panels with a total capacity of 233 kilowatts (kW) have been installed in buildings across the city.

The new solar system will meet 30 per cent of the peak electricity demand for the Coburg Civic Centre, saving $23,000 in energy costs and 160 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually.

The project is a key plank of Moreland’s Carbon Management Strategy and marks the start of a larger-scale rollout of solar panels across council facilities.

Victoria’s Minister for Energy, Lily D’Ambrosio, flicked the switch on the initiative in the first week of June.

“The Moreland Community Renewable Energy Project is a prime example of a community-based, clean energy initiative providing real social, economic and environmental benefits,” Ms D’Ambrosio said.

“By installing solar panels and using energy in an efficient way, families and households can reduce their footprint and slash household power bills.”

Ms D’Ambrosio said the State Government was developing a Renewable Energy Action Plan, which would outline measures to attract Victoria’s share of the significant investment in renewable energy forecast to occur in Australia by 2020.

She said the roadmap for the plan would be released late this year.

Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

27

RENEWABLE ENERGY

New laboratory to test capability of PV systems Australia’s leading research organisation – CSIRO – now has the ability to more accurately predict how different solar photovoltaic (PV) systems will perform.

Over the course of a 32-month project supported by $1.3 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, CSIRO successfully established indoor and outdoor testing capabilities that are now accessible to PV researchers and industry.

ARENA Chief Executive Officer, Ivor Frischknecht, said the new facilities would allow different solar panels and cells to be scrutinised, assessing how they responded to Australian conditions and predicting their output over time.

“Accurately predicting the energy output of a solar PV power plant is critical throughout its lifecycle, from forecasting future revenue and determining commercial

viability to day-to-day operation on the electricity grid,” Mr Frischknecht said.

“Effective forecasting is particularly important for investor confidence and risk mitigation as the cost of new plants is mostly up-front.

“A manufacturer’s solar panel power rating comes from a standardised laboratory measurement that doesn’t represent how well it will perform under Australian conditions.

“Knowing how the panels should perform allows solar PV system design to be assessed and the quality, health and degradation of systems to be tracked over time.”

Mr Frischknecht said researchers and industry would be able to access CSIRO’s accredited indoor laboratory to independently measure solar cell efficiency against international standards.

“This capability was previously only available at selected PV laboratories in the Northern Hemisphere, making it an important new piece of research infrastructure for the Southern Hemisphere.

“To complement this, the outdoor section of the facility includes the most advanced solar ground measurement station of its type in Australia to measure the impact of different weather conditions and solar radiation levels.

“These notable achievements will further Australia’s enviable position in solar PV research and strengthen the case for utility scale solar PV plants and rooftop installations.”

The results and final report for the $3.2 million project are now available on the project on ARENA’s website.

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13/05/2015 01:13:20 PM

RENEWABLE ENERGY

Renewable energy storage project The University of Adelaide is heading a project to develop an online Australian energy storage knowledge bank and build a mobile energy storage test facility.

The new knowledge bank will act as a central repository of energy storage expertise.

It will bring together reports and case studies, along with information on regulation, reliability, safety, operation and performance of energy storage systems in Australia.

And the mobile facility will be able to conduct independent simulated and field testing of energy storage technologies, and generate high resolution data for the knowledge bank.

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) announced $1.4 million support for the project in June. ARENA CEO, Ivor Frischknecht, said reliable, cost effective storage had a vital role to play in smoothing out energy supply and increasing the amount of renewable energy used in Australia.

“This project is set to build industry confidence in energy storage technologies and has the potential to accelerate investment in grid connected and remote locations, particularly where there are high levels of renewable energy generation.”

Project leader – Associate Professor Nesimi Ertugrul, from the University of Adelaide – said industry participation

would be critical to the success of the project.

“We expect battery storage to become a major industry over the next 5-10 years, offering solutions from small domestic to very large-scale applications,” Associate Professor Ertugrul said.

“The University of Adelaide is pleased to be leading a project that will provide technology developers with valuable resources and assist electricity infrastructure operators to better manage the integration of renewable energy into power systems.”

SA Power Networks, Energy Networks Association, Solar Storage Australia and the South Australian Government are collectively contributing $650,000 towards the project.

Integration specialists, Power and Drive Solutions and ZEN Energy Systems, are providing in-kind expertise and support to build the test facility, which is scheduled for deployment at the first site on the SA Power Networks grid by early 2016.

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PROJECT FEATURE

Adelaide Airport Stormwater Managed Aquifer Recharge Scheme

U

nder the shadow of the Adelaide Airport radar tower sits one of South Australia’s most advanced stormwater harvesting initiatives.

As the Boeings and Airbuses circle overhead, SA Water’s Adelaide Airport Stormwater Managed Aquifer Recharge Scheme is efficiently providing non-potable water to the airport’s infrastructure and open space.

The scheme’s origins can be traced to the Millennium Drought, when severe conditions saw the River Murray dry up and drop below sea level in some areas.

With around 30 to 80 per cent of South Australia’s annual water supply drawn from the River Murray, depending on natural catchment run-off into Adelaide Hills reservoirs, the drought ensured alternative water options became crucial for both potable and nonpotable supplies.

In 2009, a number of water security recommendations were made and subsequently enacted as part of the State Government’s Water for Good plan.

Funding from the Federal Government, State Government and SA Water suddenly made the blueprint for the Adelaide Airport MAR a reality.

SA Water’s Environmental Opportunities Manager, Greg Ingleton, said the $9.8 million project neatly suited Adelaide’s climactic conditions.

“Adelaide has a much greater ability – and a much greater need - to harvest stormwater,” Mr Ingleton said.

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“We get winter and spring rainfall for around four months and then it basically stops for the rest of the year.

“We can use very little stormwater at that time with the exception of industrial use, but we have aquifers that are perfect for storing stormwater for use during the drier months of the year.”

The Adelaide Plains’ geological composition ensures the city’s aquifer system offers excellent storage options for stormwater, due to the numerous confined aquifers below the plains.

South Australia is an acknowledged leader in stormwater harvesting, at least in part, due to the solid work by local governments, university researchers and industry experts.

“In many ways the reason why aquifer recharge technology has advanced so well in South Australia is because of the environment we sit in,” SA Water’s project engineer, Daniel Maslin, said.

“That is a big aspect. We take the water from Brownhill Creek, process it, inject it into our bores, store it and then extract, disinfect and send it to the customer.”

The creek passes within 30 metres of the Adelaide Airport site.

“Brownhill Creek is a big catchment and passes through seven council areas,” Mr Ingleton said.

“Four-to-10 gigalitres of water might flow down the creek in a year, but in a rain event, you might get one gigalitre in a day. Where we take the water from is just a kilometre before it goes out to sea.”

The project endured some hurdles on the path to success.

“As with all projects we had our fair share of issues,” Mr Maslin said.

“A lot of this airport land has been reclaimed, so we discovered a lot of building materials in the pipeline trench during construction.

“Our first attempt to drill the bore was also abandoned at 180 metres due to an unknown obstruction. By moving a short distance we successfully drilled down to 240 metres.

“You do everything you can - make models, analyse the data and what the ground is doing - to give you an idea of the layers and expected materials, but sometimes you still hit a fault.”

After overcoming these headaches, the scheme’s major works were completed in 2014. Adelaide Airport can now be supplied up to 270 megalitres of water a year for irrigation, cooling towers, toilet systems and other non-potable needs.

Future airport developments – including additional offices and a possible hotel – are also in line to benefit from the scheme.

“The scheme is designed with UV and chlorination treatment so it can be used for dual reticulation – inside buildings, toilets and laundries – and isn’t just for irrigation,” Mr Ingleton said.

“Public health is at the forefront of how SA Water operates all our schemes, so the design always had the multiple barrier approach in mind.”

PROJECT FEATURE

Setting the Adelaide Airport Stormwater Managed Aquifer Recharge Scheme apart from other MAR projects is its trialling of two types of filtration prior to the stormwater being pumped underground, naturally removing sediments, phosphorus and nitrogen.

“We are using media filtration with sand pressure vessels and then, in parallel to that, we also have a biofilter, which is a fairly new method of filtration,” Mr Ingleton explained.

“It’s basically layers of sand with vegetation on top – it mimics a natural process like a condensed wetland.

The same water is going through both treatments, so we can see how they perform against each other.

“We are now researching the pros and cons and optimising each of them, since we’ve only just started operating this in the last few weeks and it’s one of the first of its kind we’ve done in SA Water.”

As well as exploring potential opportunities to expand the customer

base for this scheme, SA Water is also looking at further innovative uses.

Mr Ingleton suggested there were more exciting possibilities on the horizon.

“We have put it in and run it for a year; now we need to optimise it and look at what’s next,” he said.

“There is now a push for liveability and trying to improve the aesthetics of an area. When we were in drought and the parks were dry, people weren’t using the parks. There are positive mental health outcomes and social interactions that occur around these spaces.

“Monash University has been looking into the temperatures when people get really heat-stressed; so for Adelaide, where we have a beautiful green belt of parks around the city, we need to look at whether we can irrigate our parklands to cool the city down and take the edge off hot days.

“This could also be done in urban parks and open space, irrigating with nonpotable water to cool down the parks and the surrounding areas.

“We are looking into the difference in air temperature if we irrigate and what it could mean for energy savings, social interaction and reducing heat stress.

“We are setting up a couple of small trials around the city and suburban areas to see what energy savings from air conditioning can be achieved by cooling the air through irrigation with stormwater and recycled water.”

Mr Ingleton and Mr Maslin are keen to build on the Adelaide Airport Stormwater Managed Aquifer Scheme’s results to date.

“Our learnings from this scheme have been taken into other projects, which is a big advantage,” Mr Maslin said.

“Interesting information about bores, artesian conditions and science have now been used on other council schemes and SA Water’s regional bore schemes across the state.

“This is all water that would otherwise go out to sea, so it’s been a real positive,” Mr Ingleton said.

“We’ve had some hurdles, but I see it as the start of SA Water branching out into an alternative water space.

We now have this really iconic scheme that we can use to the best of its advantage,” he concluded.

PICTURED: (Opposite page) Adelaide Airport MAR treatment site; (Top) Media Filtration pressure vessels; (Left) Brownhill Creek Harvesting Pump Station and Bore 4. All photos: Courtesy SA Water

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PROJECT SPOTLIGHT

Cutting-edge water management for WA residential project Integrated urban water management is a key feature of a sustainable community demonstration project near Fremantle in Western Australia.

The White Gum Valley (WGV) project – which will eventually be home to 150 people – will be developed on the former Kim Beazley school site and will showcase the benefits of smart, affordable and sustainable building.

The two-hectare residential precinct is the first redevelopment in WA to achieve an international sustainable endorsement from One Planet Living.

One Planet Living, an international framework which consists of 10 principles for organisations to plan and deliver sustainable design, was developed by Bioregional and WWF. The principles include sustainable water, sustainable transport, zero carbon, zero waste, local and sustainable food, and local and sustainable materials.

Integrated urban water management is central to the LandCorp project.

By maximising natural sources, implementing water sensitive urban design and water efficiency measures, White Gum Valley aims to achieve a 70 per cent reduction in current mains water consumption.

Key initiatives to drive the reduction include a community bore irrigation system, integrated stormwater management, rainwater harvesting systems, water efficient fixtures and appliances, real time monitoring and low water use landscaping.

The community bore will be installed in an area of public open space to provide

irrigation to public and private lots within the precinct.

This will provide a source of nonpotable water for garden irrigation which, according to LandCorp, is an innovative approach to water supply at precinct scale in WA. Water supplies from the community bore and water mains to each lot will be individually metred and logged in real time to demonstrate mains water savings and provide prompt notification of any leaks or water supply issues.

LandCorp said it had worked with project partners to develop a community-wide stormwater retention system, incorporating stormwater pit arrangements which feed into a series of pipes around tree root systems.

It said four street trees would be selected for an initial trial, with the intention to adopt this approach more widely in future works to increase soil moisture content, plant health and tree growth.

In addition to providing an alternative water source to individual lots, the community bore and stormwater management system would support the water sensitive landscape design of the precinct.

Waterwise plant selection and landscaping techniques, such as soil conditioning and appropriate mulch cover, would reduce irrigation requirements.

LandCorp said the design guidelines for the precinct required all single residential dwellings to be installed with dual-plumbing, including accompanying pipework and roof plumbing.

Plumbed rainwater tanks would also be installed to provide a supply of non-drinkable water for toilet flushing and washing machines through a Sustainability Rebate Package.

The precinct would also be the focus of a four year “living laboratory” research program to monitor the performance of the water and energy efficiency initiatives and share the findings with the wider community.

The research program would be undertaken by WA’s Curtin University.

WA Lands Minister, Terry Redman, said the White Gum Valley project was a unique redevelopment featuring cutting-edge water, energy and climate-responsive design.

“The problems of a growing population, competition for water supply, power generation, housing affordability and social alienation are all issues addressed by this project,” he said.

“Once built, WGV will showcase a ground-breaking house designed specifically for future generations, the latest energy, water and climate-responsive initiatives and unique community building programs.

“It will address infill by providing a diverse range of housing styles and options, including apartments, townhouses, maisonettes and single home sites. The project is expected to take two years to complete.”

The project will include the Gen Y Demonstration Housing Project, which will showcase the winning design from a competition which challenged the state’s young architects to design an innovative and sustainable home to suit Generation Y homeowners.

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FOCUS ON WATER

Focus on water development in Northern Australia The provision of water infrastructure is a key focus of two Federal Government white papers with $500 million allocated for assessing viable projects and developing the infrastructure.

The Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper was released in the first week of July and a white paper dealing with northern Australia – Our North, Our Future – was released in mid-June.

A National Water Infrastructure Development Fund containing $500 million for water infrastructure, including dams, has been established by the Federal Government through the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper.

Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, said $50 million would be allocated to support the planning necessary to decide on viable projects for investment, and $450 million would be made available to construct water infrastructure in partnership with the states and territories.

“Water is the most basic input for life – this funding will help supply water for communities, agriculture and industry,” Minister Joyce said.

“It’s a critically important resource for our farmers, who have their work cut out for them feeding the nation, as well as 40 million people beyond our shores, while working the driest inhabited continent on earth.

“This investment is nation building – and justly – up to $200 million of the funds are allocated to Northern Australia through the white paper announced in June.

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“A lot of work has been done to identify dams and water infrastructure projects that will benefit rural and regional communities and agriculture, including through the efforts of the Water Infrastructure Ministerial Working Group that I chair.

“There is a long and growing list of suggested sites and projects that could benefit from funding right across the country; from managed aquifer recharge in the Northern Territory to Gippsland’s Macalister Irrigation District Southern Pipeline in Victoria.

“There are many great opportunities in the Nathan and Emu Swamp dams, Rookwood and Eden Bann weirs in Queensland, Dungowan Dam in New South Wales and the Ord Stage 3 in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

“The funding in the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper builds on existing commitments to water infrastructure in the Great Artesian Basin, Tasmania and the Murray-Darling Basin.”

Minister Joyce said water infrastructure was central to the Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper because it set out the government’s priorities for agriculture for the next generation.

“It will be up to all of us to play our parts to make agriculture an even more profitable and dynamic sector in the future.”

The white paper focusing on northern Australia provides for a $200 million Water Infrastructure Development Fund – the money will

support development of more water resources in the north, which has a land mass covering over three million square kilometres and a population of over one million people.

The White paper described the fund as the first step in delivering on the government’s commitment to undertake the detailed work necessary to build the water infrastructure needed to secure the nation’s water supplies while protecting the environment.

The fund, it said, would provide up to $5 million for a feasibility analysis for the Nullinga Dam near Cairns, and up to $5 million for a detailed examination of land-use suitability for Ord Stage 3 in Western Australia.

“By providing funding for feasibility assessments the government will ensure that the right water infrastructure is built. Water users in northern Australia can’t be saddled with unviable projects or operational and maintenance costs they can’t afford,” the paper stated.

The white paper said the government would also provide $15 million for water resource assessments of the Mitchell River (Queensland), West Kimberley (Western Australia) and Darwin region (Northern Territory).

It said the government would work with northern jurisdictions to undertake water resource assessments in priority catchments – assessments that would be rolled out over the next four years.

“Assessments will target areas likely to deliver the most valuable water for economic development and provide the information needed to establish water management plans.

“This is a first step. There are over 30 surface water catchments in the north that have been identified as having further potential, but lack the foundational science and data on water and agricultural resources that a water resources assessment would provide.”

River flows and groundwater were, according to the white paper, vital for supporting natural environments as well as other productive uses.

It said they provided opportunities to supply water to growing regional and urban communities and for new and existing industries. Predicting and meeting demand for new water users and uses was an important driver of water resource development.

The white paper described water as the single biggest driver for economic prosperity in Australia.

The food and beverage industry, agribusiness, power and energy, mining and tourism, all depend on water and its proper management to succeed (Australian Water Association, 2014).

The White Paper said governments could play a role in conducting proper management, but it was rare that one investor could capture all the gains or afford to assume all the costs.

“Water managers and investors alike need better information upon which to base allocation and investment decisions, about both surface and ground water.

“State and territory governments can also facilitate water resource development by providing access to secure water rights to encourage investment.”

The north could learn important lessons from many of the problems previously faced in southern Australia, according to the White paper.

It contended that communities, the environment and business in the south suffered from over allocation of water entitlements, resulting in too little available water.

“Providing long term, secure and tradeable water entitlements will attract business investment and reduce demand on governments. When allocating water rights, governments should consider the economic opportunities that water can provide to existing water users, including traditional users.”

The White Paper cautioned that support for new water infrastructure should not be prescriptive.

“It should match the best available supply options with demand to ensure ongoing economic viability.”

Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development, Warren Truss, said the White Paper was the first to focus on developing northern Australia and it represented a roadmap for achieving the government’s vision for the north by 2035.

“We have set out an ambitious long-term reform agenda for the north because a strong north means a strong nation,” Mr Truss said.

The Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper is available at: http://agwhitepaper.agriculture.gov.au/ while the Northern Australia White Paper can be found at https:// northernaustralia.dpmc.gov.au/

New web tool gives national picture of water sources The launch of a new web tool in late June provides for a comprehensive national picture of recycled and desalinated water sources for over 350 sites across the country.

The Climate Resilient Water Sources web portal on the Bureau of Meteorology’s website captures publicly and privately owned and operated recycled and desalinated water sources in Australia.

It allows users to search information on capacity, production, location and use of alternative water sources in their local area.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment, Bob Baldwin, said diverse and sustainable water sources were important to Australia’s water security.

“Climate resilient water sources play an important role in increasing our water security. They reduce the impacts of rainfall and temperature variations or of long-term drought, on water availability,” Mr Baldwin said.

“Australia’s has a highly variable climate, increasing population and economic development, which means we need to be smarter in how we use our water supplies.

“Recycled and desalinated water sources are a way of meeting Australia’s water demands, either as part of large centralised supply systems or small decentralised schemes.

“For the first time the Climate Resilient Water Sources web portal will bring together a comprehensive map of recycled and desalinated water sources across Australia.”

Mr Baldwin said the Federal Government was committed to improving the understanding of all water resources, including climate resilient sources, through the Bureau’s Improving Water Information Program.

“Climate Resilient Water Sources is a valuable tool which will ensure recycled and desalinated water resources are factored into planning for Australia’s water future.”

Climate Resilient Water Sources has been jointly developed by the Bureau of Meteorology, the Australian Water Recycling Centre of Excellence, the National Centre for Excellence in Desalination and CSIRO. The portal can be found at: www.bom.gov.au/water/crews

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FOCUS ON WATER

Shift to diverse water sources in Australia A report comparing the performance of 78 nation-wide urban water utilities during 2013-14 highlighted an increased reliance on diversified water sources in Australia’s highly variable climate.

The National Performance Report 2013-14: urban water utilities was released on 9 May by the Bureau of Meteorology – it is the ninth in a series of national urban water performance reports.

Ian Prosser, Assistant Director Water Information Services at the Bureau, said while surface water remained the dominant source of water supplied across the country, Western Australia and South Australia had seen a decrease in reliance on historically dominant supply sources – such as groundwater and surface water.

“Below-average rainfall has had an impact on many major east coast and inland urban centres over the past year, with drier than average conditions also persisting in the west and southwest of Australia,” said Dr Prosser.

“This has seen a shift towards more climate resilient water sources, particularly in Western Australia and South Australia, where both states have reported increases in water sourced from desalination.”

Dr Prosser said slight increases in residential water consumption in 2013-14, the third consecutive year of observed increases, could likely be attributed to hotter temperatures, average or below-average rainfall, and easing of water restrictions across Australia.

“Rainfall is arguably the most influential factor affecting residential consumption and drier conditions were compounded by above-average temperatures in 2013 and 2014, which were the hottest and third hottest years respectively since official temperature records began in 1910.”

Nationally, the median volume of residential water supplied was 185 kilolitres (kL) per property, up three per cent from 179kL in 2012-13.

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The overall increase in the median typical annual residential water bill was two per cent; while the median combined operating expenditure per property remained steady, decreasing by less than one per cent from $887 in 2012-13 to $880 in 2013-14.

Adam Lovell, Executive Director Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA), said the release of the performance report reflected the continued transparency of the urban water industry.

“Australia is a world leader in robust and regular public reporting. It is great to see a reduction in the national median for water and sewerage complaints, which reflects the hard work of utilities to meet customers’ needs and improve their engagement.

“It is also pleasing to see that drinking water quality, already very high in most areas for many years, continues to improve in regional supplies,” said Mr Lovell.

National water performance reports are produced annually to benchmark the efficient performance of water utilities, independently and publicly.

The National Performance Report 2013-14 provides data from 78 reporting utilities, providing water services to over 20 million people.

It was prepared by the Bureau of Meteorology, state and territory governments, and the Water Services Association of Australia.

Sydney Water proposes lower water bills Households will save up to $100 on their water bill each year under a proposal lodged by Sydney Water with the New South Wales Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART).

Sydney Water’s submission to IPART proposes to reduce customer bills while still delivering high quality services, enhance customer engagement so it can better align services to meet customer expectations and modernise regulation, so it can deliver better outcomes.

The water utility estimated most households would save on their bills for the next four years.

Compared with the 2015-16 average bill, residential customers would save: • $105 or 8.6% (for customers in single residential homes); • $86 or 7.9% (for customers in residential flats).

Overall, of non-residential customers: • 43% would receive up to a 10% saving; • about 50% would receive a 15-17% saving, and • about 7% would see a 35-39% saving.

Sydney Water said it was able to propose reduced bills because it was passing through savings from lower interest rates, had saved over $450 million since 2012 by being more efficient and expected lower costs in buying water.

NSW Minister for Lands and Water, Niall Blair, said making government agencies, like Sydney Water, more efficient meant savings could be passed on to customers while still maintaining high quality service delivery.

Mr Blair said the government was investing $705 million over the 201516 financial year to maintain, renew and upgrade critical infrastructure across Sydney’s water and wastewater network.

Understanding Australia’s past climate variability Given the importance of water in Australia, there is relatively little information about the past variability of rainfall on the continent, according to researchers from ANSTO and the National Parks and Wildlife Service of New South Wales.

The researchers said although there was a good annual record of the past 100 years in Australia, there was nothing much before that period and no known cave deposit records existed for NSW. ANSTO, University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) have collaborated on research, which appears in the Journal of Hydrology (Markowska et al. 2015).

The group is interested in interpreting the rainfall record of the past 2000 years in Australia, because understanding past climate can help predict the availability of water resources in the future.

The study is taking place in the Snowy Mountains, which is an important study site as the area is a key source of water for the Murrumbidgee and Murray River systems.

A limestone deposit at Yarrangobilly Caves in the Snowy Mountains contains a system of about 400 caves managed by the NPWS. Geologists suggest the caves were formed about 440 million years ago.

Researchers studying when rainfall reaches the subsurface (groundwater recharge) have found new information that will help reconstruct past climates and groundwater recharge from cave deposits.

The deposits, or speleothems, are mineral accumulations formed by calcium-rich water in underground caverns. They are important because they can be used to establish a record of past environmental changes, such as rainfall variability.

Lead author of the research – Institute for Environmental Research scientist, Monika Markowska – and colleagues have been monitoring dripping water, which forms stalagmites, for 15 months in the cave system, which is located in Kosciuszko National Park.

“Monitoring the water movement from the surface to the cave is important because it carries the majority of the climate and environmental information from the surface,” according to Professor Andy Baker of UNSW Australia, a co-author of the paper.

Researchers found the soil moisture content may be more important than the amount of rainfall in the formation of stalagmites.

“Although rainfall is essential for groundwater recharge, at Harrie Wood Cave, it was the antecedent soil moisture saturation (wet or dry preconditions) that controlled whether water from individual rainfall events reached the underground cave system,” said Ms Markowska.

The researchers came to their conclusion after a detailed analysis of drip water flow at 14 sites within the Harrie Wood Cave, taken at 15-minute intervals, and weather data from the surface above the cave.

By monitoring drip rates, they can determine how long it took the water to get into the cave. They also monitored precipitation, temperature, barometric pressure and soil moisture.

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FOCUS ON WATER

Bill to cap MDB water buyback before Federal Parliament Legislation providing for a 1500 gigalitre cap on water purchases in the MurrayDarling Basin is before Federal Parliament.

The Water Amendment Bill 2015 was introduced to the House of Representatives at the end of May and was referred to the Environment and Communications Committee which is due to report back in early September.

Minister for the Environment, Greg Hunt, said the Bill would ensure certainty for Murray Darling Basin communities.

Mr Hunt said the 1500 gigalitre cap on water purchases was a key pre-election commitment by the Coalition to ensure the Basin Plan was delivered with a triple bottom line focus.

“This government has prioritised infrastructure investment as its primary method for recovering water to improve the Basin environment.

“I stress that 1500 gigalitres is not a target - it’s a ceiling - and we’ll stand by it and continue to prioritise funding that invests in our community’s future.”

Minister for Agriculture, Barnaby Joyce, said there were already good results from off-farm and on-farm infrastructure projects, and more than 10,000 individual irrigators were benefitting from infrastructure renewal and upgrades.

“Infrastructure returns, combined with supply measure projects, should deliver sufficient offsets so that water purchases will remain well under the 1500 gigalitre cap, while improving farm productivity and efficiency,” Minister Joyce said.

“Most importantly this will provide certainty for the agriculture sector and ensure our farmers continue to be world leaders.”

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Fall in storages leads to drop in water use A decrease in Australia’s water storage volumes and a corresponding reduction in water use in rural areas has been highlighted in the final phase of the National Water Account 2014.

The report – released on 30 June by the Bureau of Meteorology – is a comprehensive record of water resources for nine key regions across Australia during 2013-14.

Those regions are home to about 80 per cent of Australia’s population and represent 70-80 per cent of total water use.

Ian Prosser, Assistant Director Water Information Services at the Bureau, said the Account showed that ongoing dry conditions across much of Australia contributed to reduced storage inflows during 2013-14, placing greater demand on available water resources.

“Overall surface water storage volumes fell from 75 per cent capacity at the start of the year to 72 per cent by the end of June 2014,” Dr Prosser said.

“Storage volumes in the MurrayDarling Basin region decreased from 69 per cent to 57 per cent during the year, with rainfall almost 100mm below average. This led to a decrease in trading activity and a 25 per cent reduction in water use in the region.

“As a result, overall water consumption decreased by 21 per cent compared to the previous year, despite most other regions recording an increase in water use.”

Dr Prosser said while surface water remained the largest source of water used across Australia, the account showed a shift towards more climate-resilient water sources, such as desalinated water, particularly in Adelaide and Perth.

The Murray-Darling Basin region report – released on 30 June – completed the National Water Account 2014; the Adelaide, Canberra, Daly, Melbourne, Ord, Perth, South East Queensland and Sydney region reports were released earlier in the year.

The National Water Account builds a comprehensive record over time, and brings together data from more than 40 water agencies and partners across Australia.

Key findings of the Account for 2014 included: • Continued dry conditions across much of Australia through 2013-14 contributed to a second consecutive year of reduced inflows to storages and increased demand on the available resources in many regions.

• Surface water storage volumes in the nine National Water Account regions decreased during the year – from approximately 30,978,800 ML (or 75% capacity) at 1 July 2013, to approximately 29,922,900 ML (or 72% of capacity) at 30 June 2014.

• Water use was approximately 13,283,000 ML across the nine regions, a 21% decrease on use in 2012–13.

• Surface water, including interregion transfers, accounted for 84% of water used, while groundwater accounted for almost 15%. Other sources, including desalinated water, contributed just over 1% of the volume of water used.

• The Murray-Darling Basin accounted for 80% of water used in National Water Account regions – primarily for irrigated agriculture, which is the major use of water in Australia.

• Water security in urban areas has been improved through investment in desalination plants. Coastal urban regions can produce desalinated water to meet a portion of urban demand.

In 2013–14, Adelaide and Perth relied on desalinated water for almost 40% of urban supply, an increase of more than 30% from 2012-13.

In comparison, good surface water availability in Melbourne, south east Queensland and Sydney meant little or no desalinated water was produced in these regions.

Tenders for water use in Far North Queensland The Queensland Government is calling for what it describes as “industry boosting” tenders for water in Far North Queensland.

Natural Resources and Mines Minister, Anthony Lynham, said the tenders would allow business and industry to bid to use more than a-quarter-of-a million megalitres of water in the Flinders River catchment.

“The Palaszczuk Government is committed to unlocking economic growth and jobs in the agricultural sector in Far North Queensland,” Dr Lynham said.

“We will make this valuable resource available to individuals, businesses and industry: a resource that has the potential to support up to 12,000 hectares of irrigated agriculture and establish more rural industry jobs in the Flinders catchment.”

The Flinders River is Queensland’s longest river at 1,004 kilometres, with a catchment that covers about 109,000 square kilometres.

Its head waters begin in the uplands of the Great Dividing Range and drain to the sea near the port town of Karumba in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Dr Lynham said the Gilbert and Flinders Rivers unallocated water resources were currently being finalised in a review of the Gulf Water Resource Plan, informed by comprehensive water and soil science assembled by CSIRO and the Department of Natural Resources and Mines.

“The draft Gulf Water Resource Plan also contemplates an unallocated water reserve of almost half-a-million megalitres of water in the Gilbert River catchment.”

Dr Lynham said the government had signed a memorandum of understanding with Integrated Food and Energy Developments Pty Ltd (IFED) for its proposed Etheridge Integrated Agriculture Project regarding future access to water in the Gilbert catchment.

“The Government is not in a position to release any unallocated water in the Gilbert River catchment until IFED has completed its Environment Impact Assessment process,” he said.

“However, the IFED proposal will not impact on the implementation of the Flinders catchment outcomes in the final Gulf Water Resource Plan.”

Dr Lynham said the catchments were a government focus for agricultural development, with their ready access to national and international markets via ports and airports in Townsville, Darwin, Cairns and Brisbane.

“Making this water available is delivering on our election commitment to provide strong support to the private sector to sustainably develop the north’s water and land resources,” he said.

“Communities like Hughenden, Richmond and Cloncurry, and the supply chain businesses in those towns, will be the beneficiaries of this water release and the sustainable growth it will support.”

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MAJOR PROJECTS

Major water recycling project reaches half-way point Construction of a project that has the potential to supply up to 20 per cent of Perth’s drinking water needs by 2060 reached the halfway mark in mid-July.

The milestone was achieved on the Western Australian Government’s $124.5 million Groundwater Replenishment Scheme when the roof was raised on the building that will house the Advanced Water Recycling Plant.

The project is Australia’s first full-scale groundwater replenishment scheme and it’s being delivered by the KEP Recharge Alliance – a partnership involving the Water Corporation, Leightons Pty Ltd and CH2M Hill Australia Pty Ltd. Groundwater replenishment is the process by which treated wastewater is further treated to drinking water standards and recharged into groundwater supplies.

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Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

In Perth’s case, the 1.5 million people living in the metropolitan area produce 335 million litres of wastewater every day. At present, only six per cent of that wastewater is recycled, although the Water Corporation aims to increase this to 30 per cent by 2030.

The corporation said groundwater replenishment and other water recycling schemes had the potential to greatly increase the amount of water recycled and reduce the volume of wastewater released to the ocean.

It said treated wastewater that reached the Advanced Water Recycling Plant would go through further multiple treatment processes which included ultra- filtration, reverse osmosis and ultra-violet disinfection.

The multi-step treatment process removed chemicals and micro-organisms to levels in accordance with World Health Organisation

standards and Australian guidelines for drinking water. The process involves: Step One: Ultra filtration separates the large molecules and dissolved materials from the water that are larger 0.1 of a micron; the equivalent to 1/300th of a human hair.

Step Two: Reverse osmosis places water under pressure as it passes through tubes containing tightly wound membranes with

MAJOR PROJECTS

tiny pores, 100 times smaller than ultrafiltration. Water molecules are forced through the membrane, leaving other dissolved materials behind.

Reverse osmosis is also used to desalinate seawater at the two seawater desalination plants in Kwinana and Binningup, and at the Kwinana Water Recycling Plant where recycled water is treated for industrial use.

Step Three: The water is subjected to ultra-violet light as a final disinfection step to destroy any trace levels of micro-organisms that may remain.

The initial stage of Groundwater Replenishment Scheme will be able to recharge seven billion litres of recycled water annually, and is planned to begin recharging by mid-2016. This will allow the corporation to draw the equivalent amount of groundwater and add it to Perth’s drinking water supply.

Stage 2 of the scheme will double the capacity of the plant to 14 billion litres per year and ultimately the full-scale scheme will deliver around 28 billion litres each year – enough to supply up to 100,000 Perth households.

By 2060, groundwater replenishment could contribute 115 billion litres each year by recycling water from Perth’s major wastewater treatment plants.

State Water Minister, Mia Davies, said the roofing of the recycling plant involved two cranes lifting sections of the 3,500 square metre sheet metal roof into place over two days.

“The roof and steelwork were manufactured by AUSPAN, a familyowned operation based in Gnowangerup, and Bayswater-based Westforce were responsible for its installation,” Ms Davies said.

“The total contract value for this part of the construction project was around $4 million.

This is another great example of the Water Corporation’s support of regional and local businesses.”

The Minister said, where practical, the corporation supported the government’s Buy Local Policy when purchasing goods and services.

“This project has contracted 20 WA-based suppliers so far, to the value of almost $20 million.”

The Minister said the Water Corporation project had now reached the halfway mark, with construction due to finish in mid-2016.

When complete, the plant will have the capacity to recharge 14 billion litres of recycled water per year into deep confined aquifers, providing an additional secure, rainfall independent water source for Perth.

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Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

41

C&D RECYCLING

Maximising recovery of construction and demolition materials Construction and demolition (C&D) waste represents the largest waste stream in Australia (approximately 40% of the total waste stream), with more than 19 million tonnes generated each year.

Generally defined as waste from residential, civil and commercial construction and demolition activities, the largest components of C&D waste are concrete, bricks, asphalt, soil, timber and ferrous metals. Whilst many of these materials are readily recyclable, recovery rates across jurisdictions in Australia vary significantly - from 15 to 80 percent.

In areas where the cost of landfill is high, i.e. a waste levy is in place, there is incentive to recover materials and avoid disposal costs. Resource recovery exemptions and the introduction of the requirement for pre-treatment or sorting of wastes prior to landfilling in some states also contribute to driving recovery rates upward.

Other factors include the introduction of specifications for the use of recycled products and green purchasing policies to support the development of markets for recycled products along with product stewardship and industrial ecology programs.

Why the variation in recovery rates?

It can be done a local success story

Recycling performance is generally attributed to factors that are regionally specific, with many of these factors being influenced by State Government policy, programs and regulations.

Legislative frameworks are a key driver for promoting recycling infrastructure and market development activities for products made from recycled materials.

The Sydney Industrial Ecology Network (SIEN, facilitated by Edge Environment) a NSW EPA Waste Less, Recycle More initiative funded from the waste levy, has successfully modified the practices of demolition contractors in the Sydney CBD, increasing resource recovery rates from building defit churn from a standard practice of 20% recovery to an industry-wide target of 80%.

This was achieved through workshops, investment in establishing new markets for resources, development of guidelines, demonstration projects, negotiations of policy and awareness raising activities.

The SIEN is continuing to explore alternatives to resource disposal along with product stewardship. (A report from the Governor Macquarie Tower Defit Trial is available at http://bit.ly/1P7u6K6)

What else can be done to maximise recovery of these readily recycled materials?

Efficient processing pathways for source separated materials are already well developed so the opportunity lies in the recovery of mixed waste and the residual fraction from source separated processing facilities.

STEINERT’s range of magnetic separation and sensor sorting solutions are ideally suited to maximise the recovery of high value raw materials such as metals, wood, plastic or paper from a mixed waste stream.

Alternatively, should a higher order use for residual materials not exist, STEINERT’s range of sorting machines can also be utilised to prepare materials for energy recovery processes in place of fossil fuels i.e. refuse derived fuel.

For further information, please visit: www.steinert.com.au or call 03 8720 0800.

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Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

PRODUCT FOCUS

Tsurumi Pump delivers high performance sewage pump solutions

This skimmer pump removes floating oil, grease & solids and pumps it to tanks or processing.

A centred tungsten carbide alloy tip is braised onto the impeller Recently appointed Tsurumi Pump distributors, Australian Pump vane and rotates against the serrated edge of the suction cover. This Industries is targeting the wastewater applications. Although mechanism cuts fibrous matter that flows into the pump with ease.

Tsurumi’s initial reputation in Australia is all based on their expertise Grinder pumps are also available, Tsurumi’s MG Series, with a in dewatering pumps, the company is also a major manufacturer of a grinding mechanism in the suction port that chops incoming solids complete range of wastewater treatment equipment. into small pieces. This enables the pump to handle sewage via a The company manufactures advanced design bar screens, a huge small diameter pipe without the fear of clogging. range of specialty sewage pumps that include cutter, grinder and The big B Series pumps are available with flows of over 100 cubic vortex pumps and compact submersible aerators. At Tsurumi’s huge metres per minute and are installed in some of Japan’s biggest plant in Kyoto the company develops and comprehensively tests new sewage installations. concepts in waste water treatment before putting them on the market.

The company’s range now dominates large sections of S.E. Asia’s growing urbanisation with big programmes running in Thailand, Pretreatment Equipment - Aeration and Mixing Gear Cambodia, Vietnam and more recently Myanmar.

Pump products range from Tsurumi’s VANCs series where both Tsurumis’ TRN Series aerators are self-aspirating submersible single and 3 phase pumps made of stainless steel and FRP resin, aerating devices. A built in special semi open impeller, made from are able to handle compressible solids. These pumps feature large cast 410 stainless steel, draws in air which is mixed with the liquid passage vortex impellers. The VANCs range, available in discharge and discharged at high pressure. This innovative design leads to ports from 40 to 80mm, are available with optional sliding guide rails highly efficient aeration. for permanent installation.

Easy and low cost installation makes these reliable aerators Tsurumi developed a unique auto duplexing system that does away great cost cutters for sewage and waste water system designers. with expensive control panels. The simple dual pump system can The range extends right up to 40 kW versions capable of handling be set by using an automatic and alternating pump. No complicated air flow rates of up to 528 cubic metres per hour. Starting method is external control panel is required. The installer simply connects DOL for the smaller models but Star Delta for the models between power to his pump. By adjusting the float levels the pumps can be 12 and 40 kW. set to run alternatively. If extra capacity is required both pumps will These submersible aerators can be installed in tanks, pits or sumps automatically work together. The alternating model has 3 floats can and are available with maximum water depths of 6 metres. Aerators be identified with a suffix W in the model name. can be supplied with stand or draught tube for special applications.

These pumps are available in the same output range as the The adoption of a Tsurumi aerator with an optional stand or automatic pumps allowing the complete priming and secondary draught tube could be the solution in a number of applications where operating system to be installed as shown in the illustration. the aerator is to be installed in existing tank, and is not possible to The VANCs series have flow rates of up to 950 lpm and heads of as alter the depth of the tank. Two or more aerators may be installed in high as 26 metres. A VANCs Tsurumi pump was the tank to work together depending on the size.

Tsurumi C series sewage recently discovered in a permanent installation Tsurumi’s biggest aerator, the 150 TRN440 has pumps, with the built-in in Tasmania where it had been running an oxygen transfer rate of 28.9 kg O2 per hour. cutter mechanism, chop waste into small pieces. continuously for 87,000 hours!

“Australian Pump has produced a waste This enables the pumps to cut fibrous matter and Tsurumi’s sewage pump range includes a water treatment guide that focuses on Tsurumi’s pass it without the range of vortex pumps in both 2 and 4 pole excellent waste water treatment equipment. fear of clogging. configuration. The pumps range in flows of up to Tsurumi is the only company we know of that will 2,600 lpm with maximum solids handling of up to offer a 3 year warranty on submersible sewage 100mm. pumps and aeration equipment,” said Product A similar product range, the Tsurumi B Manager, Craig Bridgement.

Series is a channel impeller style available in The products are backed by the company and an extensive range right up to 800 mm port size. are already used in a wide range of applications These heavy duty pumps will interchange with in Australia in the non-government sector. other brands and designed for sewage, waste Tsurumi plan on sending a team of engineers water and effluent draining. Guide rail kits are to Australia to investigate public works and available for all models. to identify applications for their wastewater C Series Cutter Series pumps that incorporate equipment in the coming months. a channel impeller with a cutter mechanism are For further information, please visit: also proving popular in Australia. www.aussiepumps.com.au 44

Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

LANDFILL

What is air worth?

Appropriately pricing landfills

by Mike Ritchie, Jordon Wong & Tom Mallet – MRA Consulting Group

L

andfill gate fees typically cover costs of operation, overheads, mobile plant and equipment, labour, depreciation costs of roads and buildings and other fixed assets and profit.

But the costs (and therefore the gate fee), also need to include 30-50 year post closure management, long term monitoring and reporting, and importantly replacement of the landfill asset itself.

In MRA’s experience, many rural, local council run landfills do not recognise these latter costs and as a result gate fees are too low to cover the true costs of operation.

Post closure management and long term monitoring

Post closure management can be very expensive. MRA has seen costs from $1-20 million in post closure rehabilitation. The cost depends upon the scale of the landfill, location, risk profile and proximity to sensitive environments.

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Failure to account for these costs in the operating gate fee leaves an unfunded liability.

Similarly, the EPA’s of Australia require monitoring of the closed landfill for up to 50 years prior to relinquishment of the landfill licence. Costs can range from $10$200k per year.

Asset replacement Another significant oversight in landfill pricing, is failure to account for the consumption of void space and therefore landfill asset replacement. We think the main reason may be related to how the (local government) landfill, came into being.

Privately owned landfills are generally “purchased” on the open market as quarries or existing landfills. A savvy seller will include a factor to account for the value of the void (air space to be used for future landfilling). This will be reflected in the price and therefore in the operating costs of the landfill.

Many councils “inherit” their landfills from council quarry operations or previous

generations. Consequently, the airspace is a (“free”) gift. These councils generally depreciate fixed assets on the landfill (roads and buildings, weighbridges etc), but since the void was free, few account for its replacement, once consumed.

That is fine if all generations of users get the same benefits i.e. inheriting free voids. But as landfill void opportunities shrink and landfills become harder to find or approve and costs of replacement rise, future landfill users are at a significant cost disadvantage to current users. MRA estimates that these replacement costs can cost $16 - $50 per tonne depending on the size of the landfill.

Accounting Standards The Australian Accounting Standard AASB 137 requires that: • Provisions (a liability of uncertain timing or amount) must be recognised in the financial statements; • Contingent Liabilities (a possible obligation which arises from past events but will be confirmed only by uncertain

LANDFILL

future events; or is not probable or the amount cannot be reliably estimated) must be disclosed but not accounted for (until it becomes probable).

Most landfill related liabilities are of relatively known timing and for which a reliable estimate can be made. Therefore, they should be recognised in the accounts as a Provision (or at the very least a Contingent Liability). Most are not.

Many Councils intend to borrow to fund the next landfill (and therefore they don’t need to provide for asset replacement from current users). That is fine. Future users will be paying off the landfill via the debt service costs built into the gate fee.

But what about current users of the current landfill? How are current users contributing or being charged, particularly if the landfill was “inherited”?

Few existing, council owned, landfills are debt funded.

The costs are high Unfunded liabilities have to be met by someone. Whether it is post-closure rehabilitation, 50 year monitoring or asset replacement, someone has to pay.

And the costs can be high.

• For example Esperance Council in WA has recently introduced a one-off $6 million ratepayer fee because it underpriced its landfill gate fee over the operating life. General ratepayers have ended up subsidising all landfill users. According to The West Australian, the costs could have been as high as $15m.

• A Victorian council was forced to pay $23.5 million in compensation to 771 residents after they were forced to evacuate homes due to dangerously high levels of methane gas. The majority of the costs will paid by the Council (with the Victorian EPA contributing $10 million; The Age).

• The cost to remediate Lake Macquarie City Council’s quarries, landfills and sanitary depots has skyrocketed from $16 million to $36 million over a few years. (In 2006, the council estimated the remediation costs at $11.3million; Newcastle Herald).

• In 2013-14, TPI (Cleanaway) allocated an additional $154 million to post closure remediation, monitoring and reporting across its seven operational landfills and

six closed landfills. In total, TPI’s total landfill related provisions now amount to $347 million (Ben Global).

Who should pay?

Most Councils introduce special rates to meet unfunded landfill liabilities.

But ratepayers are not necessarily the same group as landfill users. On average 50-60% of all landfill waste is non-domestic (commercial and construction) waste but the majority of ratepayers are households. So it is not fair for households to subsidise both big commercial generators like clubs and pubs, retailers and building companies, as well as all past users.

Elected representatives understandably want to keep landfill gate fees low for their ratepayers. That is fair enough. But rather than asking “How will our ratepayers afford this?” they should be asking “What is the real cost of this service and who is going to pay for it ratepayers or landfill users?” They are most often not the same or have very different waste generation profiles.

Once the landfill has been filled, there is no chance to go back and recover the losses – and someone has to pay.

The unintended consequences Underpricing landfills is both economically and environmentally detrimental. It can often lead to significant unfunded liabilities and costs to ratepayers. It can bias the market and introduce anti-competitive forces.

Importantly, artificially cheap landfill undermines all other recycling and resource recovery opportunities.

Low recycling rates means fewer jobs are being created in this sector. For every job we create in landfill we create 3.3 in recycling.

Councillors in rural areas across Australia often ask MRA to work on regional jobs growth opportunities related to waste and resources. The first thing we look at is the landfill gate fee to see whether local recycling is viable or not. Higher landfill prices create the headroom for recyclers to operate competitively.

The higher landfill costs in Sydney have seen a renaissance in recycling and resource recovery business activity.

Combined with the NSW EPA Waste Less

Recycle More grants (funded via landfill levies) hundreds of new jobs are being created every year.

And importantly recycling jobs are green collar jobs and largely recession proof. They are countercyclical to mining booms and busts.

Recycling is probably the fastest growing manufacturing sector in Australia. It is in a growth cycle due to rising environmental controls on landfills and the introduction of landfill pricing signals.

Action There are a few quick checks a council can do to make sure their landfill pricing is right: • Did you buy or “inherit” the landfill?

• Does the gate fee cover all operating (fixed and variable) costs and profit?

• Does the gate fee include provisions for: o asset replacement (purchasing a void) o planning consent and licencing o final capping and remediation o post closure maintenance and reporting?

• Landfill gate fees, which incorporate the above costs and provisions (excluding landfill levies and profit) (BDA 2009) in 2015 dollars, should generally be: o small landfills (<10,000 tpa) ≥ $120/t o medium landfills (10,000- 100,000 tpa) ≥ $72/t o large landfills (>100,000 tpa) approximately ≥ $50/t.

Of course there are variants on this theme but pricing outside these general parameters should be reviewed to ensure unfunded liabilities do not arise. The key learning from the BDA study is that small landfills are particularly vulnerable to unfunded liabilities. There are very few small landfills in Australia with landfill gate fees above $120/t. MRA works with a large number of landfill owners to quantify liabilities and operating costs, as well as strategies to engage the community on the need to realistically price landfill services.

Unfunded liabilities are bad for business. Bad for landfill owners, bad for councils, bad for ratepayers and bad for recyclers.

Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

47

SPECIAL REPORT

PMS –

Preventative Maintenance Scheduling

By Terry Daley, CEO Wastedge.com

O

utside of customers, vehicles are a waste company’s most important and costly assets! Yet few companies manage them with the attention they deserve. Many companies are still using antiquated paper based records systems to keep track of these, when paper based filing systems are the most costly to keep and most difficult to share amongst staff from multiple departments.

Trucks these days can cost several hundred thousand dollars and then get fitted with an array of expensive accessories such as on-board computers, camera systems and the like. The compactor bodywork may be custom built, the chassis may have different lift and compaction systems fitted.

Some trucks are like the woodsman’s 10 year old axe, (only changed the head once and handle twice), as vehicles go through several iterations of

refurbishment until they become ghosts (the stage after write-off where they can still be used as off-the-books emergency backup).

What a good fleet records management system should do in a waste company is help you keep track of registers of all relevant equipment data, such as make, model, year, serial number, etc, for the following groups of equipment: • Body details and dimensions, • Engine, PTO and Chassis data, • Suspension and Axel details, • Bin lift and load cell systems, • Waste compaction systems, • Other Accessories and warranty dates, e.g.: o Fire extinguishers o Onboard systems o Air-con units, etc o On-board Computers

Different truck types/groups will have varying standard component sets Simple record keeping can save considerable administration time (and cost) when chasing down paperwork to find out what make and model of lift systems are on a truck, that’s broken down out in the field or in the mechanics yard when it comes time to order a replacement parts. If you can capture new vehicle details through an induction process when the purchasing paperwork is handy, or at repair/refurbishment time, then electronic records can easily be kept up to date.

Pictures (front, back and sides) are easy to do with a digital camera these days and can also be linked to your audit reports and also show what kind of condition the truck is in.

Record keeping also assists in minimising risk and the cost of accidents Simply knowing from your operations data what trucks are doing how many kilometres or engine hours (easy to record from onboard systems) or simply knowing how many working days, can help you know when to schedule appropriate preventative maintenance A or B services.

Integrated fleet service calendars should not only help you with scheduling what trucks are assigned to which route or area but should also be able to project when different trucks will be due for their next periodic safety checks and services, based on how many kilometres or engine hours they are clocking up each day.

Breakdowns or accidents awaiting repair can also be marked up in an electronic calendar style roster chart to give managers a clearer picture of truck availability at a glance.

With the hindsight of recent fatal accidents involving waste vehicles, many larger companies are scrambling to get better repairs and maintenance service record systems in place.

Simple Record of Service/ Repair Costs

Some fleet maintenance management systems are overkill, where a simple log of last brake service date and cost or preventative maintenance service applied on what date and odometer mark can cover basic record keeping requirements.

Recording detail maintenance and repair costs can also be difficult. While most of the in-house grease-monkeys (dare I use that old term?) have now moved out to contract vehicle maintenance specialists there is still a range of simple local repairs and maintenance that can be done ‘in-house”.

Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

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SPECIAL REPORT

Yet getting your yard mechanics into the office to record maintenance costs into the computer system isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t an easy task. (Most would opt for having a clerical assistant to enter data, as their digits are grease covered most of the day.)

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Waste + Water Management Australia - August 2015

The advent of on-board computers has meant that the trucks can capture a lot of the relevant data you need automatically (e.g. simple kilometres travelled from GPS and engine hours and various other factors from Canbus systems.)

On-board systems also make it much easier for drivers to log defects electronically via onscreen Defective Vehicle Reports (DVRs). Defects can then be prioritised pro-actively by category and not lost in translation from driver through admin staff to maintenance staff.

When you consider the cost of a full safety recall and lost revenue-earning power, when those trucks are off the road, plus unexpected breakdowns related to missed services, plus driverâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s overtime and the value of lost customers from service failures, it can very expensive.

Being able to demonstrate a good safety record can also help reduce insurance costs and can intangibly attract and keep better staff.

So timely maintenance is a major cost saver!