Food and garden waste recycling in the Hunter and surrounding areas has been future-proofed thanks to Australian and NSW government grants totalling two million dollars.
Recognising the success and ongoing potential of REMONDIS’ Lake Macquarie Organics Resource Recovery Facility (ORRF) at Awaba, the Federal Government has awarded a one-million-dollar expansion grant through its Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund.
The grant has been matched by the New South Wales Environmental Trust.
The funding will support expansion work that will lift processing capacity by 16,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes and assure operations for another twenty years.
Lake Macquarie ORRF facility manager Gunther Neumann said the funding was a turning point for the facility.
“Given REMONDIS’ experience with operating more than 80 such organic recycling facilities around the world, we always knew the potential of the Lake Macquarie facility,” Mr Neumann said.
“Community demand for organics recycling via Lake Macquarie City Council’s green bins has exceeded expectations, and this support enables us to match growing demand.
“Homes and businesses are more attuned to environmental responsibility these days, which is why so many people are filling their green bins with food scraps and garden waste or delivering such waste themselves.
“People and businesses are just as eager to buy the compost products we produce, which is used for many things including landscaping, farming and erosion control.”
REMONDIS said it was eager to commence expansions as soon as possible, subject to development approvals.
Central to the expansion will be the addition of further composting tunnels enabling more processing capacity, increased retention time and improved compost quality.
Lake Macquarie City Council engages REMONDIS to perform waste management and recycling services. The city’s Mayor, Kay Fraser, said the grants were a win for the community.
“Lake Macquarie City Council, in partnership with Remondis, has been a trailblazer in organics waste processing and we are pleased to see both the federal and state governments supporting our innovative and sustainable approach to waste management,” Cr Fraser said.
“The Organics Resource Recovery Facility at Awaba keeps waste out of the ground, which is not only better for the environment but reduces pressure on our limited capacity for landfill and is a more cost-effective outcome for our ratepayers.”
REMONDIS’ grant application was prepared in-house by Gunther Neumann and Technical Manager Jan Duebbelde, with support from Environment & Sustainability Manager Helen McCarthy.
FUTHER INFORMATION
www.awe.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/food-waste/food-waste-for-healthy-soils-fund/projects
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REMONDIS is one of the world’s largest privately run recycling, service and water companies with around 900 business locations in over 30 countries and across four continents. Founded in 1934, this family-run business employs more than 38,000 people and generates a turnover of €8.3 billion (2020). Each year, it processes more than 30 million tonnes of recyclable materials and provides services for local authorities, small and medium-sized businesses and industrial firms as well as for around 30 million people. Operating in many different fields of business, REMONDIS makes an important contribution towards protecting the environment and conserving natural resources – from recovering valuable raw materials from industrial and household waste, to producing high quality recycled raw materials, all the way through to transforming non-recyclable materials into a range of different fuels. Moreover, the company is increasingly helping to advance the switch from fossil fuels to renewables by using biomass as a source of energy. REMONDIS sees itself as an adviser and point of contact for industrial, commercial and retail businesses as well as for local authorities as it helps them to find regional and bespoke solutions. REMONDIS Australia commenced operations in 1982 and now services more than 20,000 customers nationally.