Refurbishment leads to decreased landfill

Why?

City of Darebin wanted to increase to at least 50 per cent the amount of waste it diverted from landfill at its Darebin Resource Recovery Centre. It achieved that goal with support from the Metropolitan Local Government Waste and Resource Recovery Fund (Metro Fund), which allowed the City of Darebin to build more efficient infrastructure at the centre.

An elevated sorting deck, heavy inert sorting pad and bunkers, and concrete capping in the green waste area became operational in September 2014. As well as improving safety for the centre’s Outlook Environment staff and users, the initiatives boosted significantly recovery levels on site: plastic recovery went up 175 per cent, while recovery of cardboard (41 per cent), comingle (63 per cent) and non-ferrous material (28 per cent) all increased.

The City of Darebin notes these are only early figures, but it is confident they represent the start of an ongoing upward trend in recovery. Along with other initiatives such as an expansion in e-waste recycling, the City of Darebin is pleased to have reached its goal, and user feedback about the new facilities at the Darebin Resource Recovery Centre, which receives approximately 1,000 tonnes of waste per month, has been positive.

How? Despite an on-site mantra for users to ‘separate their waste’, it doesn’t always occur and centre staff must salvage material. The centre’s initial walking floor, however, did not take into account their need to do that. So, during salvage work, staff sometimes had to climb over piles of waste material.

It was identified that if access to the walking floor and heavy inert disposal areas were improved, waste recovery would increase. The City of Darebin sought Metro Fund assistance to build a crossover walkway with a large elevated salvaging platform, new heavy inert waste sorting bays and padded area, and an expanded green waste area with concrete capping.

The elevated sorting deck now allows staff to access items from the walking floor at what becomes for them ground level. This is beneficial from a safety perspective because they do not have to climb over piles of waste to retrieve recyclables, and recyclable stillage is also close by for easy storage of reclaimed material.

Construction of Waste Recovery PlatformCity of Darebin

More Information - visit www.mwrrg.vic.gov.au

The result is that staff can retrieve more recyclable goods, including market shop goods, timber, steel, cardboard – and smaller, harder to reach items that would previously have been impossible to retrieve.

What was the outcome?

Plastic recovery went up 175 per cent, and major boosts in the recovery of cardboard, commingle and non-ferrous have been achieved; the project has delivered for the City of Darebin a high functioning and better organised sorting facility.

Customers now have specific areas for all waste material and can easily separate their recyclables, which minimises contamination. Staff on the walking floor advise users to separate material, while using the elevated sort deck to locate salvageable goods.

Importantly, bins for non-recyclable waste are positioned close by, making it simple for users to dispose of this material. And the concrete pad where heavy inert waste is separated is also positioned close to the walking floor, making it easy for staff to supervise users.

The heavy inert storage pad and bunkers – and the revitalised green waste area – have exceeded the City of Darebin’s expectations and have contributed significantly to the amount of material recovered.

The padded area and bunkers are ensuring less inert material is being sent to landfill due to cross contamination, and it has been highly effective for the storage of concrete, rubble and bricks. It is hoped some minor modifications will allow material to be crushed on site for development of value-added products, rather than it being sent elsewhere for processing.

The previous green waste processing arrangement saw cross contamination of materials from neighbouring waste bays, jeopardising the quality of the material and decreasing disposal options. Added to that, the existing hardstand had worn away, which

made storage, salvage and loading difficult due to uneven ground.

Concrete capping of the green waste transfer deck made green waste disposal easier and the new green waste retrieval area allowed staff to remove any excess debris from the waste before transportation to offsite processing facilities. The area’s increased capacity also means the City of Darebin’s kerbside green waste can be accepted, rather than trucks being forced to travel long distances to other facilities. The project has allowed the City of Darebin to successfully modify the Darebin Resource Recovery Centre, significantly increasing its capacity to keep recyclables out of landfill. Early figures that show its success are promising and City of Darebin expects future data will show ever-greater improvements in the Centre’s waste management efficiency.

More Information - visit www.mwrrg.vic.gov.au