13 minute read
COUNCIL IN FOCUS
Market research
MINDARIE REGIONAL COUNCIL IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA TAKES A DEEP DIVE INTO WASTE-TO-ENERGY TO HELP MEMBER COUNCILS MEET STATE WASTE TARGETS.
Mindarie Regional Council is leaving no stone unturned as it aims for more waste avoidance and resource recovery.
The Council has entered a market sounding process for Waste-to-Energy services for its seven member councils – the cities of Perth, Vincent, Stirling, Joondalup and Wanneroo and the towns of Cambridge and Victoria Park.
Scott Cairns, Chief Executive Officer Mindarie Regional Council, says the process will give member councils the chance to consider options for dealing with their residual waste in line with the state’s waste strategy.
The Western Australian Government’s Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery (WARR) Strategy 2030 sets out a plan to reduce waste generation by 10 per cent per capita by 2025 and 20 per cent by 2030. Aligned with that is increasing material recovery to 70 per cent by 2025 and 75 per cent by 2030.
Local governments must implement Waste Plans, which align their waste planning processes with the waste strategy.
Scott says that with two Waste-toEnergy plants under construction in Western Australia, now is the time for councils to understand what capacity the plants have and their contractual arrangements.
“Each council has a Waste Plan that aligns with the state’s WARR strategy,” he says. “They must put a Waste Plan together to comply with better practice for residual waste.
“We need to at least test the market and see what our options are. At this stage we’re looking to get the best indication we can.”
Western Australia will be home to the country’s first two Waste-toEnergy facilities. The East Rockingham Waste to Energy (ERWTE) facility will treat about 300,000 tonnes a year of residual waste left after recycling efforts from municipal, commercial and industrial sources.
Avertas’ Kwinana project will use 400,000 tonnes a year of household and industrial waste to power about 50,000 households in Perth. It will divert up to 90 per cent of the volume of that waste from going to landfill.
Scott says both facilities are expected to open in about 12 months and it is important for Mindarie’s member councils to assess the market capacity. He says many Perth metropolitan councils have already signed contracts with the facilities to treat their waste.
“Local government waste is less than half of the state’s total waste,” he says. “If local government doesn’t take advantage of these facilities when they’re available they will likely look to the commercial market.
“We need to take advantage now or the facilities will fill up with waste from other avenues and who knows when or if we’ll be able to access Waste-toEnergy on the market.”
Scott says the Council developed a working group of officers and representatives from member councils so everyone has an opportunity to be heard.
He says it will be up to individual member councils to decide if they proceed down the path of Waste-to-Energy.
“It’s an interesting time with regards to waste management and resource recovery. In WA we will have two Waste-to-Energy plants open in about a year and it will have a major effect on waste management in Australia.
“If Mindarie Regional Council can bring this option to its member councils and they take advantage of the opportunities for the foreseeable future, they could overtake every other state in Australia for resource recovery and recyclables performance.
“Mindarie Regional Council is making sure its member councils have every opportunity to access this new option in waste management.
“There is no commitment from anyone to do anything. We want to get ourselves in the best position to make a decision.”
Representatives of the two Waste-toEnergy facilities met with the Mindarie Regional Council in February. Scott says member councils are reviewing their options.
Mindarie Regional Council has entered a market sounding process for Waste-to-Energy services for its seven member councils.
CJD EQUIPMENT, VOLVO ECR235E EXCAVATOR
The compact design of the ECR235E offers a short swing radius for operating in confined spaces without compromising on performance.
The optimised hydraulics system, combined with the fully electronic control system and advanced ECO mode, matches engine power, improves controllability and response time. This results in better fuel efficiency and productivity.
The machine’s system design – specific to the ECR235E – and durable under carriage ensure impressive tractive force when climbing gradients and traveling over rough or soft terrain. Volvo’s integrated working mode system, which now includes the G4 mode, optimises fuel efficiency, reduces running costs, increases productivity and performance.
A password-protected attachment management system allows storage for up to 20 different attachments to increase the machine’s versatility.
The Terminator is a slow speed, high torque single-shaft shredder for hard-to-shred waste. Construction and Demolition, railroad ties, carpet, Municipal Solid Waste and tyres are no problem for the rugged teeth mounted on the shredding drum and opposing counter comb.
The stepless cutting gap allows adjustment of the size of the output material. A new engine compartment with large doors offers perfect access to all drive components. In addition, the separation of the drive unit from the shredding unit is provided as an option. The advantages: better protection of drive unit and space-saving integration into the process cycle.
JCB CEA’S JS200 TRACKED EXCAVATOR
JCB CEA’s JS200 TRACKED EXCAVATOR The ECR235E
Contact - CJD Equipment
P 1300 139 804 E marketing@cjd.com W cjd.com.au
The new JS200 is highly efficient, courtesy of JCB’s advanced hydraulic system – this only uses as much power as it requires. The reinforced rails at the bottom of ‘A’-frame makes this Hydraulic Excavator a lot sturdier, even in tough conditions.
It’s engineered with exceptional strength, productivity, efficiency, comfort, safety and ease of maintenance. With the JS200, operators also benefit from the advanced LiveLink telematics system that helps users to manage service reminders, machine data backup, fuel level information, engine status and GPS tracking.
Contact - CEA
P 0408 059 231 E d.cope@jcbcea.com.au W www.jcbcea.com.au
KOMPTECH CEA’S TERMINATOR 3400 SHREDDER
Contact - CEA
P 0417 320 082 Ec.cosgrove@cea.net.au W www.jcbcea.com.au Komptech CEA’s TERMINATOR 3400 Shredder
POSITION PARTNERS’ CARLSON LANDFILLGRADE
Waste management facilities are under increasing pressure to maximise efficiency with our finite landfill resources. Adopting Carlson LandfillGrade machine guidance, available from Position Partners, is an effective method to increase productivity.
Customers have reported numerous benefits since adopting the Carlson system, such as optimising the available airspace, time savings from pre-set design levels, increased time, cost, and safety benefits by reducing the need for surveyors to manually measure on site and eliminating rework by entering in the design plans of landfill cells to the on-board system for operators to work to.
Operators have also benefitted from continuous monitoring and control of density and gradient of landfill compaction and final form of landscaping. The system also records and assists the operator’s work, preventing overfill and recording material placement.
The system is effective when operators are aiming to avoid critical zones and hazardous material areas and helps reduce fuel consumption, with environmental and cost benefits.
Position Partners’ Carlson LandfillGrade
Contact - CEA
P 0408 059 231 E d.cope@jcbcea.com.au W www.jcbcea.com.au
IFM EFECTOR, LDL101
The LDL101 conductivity sensor from ifm is a solution for ultrapure water. The LDL101 sensor is the right choice when the purity of water is crucial for product quality or process reliability.
The sensor detects the conductivity of water from a value of 0.04 μS/cm, which makes it ideal for applications where purified water of all levels is used. The high resolution and the loss-free digital transmission of the measured values via IO-Link enable a permanently precise analysis of the water quality, ensuring a flawless process.
Used in the monitoring of the cooling circuit, the LDL101 can detect increasing mineralisation of the water so that countermeasures can be taken before the piping system suffers major damage.
The LDL101 sensor from ifm, is a compact sensor that requires no further hardware for operation.
Contact - CEA
P 0408 059 231 E d.cope@jcbcea.com.au W www.jcbcea.com.au The LDL101 conductivity sensor requires no further hardware to operate.
Golden opportunities
THIS YEAR WILL BE CRITICAL FOR QUEENSLAND’S WASTE MANAGEMENT AND RESOURCE RECOVERY SECTOR. DR GEORGINA DAVIS, THE NEW CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF WRIQ, EXPLAINS.
There are several important programs of work underway by the Queensland Government. The commencement of the levy efficacy review and Waste Strategy review is imminent, with these items to be completed by 30 June 2022. Given the interaction between the levy and strategy, the consultation will be combined into a single consultation, but WRIQ understands that there will be two separate reports from the process.
We expect the outcomes from the reviews to inform the remaking of the Waste Reduction and Recycling Regulation (2011), which expires this year. Given the timeframes associated with the review of the levy and strategy, and the time required to undertake an appropriate and meaningful consultation with industry on the remaking of the regulation, it is likely that an extension to the existing regulation will be required.
The current levy discounts for prescribed recycling activities listed in Schedule 3 of the Regulation are also set to expire on 30 June. It is critical that these discounts for highly efficient resource recovery activities are extended while the review is underway and outcomes from the review are used to inform changes to the regulation and these discounts. WRIQ is advocating for the reduction or removal of the levy from some of these prescribed recycling activities where the department has now received data to verify that they are achieving full or higher rates of resource recovery.
There has also been the recent release of the Organics Strategy and Organics Action Plan, coupled with the Environmental Authority (EA) Modernisation Process, for facilities holding an EA for Environmentally Relevant Activity 53 (organic materials processing). Time will tell if the PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) limits contained in the new EA conditions will be untenable and at odds to the targets to drive FOGO collections in the strategy.
Acknowledging the various programs of work occurring at Queensland level, from the development of Regional Waste Plans, Queensland Energy Plan, Residual Risk Framework, to an E-product paper and the rest, there is much for industry to be involved in,
New opportunities in the waste management and resource recovery sector are unprecedented.
and we are wary of participation fatigue across the sector.
Then there are numerous and varied activities on organics, plastics, harmonisation and product stewardship, among others, directed from Federal level. Industry’s concern is that this activity is increasingly appearing unco-ordinated, duplicative with state initiatives and, in some cases, just competitive; and that industry consultation is sometimes deficient.
Positively, South-East Queensland is seeing work commence on the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games with a little over 3300 more days to go. The event has committed to being climate positive and one that will create lasting benefits to the climate and Queensland’s community, while accelerating the transition to zero net emissions. Planning and development of new infrastructure projects is well underway, along with a considerable commitment to the redevelopment of existing facilities. Overall, there will be more than 30 venues (both permanent and temporary), as well as several athlete villages. To support this development, the Queensland and Australian Governments have established a joint Olympic Infrastructure Agency to deliver key projects for the games, and there will be several committees and bodies of work established within that agency. Work has commenced with regards to developing service strategies for the various precincts and villages, and on the processes to develop a carbon budget and strategies to achieve climate positive outcomes.
There is a complex relationship between the resource recovery practices that will be needed in both the planning and construction of Olympic infrastructure and the services for the
active life of that infrastructure, and low-carbon transitions. The waste management and resource recovery sector will be significant in ensuring that the Olympics achieve climate positive outcomes as well as a net-zero waste games, particularly given the footprint of hosting such an event. The industry must be an active participant in the development of the infrastructure and service plans for the Olympics, through to the carbon accounting conventions around the life cycle of the games (construction, service delivery and legacy applications). The importance of incorporating highly interconnected sectors into analyses of low-carbon transitions, will highlight the challenges for designing appropriate policies, accounting frameworks, and interdisciplinary impact assessment methods that look beyond sectorial and statewide horizons.
With new strategies, increasing targets, the Olympics and a growing population there is a significant demand for new waste and resource recovery infrastructure and, at a time where the pace of innovation and technological advancement is unprecedented.
With new technologies, infrastructure and investment, we will need more skills and more workforce. We need to improve the performance of the skills system servicing our sector and we need to identify investment priorities for the higher education and VET sectors.
We know we have a range of higher priority industry skills demands .We have a skills shortages and in many critical areas of our industry we are experiencing workforce shortages. WRIQ is developing a review paper detailing skilling issues and priorities for the sector, including occupations and qualifications that are higher priority and worthy of government investment. Work is underway with universities to better align degree units and provide real industry experiences.
While there is a lot the sector needs to do and we are facing challenges, the new opportunities are unprecedented. There has never been a more exciting time to be working in the Queensland sector.
Dr Georgina Davis, Chief Executive Officer of WRIQ Dr Georgina Davis, WRIQ Chief Executive Officer.
Komptech CEA is a leading supplier of machinery and systems for the treatment of solid waste through mechanical and mechanical biological treatments, as well as the treatment of biomass as a renewable energy source. Komptech CEA is proud to provide innovative solutions for handling waste and biomass.
Komptech CEA’s extensive range of products cover all key processing steps in modern waste handling. At Komptech CEA the focus is always on innovative technology and solutions ensuring maximum benefit to the customer. Like to know more? why not speak to one of our team today?
SHREDDERS TROMMEL SCREENS STAR SCREENS WINDROW TURNERS
TERMINATOR
Where Function Meets Technology
A slow-running, single-shaft shredder suited to all types of waste.
CRAMBO
Less Fuel, More Power
Ideal for shredding all types of wood and green cuttings.
TOPTURN X
The Ideal Combination of Performance and Design
With a sturdy frame, powerful hydraulics and large drum, the Topturn X is ready to handle any work situation.
MULTI STAR
Screening with a Star
Makes waste wood and biomass processing highly efficient.
NEMUS
Robust and Reliable
Combining the practice-proven virtues of its predecessors with new solutions for even greater performance.
AXTOR
Shredding and Chipping Made Easy
One of the most versatile machines around for processing wood and green cuttings.
