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A $3.65m Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and Glass Processing Plant opening in Lismore, NSW, is ready to sort out more than 15,000 tonnes of recyclables each year.
The MRF will sort, separate and prepare recyclables to be made into new products, while the glass plant will crush used glass and crockery into sand to be blended into road base and asphalt.
Opening the MRF and Glass Processing Plant: (l-r) Gary Murphy, Lismore City Council; Stan Moore, CEO of the APC; Jenny Dowell, Mayor of Lismore; Thomas George, Lismore MP; Mark Jackson, manager of waste and recycling infrastructure with the NSW EPA; and Kevin Trustum, waste operations coordinator with Lismore City Council
The glass plant was jointly funded by the Australian Packaging Covenant, the NSW government and the Product Stewardship Forum.
Stan Moore, CEO of the APC, says, “The integrated approach to the development of this facility is far sighted and commendable.
“The glass recovery and reuse is exciting, recovering glass and turning it back into sand and using it as a sand replacement makes sense and is part of the new way of thinking about the circular economy.
“Collaboration has seen the packaging recycling rate increase from 39 per cent in 2003 to 64 per cent in 2013.
“Over this same period we have seen a reduction of 37 per cent in packaging going to landfill despite the increase in consumption.”
Kevin Trustum, waste operations coordinator for Lismore City Council, says the MRF will earn the Council money as well as helping it to deal responsibly with the waste created in its own backyard.
He says, “For the first time ever, people will be able to recycle items such as plastic bags and polystyrene, which have previously ended up in landfill.”
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