ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES

Perth team makes environmental waves

By Trevor Matz Tamara and the Perth team have been working tirelessly with our bin upgrading program.

Their passion for the environment and desire to minimise land fill has seen them lead the charge on recycling in Western region. In addition to the standard Cummins bins, they have introduced composting bins (for food and garden organics), plus recycling for safety glasses, plastic strapping, milk bottles and 10cent containers for change. That’s on top of the existing recycling of boots, domestic batteries and ewaste. Their effort has reduced waste at the Perth facility – no mean feat, given the amount of training, third-party interactions and management engagement they have done to get where they have. It is not unusual to see Tamara elbow deep in the bins sorting waste – now that is commitment. Tamara and I toured the local Resource Recovery Centre during National Recycling Week to understand exactly what happens with the waste streams we generate at our facility. In a two-hour tour of the centre, we learned how food and garden organics are converted into fertilizer and how what you recycle ends up at the local nursery as food for your garden. Up to 85% of all recycling brought into the facility is recovered for reuse and, by using systems to avoid methane emissions, has resulted in 600,000 tonnes of approved carbon offset, simultaneously providing a new revenue stream for the recycling stakeholders. The Resource Recovery Centre site also houses a materials recovery facility where the contents of councils’ yellow lid recycling bins are separated. Glass, paper, cardboard and hard plastics are segregated into their streams for recycling. With waste to energy coming online soon, even more trash destined for landfill will become power for our homes.

Tamara and Trevor at the Resource Recovery Centre.