ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY NOMINEES

CARBONMASTIC SMA 7 ASPHALT TRIAL

City of Gold Coast and Austek Asphalt

In April of 2021, Austek in collaboration with the City of Gold Coast conducted a trial of an innovative Carbonmastic product, a first of its kind with any Australian local government. The project involved the resurfacing of Lightbody Court and Shaw Court in the suburb of Ormeau. Carbonmastic is small-stone Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) that has been modified with carbon char from reclaimed Queensland waste tyres. Designed on a 7mm nominal maximum stone size, Carbonmastic produces superior performance over conventional asphalt products including greatly improved skid resistance, higher rut resistance, greater resistance to fatigue, higher shear strength, increased colour duration, noise reduction as well as environmental benefits, all whilst maintaining a cost competitive edge. These performance properties perfectly addressed the concerns raised from the sharp turning loads applied on the cul-de-sacs. The plant that produces the Carbonmastic Asphalt runs off a diesel fuel that is also derived from recycled tyres. The project was able to use local tyres that no longer had a use to attain a recycled pavement in a highly urbanised environment that was executed safely. Carbonmastic is a truly unique and technically sound product especially when considering problems waste tyre materials pose if not being repurposed into better performing road surfacing projects. The circular economy massively reduces the impacts on the environment and offsets the carbon footprint of the asphalt production process and the City of Gold Coast’s asset renewal process.

SUNSHINE COAST COUNCIL - ROAD RESEAL & REHABILITATION PROGRAM FY 20/21

Sunshine Coast Council

Sunshine Coast Council Road Reseal and Rehabilitation Program Financial Year 2020/2021. Sunshine Coast Council maintains more than 2200 kilometres of roads across the region through the Road Reseal and Rehabilitation Program, to ensure road safety for motorists. Through this program, Council repairs road failures, improves the road surface and renews line marking to deliver safe and high-quality local roads for the region. In 2020/21 the $19.6 million dollar program included in excess of 56 kilometres across 120 roads. A particular focus this year was placed on Environment and Sustainability in both the design and delivery of this program. When planning and undertaking this program of work at every stage the question was asked, how we could conduct this work in a sustainable fashion? This led to the use of recycled materials in both in-situ and also imported products. Waste/spoil generated was reused, pavements recycled utilising improvement products such as cement and asphalt surfacing incorporated waste products such as tyres and glass. The sustainable approach also continued with finishing works where the team partnered with other areas of Council and the community to then plant trees on selected projects upon completion of the road resurfacing/ rehabilitation, which encourages natural cooling of the road surface to ensure longevity of the infrastructure and increases in biodiversity in the Sunshine Coast urban and rural areas.

WILDLIFE AWARENESS MONITORS

Brisbane City Council

Brisbane City Council is installing wildlife awareness monitors (WAMs) as part of an initiative to help protect and maintain our city’s biodiversity by increasing driver awareness of high wildlife presence on roads in an effort to reduce animal strikes. The purpose of the monitors is to alert drivers to their speed in wildlife zones across Brisbane and to reinforce safe driver behaviour. Wildlife awareness monitors are part of the Infrastructure for Brisbane Program and one of the many ways Council is driving a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable city. The wildlife awareness monitors are permanent message boards, sustainably operated through solar powered installations. The signs are customised based on wildlife behaviours and movements across the seasons to display messages such as breeding season or joey season. The monitors are installed with radar to detect speed as drivers approach. Depending on the motorist’s speed, one of the following two messages is displayed: • A smiling koala face is displayed when the driver is travelling at or below the posted speed limit. • A ‘slow down’ message is displayed if the driver is travelling above the speed limit. To date, Council has installed 29 monitors in areas which have been identified as priority hot spots by Council’s Natural Environment, Water and Sustainability branch. This initiative is part of Council’s commitment to delivering improved safety in local areas, helping residents and visitors get home safety.

SOUTHERN SUBURBS RISING MAIN

Townsville City Council, BMD

Funded by Townsville City Council (TCC) and the Queensland Government, the Southern Suburbs Rising Main (SSRM) project has helped reduce pressure on Townsville’s sewerage network. The completed project has also provided new capacity for the key defence and economic precincts of Lavarack Barracks, the Townsville Hospital and James Cook University and supports future population growth in the southern and western suburbs of Townsville, catering for 20,000 new residents. The pipeline has a combined length of 11.2 kilometres, with BMD’s section of the project including the installation of a 3.8 kilometre new high-density polyethylene trunk main running from Oonoonba to the Cleveland Bay Purification Plant (CBPP) and construction of a return recycled water main to be used as part of Townsville’s Recycled Water Re-use Scheme. With approximately 70% of the project located in tidal areas, BMD overcame technical challenges of scheduling works around low tidal periods, working within the groundwater table, poor subsurface materials and the treatment and disposal of 70,000m3 of combined acid sulphate soil and water. As part of TCC’s three-point water security solution, a recycled water facility is planned to be constructed to provide 10 million litres per day of A+ class recycled water from the Cleveland Bay Purification Plant for irrigation purposes to Townsville’s parks, sporting fields and open spaces, as well as some additional commercial uses.

KLEINTON WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITY

Toowoomba Regional Council

The Kleinton Waste Management Facility services the northern parts of the Toowoomba Region. The $18M project incorporates a new waste transfer station and involved the rehabilitation of the existing landfill now used for bulk materials segregation. The facility is designed for a 25-year life with an expansion option to cater for the waste service needs for the next 50 years. Environmental and safety were paramount to manage during the waste relocation and landfill rehabilitation activities. A fauna spotter, asbestos spotter, waste handling contractor and gas monitoring system was used during the construction work. The facility has also been designed to ensure that the landfill and residual waste cannot contaminate the groundwater or stormwater and create leachate. The facility has been designed to be self-sufficient from a water and power perspective. The site has 20kW of solar, 320kL of rainwater tanks, 24ML of stormwater capture dams, and an on-site bore system. The Building Management System promptly reports electrical, sewer, fire system, CCTV or water pump faults to key operational staff, to enable early detection of issues that may affect the operation of the facility. Project planning began in 2015. Practical completion was staged, with the main facility practical completion being achieved in December 2020 and the final practical completion achieved in April 2021. The project has attracted positive customer google reviews, and Council’s operating staff have provided positive feedback around how easy the facility is to operate. The Kleinton Waste Management Facility delivers positive environmental outcomes through sustainable waste management practice.