Mandalay meets with DECCW re reporting requirements for NSW.
13 February 2010
Representatives from Mandalay Technologies met with the Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) last Wednesday 10th February to discuss their data capture and reporting requirements for NSW waste facilities.
DECCW is trying to achieve compliant data formats for all waste facilities within the New South Wales areas with the aim of creating a streamlined reporting standard that all councils will have to conform to.
Many New South Wales councils are becoming nervous in the face of these changes as requirements may be difficult to achieve on the small budgets that a lot of the councils have to work with.
In response to the requirements set out by DECCW in the recent meeting Mandalay Technologies has developed a "DECCW Reporting Module" which will allow waste managers to quickly and easily produce compliant reports. A prototype project has been developed and will be available within the coming weeks, and will have the capability to attach to software systems other than Mandalay.
An opportunity exists for councils affected by these DECCW reporting requirements to participate in a trial of the module. For more information please contact Jim O'Keefe on jokeefe@mandalaytech.com or on (07) 3010 7900.
Mandalay's waste management blog featured in Waste Management World online
12 February 2010
Mandalay Technologies Australian waste management blog A Good Sense of Waste (www.mandalaytechnologies.com.au/blog) has been featured in the global waste publication Waste Management World's website.
The blog is designed to connect people in waste management around Australia and to provide a forum where people can share knowledge and practice, discuss ideas, and debate and comment upon issues affecting the industry.
The full text of the article can be found here: http://www.waste-management-world.com/index.html
Enhancements completed for CS Energy power station
01 February 2010
Mandalay Technologies has successfully installed a series of enhancements to its MTCS software that were developed in partnership with CS Energy for their Swanbank Power Station. The software has been used at CS Energy's Swanbank Power Station for twelve months, and these developments reflect how a detailed knowledge of operations can result in an even greater level of operational effectiveness.
Swanbank Power Station is based just outside Brisbane and supplies enough power for about 1 million homes. The enhancements will make it even easier for the system's users to capture information about the delivery of coal to the site.
Mandalay system successfully installed in Ballina Shire Council
12 January 2010
Mandalay's MTCS waste management software solution was recently installed at Ballina Shire Council's waste management operations.
Ballina Shire is part of the Northern Rivers region of NSW, an area of great beauty and environmental sensitivity. It is becoming increasingly popular as a destination for city-dwellers to find a 'tree change'.
Mandalay's system was installed in order to provide Ballina with accurate and timely waste and recycling data for internal and EPA reporting and levy calculations. The system was adapted to provide specialised reports required by the EPA in the area.
Mandalay Technologies looks forward to a successful working partnership with Ballina Shire.
Mandalay and SITA partnership continues with SAWT facility
18 December 2009
Mandalay Technologies and SITA Environmental Solutions have continued to build on their partnership with the installation of Mandalay Technologies' MTCS data capture system at SITA's new Alternative Waste Treatment Facility (SAWT).
The SAWT facility has been constructed on the old landfill site on Elizabeth Street at Kemps Creek in western Sydney. The facility has the capacity to process 134,000 tonnes of waste annually, with an estimated 78% of this to be diverted from landfill.
The facility had a set of requirements different to many other waste management sites, and Mandalay has worked closely with SITA to ensure that the system seamlessly integrates with their operational and businesses processes.
Mandalay's system is installed in all SITA sites Australia wide.
Mandalay welcomes City of Stirling as a customer
11 December 2009
Mandalay Technologies recently completed the installation of its MTCS data capture and waste management software system at the City of Stirling's waste facility.
Located in the northern suburbs of Perth in WA, the City of Stirling has a population of just under 200,000 people, making it the largest local government area by population in Western Australia.
The City of Stirling has a community goal to become "the world's most sustainable city" by 2031.
Mandalay's system was installed in order to provide the City of Stirling with accurate and timely waste and recycling data for internal and EPA reporting, levy calculations and to assist in strategic planning decisions to reach their sustainability goals.
Mandalay Technologies looks forward to working with the City of Stirling to optimise their waste management operations.
Mandalay's 2009 User Group a resounding success
30 November 2009
Mandalay Technologies' annual user group was held on 26 and 27 of November in Brisbane.
Users from a range of Australian councils attended the 2 day workshop to discuss current and future system functionality and to share ideas and knowledge.
The user group provides a forum for customers to give feedback to Mandalay about its software and service, ensuring that Mandalay keeps its 'finger on the pulse' of its customers' requirements and evolves its data capture system to meet those needs accordingly.
The user group also allowed attendees to learn about the ways people had adapted the system to their specific business processes, picking up tips, tricks and exploring the benefits of the system.
"I have always liked the program but talking with other users has helped - I will now go back and streamline some of our set ups" said one customer.
A range of themes were workshopped, including data capture practice, impending legislation changes and the effect on waste management, and future development plans. Operational issues such as the use of vouchers and Dallas tags, waste classification and tracking methods, EPA reporting requirements, and the impact of CPRS and NGERs were also hotly debated.
Mandalay has identified a gap in the waste management industry - namely the lack of an accessible forum for people in the industry to talk to each other. The user group provided customers with face to face time with the Mandalay team and the opportunity to talk with others about working in waste.
"Being able to talk to other Mandalay users in the area of waste was hugely valuable" said one delegate.
Mandalay plans to hold a series of user group workshops next year around the country to ensure all customers can benefit from this experience.
Councils praised for chemical recycling
20 November 2009
The Board of AgStewardship Australia has praised local government's contribution and support of the drumMUSTER and ChemClear programs in enabling more than 18,000 tonnes of agvet chemical container waste and over 175,000 kg/lt of unwanted or expired hazardous chemicals to be safely diverted from landfill.
"The partnership with local government has been a cornerstone to the success achieved by agribusiness stewardship programs. Without the support and commitment of rural and remote councils the in-roads achieved in managing hazardous waste from primary producers would not have been possible," the Chairman of AgStewardship Australia Limited (AgSAL), Mr Lauchlan McIntosh said after the October Board meeting of the company.
As a signatory to the Industry Waste Reduction Scheme through the auspices of ALGA, local government has participated in the drumMUSTER and ChemClear programs since 1999. Its role has included establishing collection points, promoting the program, organising collections, providing staff to inspect containers and supplying data on the drums collected.
drumMUSTER has supported councils through funding compound construction, inspection labour costs and advertising. Participating councils have also undertaken to use crop production and animal health products in returnable or recyclable containers, or use drumMUSTER participating chemical manufacturers. Over 400 councils participate in the drumMUSTER and ChemClear programs. More information from Karen Gomez at 02 6283 8120.
Article courtesy of Australian Local Government Association (ALGA).
Rising sea levels to impact the waste sector
19 November 2009
Sea level rise is one of the most frightening aspects of global climate change, and last week's Federal Government report on the topic has highlighted there could potentially be a major impact on coastal waste facilities. Hundreds of low-lying landfills may need to be relocated to prepare for the effects of global warming, an exercise that could possibly cost many millions of dollars.
The Climate Change Risks to Australia's Coast: A First Pass National Assessment report prepared by the Department of Climate Change modeled the impact of sea levels rising 900-1,100mm by 2100.
It suggests "at least 41 waste disposal facilities are located within 200m of the coastline" and potentially at risk from the rising oceans. The director consultancy Mike Ritchie and Associates, which was acknowledged for its contribution to the report, points out this figure is only a subset of the 400-600 licensed, operational landfills in Australia.
The DCC report notes there are "possibly several thousand small tips" located in coastal areas. In a preliminary exercise looking at aerial photographs along the Queensland coast, Mike Ritchie identified as many as 200 possible waste sites.
"Many town dumps were located in places that were undesirable or not suitable for community needs, were cheap to procure or required filling," notes the report. "As a result many old dumps are sited in or adjoining flood prone and low-lying lands. Areas abutting mangroves and salt marshes were, for decades, preferred places for the local tip."
"Most state and local governments now prevent the construction of new landfills within 100m of a watercourse. However, there is a large legacy of many tips' and dumps' long closed, but located in areas vulnerable to the future impacts of climate change and sea-level rise."
It is not only abandoned regional facilities that are of concern. There are a number of large facilities, including landfills in Cairns and Brisbane, located in low-lying areas that may be vulnerable to sea level rise and the associated impact of storm surges and erosion.
"Existing clay capping and vegetative cover is unlikely to be able to withstand the erosive power of waves acting directly on the fill batters of a landfill face, especially driven by the power of a tropical cyclone," notes the report.
"Permanent inundation of the base of the landfill could also create significant leachate problems."
The Cairns landfill, for example, is in the finnal stages of its life and is located adjoining low-lying mangroves. The report says "a significant rupture of the landfill cap or walls could see hundreds or thousands of tonnes of materials released back into the environment".
"It is difficult to specify the types of materials disposed into landfills or the quantity that may be released back into the environment by progressive climate change related erosion. It is known, however, that most landfills contain quantities of oil, demolition waste, asbestos, pesticides, plastic and heavy metals fixed into the soil/waste matrix.
"If this were released back to the environment it would constitute a significant environmental hazard."
While it may be possible to prepare the most vulnerable large landfills for a changing climate, the report concedes it "is unclear how many small dumps may exist, for which on site protection may not be cost effective, but may still cause pollution".
"The waste from these tips will need to be removed and relocated to inland landfills or recycled. The cost of relocation would range from thousands of dollars, to many millions depending upon the size of the landfill."
The DCC report can be downloaded HERE. The section relevant to the waste industry is in Section 5.2-5.4 .
Article from Inside Waste Weekly.
Berriedale houses to be crushed, recycled
16 November 2009
A public housing estate north of Hobart is to be recycled, in a bid to reduce landfill.
Concrete and bricks from the Berriedale Estate will be crushed and used in the foundations of 28 new public housing units on the same site.
The Glenorchy Waste Management Centre's Joe Duncan says other salvaged materials will be sold or recycled, instead of going into landfill.
"Material that won't be directly re-used back in the project will be sent away for recycling, for further processing and recycling, usually for export markets," said Mr Duncan.
"For example the steel gets turned into new steel and it saves on energy and resources from extracting those raw minerals from the ground."
Mr Duncan says the project is a first for Tasmania.
"I've seen an awful lot of it in the mainland, it's picking up quicker and quicker in a lot of the main centres, and I really just wanted to take Glenorchy and put them in front in Tasmania so we could be leading the way for other councils."
The new units will be built using environmentally sustainable designs; four will be for residents with disabilities.
Article courtesy of ABC News.
Honeymoon ends for Garrett's National Waste Policy
12 November 2009
There are some relationships simply doomed to fail, and there was certainly an eerie feeling last week when everyone seemed so darn happy with the Perth meeting of Australia's environment ministers. A more natural balance has now been restored as various groups look through the National Waste Policy in more detail and find the flaws. If you ask the recycling industry's peak voice, there's plenty to find.
CEO of the Australian Council of Recyclers, Rod Welford, said the National Waste Policy trumpeted by the Federal Government contained little innovation and a "snail's-pace timetable". He said it will leave Australia's recycling effort lagging well behind the rest of the world.
"This is a major disappointment for the Australian recycling industry," said Welford, who has previously held the position of environment minister for the Queensland government.
"The [Federal] Government has not yet listened and the policy has all indications of an outdated waste' focussed approach that will do little to boost recycling in Australia or build the industry.
"The 2021 time span for the e-waste strategy' for TV's and computers is well behind world's best practice and will see many thousands of these hazardous products dumped into landfills in the next few years as consumers replace analogue sets with digital.
"I can understand that some might welcome this on the basis that anything is better than nothing,' but no-one should be fooled by the poor overall outcome of this new policy.
"After so much talk for so long, there is no solution to the mountain of tyres left unrecovered or recycled and no impetus for action on other critical issues such as gas bottles and fluorescent lights.
"It's not just about supporting our $12 billion recycling industry, potentially one of Australia's biggest industries, but creating significant social and economic benefits for our country. There is potential for thousands of new green' jobs along with the environmental benefits."
He claims the government still has a "1990s view" of recycling as merely a waste management issue, rather than a major issue for national economic efficiency.
"Australia needs a new national culture where efficient resource use and recycling deliver a dramatic reduction in the 20 million tonnes of valuable resources thrown away into landfills every year.
"Australia needs a forward-thinking approach which focuses on front-end resource efficiency and recycling of materials, not just half-hearted measures to divert waste from landfill."
Article courtesy of Environmental Management News.
Environment ministers form historic agreement for National Waste Policy
06 November 2009
Australia's environment ministers have agreed to a national policy on waste and resource management. The historic agreement took place in Perth at the biannual meeting of the Environment Protection and Heritage Council (EPHC). The National Waste Policy sets the agenda for waste and resource recovery in Australia over the next 10 years, with an overall theme of "less waste and more resources."
According to the EHPC's communique:
"Ministers agreed to a landmark product stewardship framework and announced that televisions and computers would be the first products to be covered by this legislative framework. Under the National Waste Policy the tyre industry is also developing a scheme to increase recycling in Australia of used tyres.
The National Waste Policy was developed based on the body of evidence obtained from a nine month public consultation process together with comprehensive research and analytical work from independent experts. Public consultation included the release of a consultation paper in April 2009 and a draft national waste policy framework in July 2008. 210 submissions were received from industry, community, local government, and other stakeholders; over 420 people participated in discussions around Australia, 499 people/organisations subscribed to the e-news service used as part of the process.
The aims of the National Waste Policy are to:
* avoid the generation of waste; reduce the amount of waste (including hazardous waste) for disposal; manage waste as a resource and ensure that waste treatment, disposal, recovery and reuse is undertaken in a safe, scientific and environmentally sound manner; and
* contribute to the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, energy conservation and production, water efficiency and the productivity of the land.
Waste and resource recovery are matters of community concern - as evidenced by the choice modelling undertaken by Council - and many governments have been pursuing a range of innovative strategies and approaches to manage waste. Many industries also have taken the initiative in promoting whole-of-life-cycle planning for their products. Through the National Waste Policy Ministers seek to enhance, build on and complement these policies and actions at all levels of government and the community.
The National Waste Policy sets directions in six key areas: taking responsibility, improving the market, pursuing sustainability, reducing hazard and risk, tailoring solutions, and providing the evidence. The policy identifies 16 priority strategies that would benefit from a national or coordinated approach.
Read the full communique here.
Read more about this story at Inside Waste Weekly Magazine, the waste management industry's weekly magazine.
National plan needed for e-waste
05 November 2009
When it comes to recycling, Australians are excellent with their household rubbish but seriously dragging the chain when it comes to disposing of computers and mobile phones.
A leading environmental group is pushing for a national recycling plan and it says old televisions and computers, known as e-waste, are the fasting growing problem.
It is almost two decades since the government devised a national policy on recycling.
Green groups want today's meeting of state and federal environment ministers to address the country's mountainous waste once again.
E-waste is increasing by 17 per cent each year and Piers Verstegen, from the Boomerang Alliance, says Australians are not recycling enough.
"We know that in Australia we have a serious waste problem. We've got a problem with electronic waste, we've got a problem with tyres and we've certainly got a problem with bottles and cans," he said.
"When recycling is one of the best ways to reduce carbon emissions and to increase investment and clean jobs in Australia, we need the Federal Government and the states to be taking leadership and taking action in respect of these waste issues."
A number of environmental groups formed the Boomerang Alliance. They want a national recycling scheme so all states and territories can follow it.
While the manufacturers of various goods such as televisions and computers support recycling, the Total Environment Centre's Jeff Angel says many states do not do it.
"Some states don't recycle very much, such as West Australia and Queensland," he said.
"States such as New South Wales have become static and in fact we don't believe will achieve their targets. And the case of Victoria, only in the last year they reported they went backwards on recycling.
"So we have a new round of challenges. We have new types of products like e-waste and batteries, burgeoning numbers of beverage containers, that we really have to start a new recycling push on."
Environmental groups say a national policy is needed to incorporate a container deposit scheme, offering consumers refunds on beverage cans and bottles. South Australia currently recycles more than 80 per cent of its cans and bottles.
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett says today's meeting in Perth will discuss all options.
"I think we've got an obligation to look at the growing piles of e-waste," he said.
"It's really accelerating at a very rapid rate. I believe that we've got the opportunity to do something constructive and positive here which hasn't been done before.
But we're going to have to have a really thorough and what I expect to be pretty engaged discussion about that when we sit down in Perth."
Article courtesty of ABC News.
Victorian landfill levy tipped to jump
03 November 2009
Victoria is poised to ramp up landfill levies, with figures of $30-45/tonne doing the rounds and an official announcement tipped within a fortnight. The speculation has sparked a flurry of last minute lobbying as various groups attempt to ensure Victoria's market instrument is sharper than the blunt NSW tool. The big question, however, is if any increase will actually get past John Brumby's Cabinet in the current economic environment.Industry scuttlebutt has for several months suggested a levy of $30-50 was being considered, and a range of possible announcement dates were floated. There is now an industry buzz, however, that mainstream media coverage in the Australian Financial Review last week has escalated pressure for an official response.
EPA Victoria did not confirm any details when questioned by Inside Waste.
Victoria's levies currently stand at $9 for municipal waste and $15 for non-municipal, and have not changed for at least 18 months. With little doubt they are set for a large increase very soon, industry is now scrambling to try and ensure whatever is put in place is better targeted than the hefty $58.80/tonne NSW landfill levy, which has been widely criticised as too blunt.
Industry sources widely agree the numbers now being discussed in Victoria are $30 and $45 per tonne, although no one is quite certain whether these are separate figures for municipal and non-municipal waste, or a range being considered for a single levy.
The local government sector will be pushing hard for full hypothecation of any levy it pays back into waste programs, and has support on this from environmental groups including Environment Victoria. They are concerned about the government getting addicted to extra cash - at least $117 million a year at $30/t - and becoming less keen to reduce waste to landfill in the future.
Another flurry of last minute lobbying surrounds the question of rebates for recyclers. While a high landfill level will theoretically see recyclers gain an advantage as more material is diverted toward them, operators commonly find 20-30% of what they process cannot be recycled and must be sent back to landfill - meaning their operating costs climb as levies increase.
After years of hand wringing on this issue, recyclers have finally found some common ground, backing an idea that landfill levies be rebated back to them at a level based on how efficiently they divert material from landfill. A facility achieving a higher recycling rate would pay a lower levy on their residual wastes.
While recyclers and environment groups might be on the same page calling for rebates, however, other voices - especially from the landfill camp - have pointed out the system would be an administrative nightmare and highly vulnerable to gaming. For example, dodgy recyclers could potentially make a windfall running some waste through their facilities to take advantage of the lower levy.
While there is still some industry argy-bargy over fine details of how levies should be applied, the clear message from all camps is there needs to be some certainty restored to the Victorian market; after months of speculation and expectation of significant changes, investment decisions are still on hold as industry players wait to find out just what the playing field will look like.
Inside Waste understands the hold up is at cabinet level and in large part due to tension between Environment Minister Gavin Jennings - who is keen to forge ahead to improve waste diversion rates - and Premier John Brumby, who remains concerned about introducing a new "tax".
It wouldn't be the first time Brumby backed economic conservatism over environmental reform. As the state's Treasurer he refused to sign off on the $20 million injection to help the Western Metropolitan Regional Waste Management Group get an alternative waste treatment facility underway in 2004.
Article courtesy of Environmental Management News.
'Track Trash' project to raise awareness of enviro impact of rubbish
15 October 2009
Waste management software on a micro scale?
A team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the USA has recently begun a project called Trash Track, which aims to provoke people to think more about what they throw away.
The project is based on the premise that if people knew exactly where their rubbish was going, and how much energy it took to 'make it disappear' from their garbage bins, it might make them think twice about buying heavily packaged or 'disposable' goods such as bottled water and disposable razors.
Dr David Moy, in a post in Mandalay's waste management blog A Good Sense of Waste, talks about the importance of education around consumption, stating that "it is my view that the global focus on carbon as the cause of climate change is largely misplaced. The focus should be on the cause - namely the rapidly increasing global consumption of materials, goods and services".
Trash Track relies on the development of special electronic tags that will track different types of waste on their journey through the disposal systems of New York and Seattle. The project will monitor the patterns and costs of urban disposal and create awareness of the impact of trash on our environment - revealing the last journey of our everyday objects.
Read more about MIT's project on their website.
Former Waste Management Coordinator joins Mandalay team
16 September 2009
Mandalay is pleased to announce the appointment of Olivia Robertson to the Mandalay team.
Prior to joining the Mandalay team, Olivia was the Waste Management Coordinator for Scenic Rim Regional Council and Beaudesert Shire Council. Olivia has 10 years experience in Victoria and Queensland local government in Waste, Public Health, Environmental Compliance and Pollution Prevention.
Prior to her work in waste, Olivia was part of the Disaster Management Reponse and Recovery team in Waste, Public Health and Compliance for the Queensland Government, rolling out the public health response to Cyclone Larry. Olivia's areas of interest lie in landfill management, CPRS, environmental compliance, cleaner production and eco-efficiency. She is currently completing a Masters in Environmental Engineering.
Olivia joins the Mandalay team as Product Manager - Waste Management, bringing her extensive knowledge of local government waste operations and waste management challenges to her role.
Size no barrier when it comes to performance as Bundaberg Regional Council takes out award
07 September 2009
Bundaberg Regional Council has won 'Runner Up' (joint) in the 2009 National Landfill Excellence Awards at the recent WMAA conference in Hobart.
The award, established by WMAA in 2007, showcases the best landfills around the nation in order to better inform the industry and general public, and to give credit to exceptional landfill sites.
Bundaberg Regional Council received the award because of "the extended design and approval process of their Cedars Road Landfill", which resulted in a technologically advanced and environmentally conscious site, exceeding EPA standards.
Judging was based on criteria which ranged from liner design to resource recovery. Entries were judged by three respected independent experts: Prof David Moy of TechSearch; John Cook of John B Cook and Associates, and Trevor Hockley of TJH Management Services.
It was Bundaberg's extended community consultation,pre-construction, that contributed to the their winning the award, as well as their innovative solutions to odour, noise and dust issues, such as implementing mesh over leachate ponds to address wildelife concerns, and maintaining a a small tipping face.
James Stanfield, Manager of Waste and Recycling, Health and Environmental Services, said: "it's very exciting to be the first council-owned and operated facility to win such an award. We're a comparatively small facility but we're operating to the same environmental standards as the big city facilities. It's proof that size and location are no barrier to operating properly - you just need imagination, hard work and good leadership."
Mandalay is proud to be working with Bundaberg Regional Council, providing waste management software and services to help them deliver best practice waste management operations.
SITA named waste company of 2009
01 September 2009
SITA Environmental Solutions has won the inaugural 2009 Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific Industrial Technologies Award for Waste Management Company of the Year, following months of research that measured growth in revenues, market share, and leadership in new technologies.
SITA was recognised for demonstrating a long-term commitment to enhancing waste management services in the region, notably through the application of its SAWT Advanced Resource Recovery technology to divert waste from landfill and reduce carbon emissions.
The annual Frost & Sullivan awards were announced at a gala dinner in Singapore. The judging panel of leading industry analysts in the inaugural waste category highlighted the fact SITA is active in community environmental programs, and its customer base is growing stronger every year.
"We are honoured to accept this prestigious award, which recognises the success of our company's strategy to invest in innovative and sustainable advanced resource recovery solutions," said MD Eric Gernath.
"It sends a clear message that SITA's projects and practices are the new benchmark in the Asia-Pacific region for recycling and waste management.
"We will continue to invest in new technologies and services to deliver long-term environmental, economic and social benefits for our customers and communities," he said.
Over the past year the company has commissioned two of Australia's larger resource recovery facilities, including the $50 million SAWT advanced mechanical biological treatment (MBT) composting facility in Sydney that will divert 68% of municipal solid waste and 94% of source-separated organics from landfill.
In Western Australia SITA recently commissioned its BioVision Advanced MBT composting facility, an $80 million investment that services seven metropolitan councils in the Mindarie Regional Council area, including the City of Perth. The facility retrieves and processes up to 70% of waste as recovered materials back into the economy, with the organic products redistributed for the local horticultural and agricultural markets.
SITA Australia chairman Philippe Maillard said, "it is very satisfying to be working in a group dedicated to improving the sustainability of human activities across the globe".
"SITA successfully competed against some of Asia Pacific's leading waste management companies and this award recognises the sum of all parts of SITA's business, and reflects our expertise in delivering the lifecycle of waste management solutions.
"It is also testament to our success in building outstanding relationships with our customers and our commitment to a broader environmental strategy," he said.
Article courtesy of Inside Waste Weekly.
Mandalay is proud to work with SITA's statewide and national operations to provide data capture and waste management software and solutions and partner with them as they continue to lead the way in best practice operations.
Upgrade safety, urges trucking guru
18 August 2009
The release of new figures on the number of fatal truck crashes in Australia suggest companies that operate heavy rigid trucks must urgently upgrade their safety procedures, said chairman of the Australian Trucking Association Trevor Martyn. The number of fatal accidents is on the rise, especially in the 60-80km/h speed zones around urban and semi-urban areas - which is where waste trucks are most active.
Figures released by the Federal Infrastructure Department show there were 90 fatal crashes and 95 fatalities involving heavy rigid trucks in 2008, compared to 78 fatal crashes and 83 fatalities in 2007 - that is a 15% increase in the number of deaths.
Queensland and Western Australia recorded the highest increases in the number of fatal crashes involving heavy rigid trucks. In Queensland, these crashes more than doubled from 10 in 2007 to 21 in 2008; in Western Australia, they increased from 10 in 2007 to 17 in 2008.
The growing fatality list in this class of truck comes despite a fall in the number of fatal accidents in the articulated truck category - in this class there were 130 fatal crashes and 150 fatalities in 2008, compared to 145 fatal crashes and 177 fatalities in 2007.
Pointing out that even one fatal crash is too many, Martyn said the increasing death toll for heavy rigid vehicles is totally unacceptable.
"Every company that uses heavy rigid trucks needs to take a long, hard look at their safety systems. If they don't have safety systems, they need to put them in place - fast."
He said companies particularly need to have:
- procedures to make sure their drivers are fit for duty when they start work;
- systems to train their staff and drivers properly, with regular safety reminders;
- systems to guarantee their trucks are maintained safely; and
- realistic run schedules so drivers are not under pressure to speed or run risks in order to meet their timetables.
"You don't have to be a big company to put measures like these in place. As part of the ATA's commitment to safety, we run our TruckSafe program so every company can meet these objectives," he said.
Companies who join the program have to meet strict safety standards, and are audited regularly. Martyn claims independent statistics show companies in the TruckSafe program are about twice as safe as non-accredited companies.
He also urged governments to take action to reduce the number of truck crashes, including under the next version of the National Road Safety Strategy, due to take effect from 2011.
"More than 70% of the heavy rigid truck crashes in 2008 were multiple vehicle accidents. A substantial number would have been in urban areas," he said.
"As part of building a safer transport system, governments need to build urban roads that allow trucks and cars to drive safely together, with well-planned intersections, right turn lanes long enough for trucks, and reduced speed limits in areas where many trucks turn across the traffic.
"There also needs to be better education for motorists, because trucks handle very differently to their cars. It's essential that motorists do not attempt to cut in front of a truck, or attempt to overtake one when it's turning."
Article from Inside Waste Weekly
Landfill Economics 103
18 August 2009
The nine-hole Ridge Golf Course has opened on the site of the old Lucas Heights landfill in Sydney's Sutherland Shire Council, part of an $83 million sporting complex funded by the NSW Government and operator of the former landfill, WSN Environmental Solutions. WSN CEO Ken Kanofski said the project shows a landfill's economic life can be viewed in terms of three cycles - quarrying, filling, and post-closure reuse.
NSW Deputy Premier and Environment Minister Carmel Tebbutt was on hand for the grand opening last Friday, along with the Member for Menai, Alison Megarrity.
"The new golf course is the latest 'jewel in the crown' of The Ridge Sports Complex, providing yet another recreational opportunity for our community to enjoy. It is a high-quality asset that all local residents can be proud of," said Megarrity.
"I want to thank all of those who have been involved in this project since it was originally proposed more than a decade ago."
The old Lucas Heights I landfill was operated by WSN (formerly Waste Service NSW), between 1976 and 1987. The golf course was part of an agreement in 1996 between the NSW Government, WSN and Sutherland Council, which involved extensive community consultation, especially with the many sporting groups in the area.
Kanofski told Inside Waste that while many of WSN's sites have pre-existing commitments to be rehabilitated for community use at the end of their useful lives, other landfill operators could find their old sites do have a commercial value once they are suitably stabilised - especially if they plan their facilities and their closure well.
Transpacific Industries, which is forced to disclose more information than most landfill operators due to its public listing on the ASX, has repeatedly talked up the potential value of its land assets once old landfills have been rehabilitated. However, the economics of closing, rehabilitating and reusing a waste site are uncertain to say the least, and financial analysts have repeatedly questioned TPI about some of the figures it uses.
In a general sense, however, Kanofski agrees that, "quite often there is good use that [old landfills] can be put to".
While building on a landfill itself is highly problematic and will often not be an economically viable option, the real value of a well rehabilitated site could be in redeveloping the surrounding buffer zones and using the old landfill itself as "open space" in the form of a sporting field or nature park. The size of the buffer zone varies from landfill to landfill, but in many cases could represent a significant tract of land.
In terms of the landfill itself, putrescible sites require ongoing control systems for gas and leachate - the Ridge site includes a gas generation facility able to power 16,000 homes - but Kanofski points out "that doesn't mean you can't use the site for some purposes - it just means you have to have ongoing [management] integrated into that use...[and] they can quite happily coexist".
So can a well planned site actually generate value for the operator, or will ongoing management costs cancel out any potential economic returns? Kanofski said this will vary from site to site, but there is certainly potential for a return. He talks about a landfill site "having potentially three economic lives".
It starts life as a quarry, with valuable material extracted from the earth to make a hole. The site then has a life as a landfill, where operators charge to fill the hole back up with the surrounding community's waste. The "after life" stage can include some sort of development on the site.
In terms of planning to get the greatest "after life" value from a site, Kanofski recommends any operator setting up a new site should consider some key engineering design features: "high standard gas and leachate infrastructure right from the word go, good quality lining so you don't have migration issues... [and] good compaction and space utilisation so you have less movement in the landfill and less subsidence afterwards".
There is obviously a shorter economic dead-zone between closing the gates to new waste and being able to reuse the site if operators take waste that doesn't take 30-50 years to break down. With a current push on by some resource recovery advocates to follow Europe and ban unstablised organics from landfill disposal, the "after life" economics of a shorter remediation period could be a key attraction to building advanced waste treatment facilities.
WSN is following a similar model at its Jack's Gully Ecolibrium site, where waste will be run through its ArrowBio AWT and only the stabilised residual will end up in landfill after all the resources have been recovered.
Interestingly, the official press release from the NSW Government about the golf course opening includes a line that the Lucas Heights site, "will further enhance its sustainability credentials, with WSN planning to build a new alternative waste treatment (AWT) plant that will divert waste from landfill".
As reported by Inside Waste in May, Sydney's St George Region of Councils have called for expression of interest to build an AWT in the region, and the Lucas Heights site is tipped as a front runner.
While WSN has reportedly already lodged a development application to build an AWT at the site, it does not have the St George contract in the bag just yet - the council grouping received five EOIs before its closing date, and is currently working through a competitive tendering process. Timing on the final outcome is unclear.
Article from Inside Waste Weekly.
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