SUPPORTING RECYCLED
INFRASTRUCTURE A NEW GLASS ADDITIVE BIN AT ALEX FRASER’S CLARINDA RECYCLING FACILITY IS BOOSTING ITS CAPACITY IN ORDER TO FEED THE DEMAND FOR RECYCLED MATERIALS ON VICTORIA’S INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.
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n March the Victorian Government introduced its Recycled First program, which aims to implement new requirements prioritising sustainability in infrastructure projects under the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority. These requirements will mean recycled products that meet standards, such as glass, plastic, reclaimed asphalt and others would be prioritised over virgin materials for construction. Recycling company, Alex Fraser, is directly enabling the use of high volumes of recycled glass and brick waste directly, by transforming the materials into a quality sand and aggregate for blending into road base. The company’s Clarinda Recycling Facility currently processes hundreds of thousands of tonnes of recycled products for use on road construction and maintenance projects across Melbourne. Reprocessing glass waste is also set to be simplified following the Victorian Government’s February announcement that it will roll out separate kerbside glass bins from 2021. This is hoped to result in less contamination of kerbside glass waste with other materials and several councils have already proactively implemented similar measures. Together these initiatives have the potential to significantly increase the use of recycled glass, and other materials across the many projects included in Victoria’s infrastructure plans. Peter Murphy, Alex Fraser Managing Director, says both glass fines and brick are priority and problematic waste streams, and the Clarinda Recycling Facility is a perfectly positioned outlet for these recycled products. “We are not only reprocessing waste materials but ensuring that the material is recycled into a valuable resource that 42
ROADS JULY 2020
Alex Fraser processes high volumes of recycled glass and brick waste for use in infrastructure projects.
contributes toward Victoria’s growing circular economy,” Mr. Murphy says. Late last year, Alex Fraser was among 13 recipients of the Victorian Government’s $4.67 million Resource Recovery Infrastructure Grants program. It used the $336,500 grant towards the construction of the new glass and brick additive bins at its Clarinda Recycling Facility, where they are used to blend recycled glass sand and brick into a new, sustainable road base product. This single piece of recycling infrastructure is markedly increasing the distribution of recycled glass and brick into road and rail projects throughout Melbourne’s south eastern suburbs. Mr. Murphy says the project will help reduce the landfill and stockpiling of problematic glass by 40,000 tonnes per year, the equivalent of 200 million bottles. “By reprocessing this priority waste into high quality sand, we’re able to supply rail and road projects with a range of high-spec,
sustainable materials that cut costs, cartage and carbon emissions, and reduce the strain on natural resources,” he says. “We’re pleased to be working with the Victorian Government to overcome one of the state’s biggest recycling challenges.” Matt Genever, Director of Resource Recovery at Sustainability Victoria (SV), says SV recognised the Clarinda Recycling Facility as an important site for resource recovery in Melbourne. “Processing up to one million tonnes of recycling per annum, the site serves a dual purpose, both as a hub for construction and demolition (C&D) waste in the south-east and through supply of aggregate and sand into new construction activities,” he says. “We are acutely aware of the shortage of quarried materials to supply the state’s significant infrastructure program and having a site of this scale located in close proximity to these major projects is essential in ensuring ongoing supply of recycled construction products and materials.”
