From landfill to revenue: the success of Wyndham's Resource Recovery Centre
Overview
Sustainability Victoria, on behalf of the Victorian government, gave a $250,000 grant to Wyndham City Council to establish a new sorting facility to keep metals, timber, green waste, cardboard, concrete, soils, and other recyclables out of landfill.
Over the past 3 years, the centre has recovered more than 1,500 tonnes of valuable materials. Rather than sending these to landfill, Wyndham was able to sell these commodities, earning the Council more than $300,000 in new revenue.
Over the past 5 years, Sustainability Victoria has partnered with towns and cities across Victoria, funding councils to develop their own circular economy projects through the Circular Economy Councils Fund. Through this fund, more than 66 initiatives are helping to cut landfill and make no waste the new normal.
The problem
The construction and demolition industry accounts for over one-third of the total waste sent to landfills. More than 75% of this waste consists of clean, excavated materials such as metals, concrete, bricks, and timber. These materials are not only reusable and recyclable but also hold substantial financial value.
The solution
After a successful trial in 2017, Wyndham City Council embarked on a permanent solution to sort and recycle building and construction materials. They established the Wyndham Bulk Resource Recovery Centre with a $250,000 grant from the Circular Economy Councils Fund.
The centre focuses on recovering concrete, bricks, steel, aluminium, copper, other metals, and timber, to increase the amount of valuable materials being recycled rather than sent to landfill.
Bill Corcoran, Wyndham City Council’s Area Leader for Resource Recovery, said that these efforts have significantly reduced the amount of waste going to landfill, conserving valuable space and extending the landfill’s lifespan.
Staff at the weighbridge were trained to identify construction loads that contain valuable materials and send them to the bulk sorting area rather than the tip.
'Up to two-thirds of the metal and other products that would have previously ended up in landfill are now being recycled.'
The load is spread out to allow the machine operator to pick timber and metal. After the machine picking, manual pickers move in and take the timber, metal, and cardboard. The remaining waste is then fed into a shredder and the leftover metal is removed by an over-band magnet. The shredded waste is then put through a trammel to pick the non-ferric metal, cardboard, and timber. The remaining, unvaluable waste is moved to the landfill.
‘Up to two-thirds of the metal and other products that would have previously ended up in landfill are now being recycled,’ said Bill.
Challenges and learnings
Metal, paper and cardboard: the most valuable recovered commodities
The end markets for scrap metal, paper, and cardboard proved lucrative for the council. Scrap metal has an estimated average value of $228 per tonne, with 202 tonnes recovered in 2023/24 and 1,078 tonnes projected to be collected in 2024/25, earning the council an estimated $291,000 over two years.
Paper and cardboard are valued at $65 per tonne, with 81 tonnes recovered in 2023/24 and 260 tonnes projected for 2024/25, valued at $22,000 over two years.
Limited end markets for timber
Initially, the Council found it difficult to find a viable end-market for wood. In fact, it was costing the council $110 to collect the wood and take it to the only recycler they could find, located in Queensland. However, recently they found a local contractor who turns the untreated timber into woodchips.
Treated timber, however, still does not have an end-market.
‘So far, we have not been successful in finding a viable solution, but we are constantly assessing the market to identify sustainable options for these materials,’ said Bill.
Tyres: a growing issue
Tyres were not originally part of the scope of this project, however, the large numbers of tyres coming through the transfer centre were identified as an environmental and health risk.
‘We were never comfortable sending tyres or waste wood to the landfill,’ said Bill.
‘Previously, we sent shredded tyres to landfill, not due to a lack of alternatives – there are several tyre recyclers – but because it was half the cost of recycling. However, Auto Cycle in Altona has provided a viable solution for all rubber tyres. We now select suitable tyres and deliver them to Auto Cycle regularly.’
They are projected to recover 30 tonnes in 2024/25.
Next steps
The Wyndham Bulk Resource Recovery Centre now has the capacity to sort and recover 10,000 tonnes of timber, 3,000 tonnes of scrap metal, 500 tonnes of cardboard, and 100 tonnes of tyres. Bill says that in the future the facility may look for feasible solutions for treated timber, hard plastics, and Styrofoam.
‘At Wyndham Landfill, we are always open to making changes that benefit the community, the council, or the landfill,’ said Bill.
Contribution to government targets
Sustainability Victoria’s Circular Economy Councils Fund, delivered on behalf of the Victorian Government, aimed to improve markets for recovered materials by $300,000, and this project alone contributed an impressive $313,000 towards this goal.
The Victorian Government has committed to diverting 80% of waste from landfill, including construction and demolition waste, and this project is making a strong contribution to this target.
