200 million bottles

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.

In 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

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.”

Recently, the Southern Program Alliance opted to use almost 200,000 tonnes of tonnes of Alex Fraser’s recycled materials on the Mentone and Cheltenham Level Crossing Removal, by the Level Crossing Removal Authority (LXRA).

The project, expected to be completed in early 2021, is set to save 170,000 tonnes of material from landfill and will reduce the strain on natural resources by 185,000 tonnes.

Alex Fraser’s support on the LXRA projects is coupled by the supply of major roads projects like the Mordialloc Freeway, Monash Freeway and Western Roads Upgrade – which include millions of glass bottles from kerbside collections.

The nine-kilometre Mordialloc Freeway Alex Fraser’s materials have been used on some of the Level Crossing Removal Projects, the Mordialloc Freeway and the Monash Freeway. will link the Mornington Peninsula Freeway to the Dingley Bypass, providing drivers with an uninterrupted journey from Alex Fraser is increasing its handling of When C&D waste material arrives at Frankston to Clayton. priority recovered materials, like glass fine Clarinda, often as huge slabs of concrete, it Brendan Pauwels, Program Director, and brick, to around 800 tonnes per week. is crushed by an excavator before moving to Major Road Projects Victoria said when the “Glass is a high-volume waste stream, so it the processing plant. freeway was in the planning phase, the team is imperative its recycling facilities are well The plant then crushes the material even investigated ways to ensure sustainable located close to the point of generation and further into an aggregate size. From there, it solutions would be normal practice when close to its end-markets,” Mr. Murphy says. is transferred to a conveyor that moves the construction began. He adds natural sand can be trucked up material under the new additive bins.

“Incorporating recycled glass and crushed to 100 kilometres, driving up costs, traffic The additive bins slowly release the concrete in the freeway’s foundations and congestion and emissions. recycled brick and glass into the mix in road base helps ensure we not only meet The additive bin will not only help with a ratio approved by VicRoads for use as the sustainability targets we set ourselves Melbourne’s glass waste problem but recycled aggregate in road base or asphalt. at the start of this project, but exceed them provide an inner-city supply solution that “It then goes through to a pug mill where as well,” Mr. Pauwels says. reduces these impacts. the moisture content is adjusted to meet

“As the Mordialloc Freeway progresses, we “With the new additive bins, we are VicRoads specifications and the specified will also install drainage pipes made from able to blend recycled glass sand and percentage of cement is added,” Mr. recycled plastic, which significantly reduces brick into a product that meets VicRoads Murphy says. waste while still being high quality and specifications for most road bases which “Projects demand high volumes, to cost-effective.” are being used in huge quantities on accurate specifications, on tight timeframes, With the additive bin now in full municipal works and Big Build projects and these bins help achieve that.” operation at the Clarinda Recycling Facility, throughout the south east,” he says. The facility is not simply reprocessing 40,000 tonnes of glass waste per year but recycling 40,000 tonnes of glass waste that cannot be otherwise recycled. Thereby shifting it from a low value, high volume waste stream destined to accumulate in stockpiles or landfill, into a product of immense environmental and economic value. With an increase of material likely to occur as the Victorian kerbside glass bins are implemented, the demand for recycled products will also be on the rise thanks to Recycled First. Mr. Murphy says in the near future Victoria can expect to see an increase in demand of recycled material for use in road

The company is increasing its handling of priority recovered materials and rail projects as metropolitan natural like glass fine and brick, to around 800 tonnes per week. reserves deplete.