IN what is being hailed as a national first, a mobile research unit was in Young last week sifting through our rubbish.
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What was most interesting about this activity was what we toss into the bin.
And what became most revealing, was the researchers estimating 40 per cent of household garbage going to Young’s landfill is recyclable.
Environmental and Waste Manager at Young Material Recovery Facility (MRF), Martin Slade believes that’s a huge figure considering the measures they are trying to take to extend the life of our landfills.
The South East Resource Recovery Regional Organisation of Councils (SERRROC) and the NSW Government funded the mobile team to travel to Young, Boorowa, Harden and Yass Shires to find out what percentage of recyclable and sustainable materials are being tossed.
Geoff Pryor from South East Resource Recovery Group (SERRG) said the project of using a mobile MRF in the way they did was a first both in NSW and in Australia.
“Preparation for this pilot test has been going on for 12 months,” he said.
The Turnstile 21, as the mobile facility is called, is usually used to tackle large amounts of recyclable material at a festival or major event.
However, last week researchers used the facility to study samples from each truckload of garbage from different areas of Young and separate the biodegradable, recyclable and non-recyclable items.
The facility included chutes to sort and grade plastics, a conveyor belt for organic/compost goods, a glass grinder, it grates labels and lids, and compresses the items into 200kg blocks.
The project has also involved presentations by the Turnstile 21 equipment owners, landfill site visits and considerable discussions with local government staff in the South East Resource Recovery Group region.
“Final results are not yet in. However, tentative results suggest that up to 40 per cent diversion rates of residual household waste can be achieved,” Mr Pryor said.
“There is also the suggestion this rate can be considerably improved if a council has an organics waste collection in place,” he said.
Greg Schicker from Douglas Site Services said it seems the outcomes in Young were similar to those of the other councils where no organics collection service is in place.
“We had one sample where there was more paper and plastic than garbage,” Mr Schicker said.
“One thing we did notice is that Young gets rid of their green waste,” he said.
The large number of plastic bags also continues to astound Mr Schicker and his team.
Mr Slade said this trial was a starting point of what can be achieved for Young.
“We push through 6000-7000 tonnes of garbage per year – it’s becoming a significant problem,” he said.
“It’s important to get it out there what we do and what we’re trying to do.
“Of course we need to consider restoration, public education and health issues. Is it cost effective? But the more we can move from the landfill the better,” he said.
Mr Slade said Young can extend the life of their landfill by 40 per cent according to these results.
“That’s 4000 tonnes instead of 6500 – that means every three years we can virtually get a year free,” he said.
Mr Pryor said the project is one initiated in an ongoing search to maximise resource recovery from the existing waste stream for rural and regional communities.
“We no longer want urban-centric solutions to rural and regional issues where transport and low population densities are big issues for local councils,” he said.
“The potential benefits of this approach include lower costs to councils and residents, new business employment opportunities, new employment pathways for young people, strong environmental benefits, and community building outcomes.
“Also a potential benefit is to have a cheaper way to audit domestic bin content and weight,” Mr Pryor added.
