Pre-Conference Technical Tour
To book your seat on the Waste 2006 Pre-Conference Technical Tour please go to the Registration page. Places are limited so get in quick for this unique opportunity!
At each site on the tour, delegates will receive detailed historical and technical information from the tour facilitator and representatives of the managing bodies for each site.
The cost for the Technical Tour is $490 per person including GST. This covers all your meals, accommodation and transport from departure in Sydney to arrival in Coffs Harbour.
THE ITINERARY
Monday 27 March
8:00am - Coach departs Sydney Central Station
8:45am - Coach departs Qantas Domestic Terminal, Sydney Airport
10:00am - UR-3R Facility, Eastern Creek
12:00pm - Depart Sydney - lunch enroute to Somersby
2:00pm - Earthcare Recycling Plant, Somersby
4:00pm - Depart Somersby
5:30pm - Arrive Raymond Terrace Accommodation
7:00pm - Tour Dinner (three course meal and drinks)
Tuesday 28 March
7:00am - Full Buffet Breakfast
8:00am - Depart Raymond Terrace Accommodation
10:30am - Remondis Organic Resource Recovery Facility, and new MRF site, Port Macquarie
12:30pm - Depart Port Macquarie - lunch enroute to Coffs Harbour
2:30pm - Coffs Coast Resource Recovery Facility, Coffs Harbour
5:00pm - Arrive Opal Cove Resort & other Accommodation Venues
6:00 pm - Early Registration, Welcome Drinks and Trade Preview - Opal Cove
ABOUT THE SITES
Site 1 - UR-3R Facility, Eastern Creek
Global Renewables has integrated a suite of world class technologies to create the Urban Resource – Reduction, Recovery and Recycling (UR-3R) Facility at Eastern Creek. The UR-3R Process enables 175,000 tonnes per year of municipal solid waste (collected household and garden waste) and commercial waste to be used as a renewable urban resource. The Eastern Creek UR-3R Facility recovers valuable recyclables and produces renewable energy, high quality composts and soil conditioners certified to AS4454-2003.
The Eastern Creek UR-3R Facility will enable the diversion of up to 80% of waste from landfill and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 50,000 cars off the road. This sets a new benchmark for waste-to-resource processing, surpassing current best practice landfill diversion goals by the application of technologies focussed on resource conservation.
Important: Due to confidentiality issues, Global Renewables has advised that companies and consultants who are engaged in similar technology evaluation and design to the waste industry will not be able to enter this site. Only stakeholders such as regulators, NGO's, waste processing customers (Councils) or offtake purchasers will be able to participate in the UR-3R tour. Global Renewables Limited reserves the right to refuse access to any person who does not meet these criteria on the day of the tour.
Site 2 - Earthcare Recycling Plant, Somersby
This plant was opened in July 2001 and processed the Gosford Shire contract of approx. 85 tonne per day of full comingled material. Since then material has been added from the Belrose Transfer station which services many North Sydney Councils, such as Manly, Lane Cove and Hunters Hill. This is primarily container material only as the paper is processed in Sydney.
Since November 2004 the Facility has been processing the material from the Visy MRF at Gateshead, Newcastle. This services the Cessnock, Maitland and Lake Macquarie areas. In total the plant now processes approximately 300 tonne per day, with peak Christmas volume being over 400 tonne per day.
The plant operates 24 hours a day, 260 days each year. It has a processing capacity of 20 to 25 ton per hour. Waste levels are under 8%, with the incorporation of Glass Optical Sorting and Fine Glass Crushing, which dramatically reduce glass to landfill. The main products are newsprint, mixed paper, cardboard, sorted glass for ACI, crushed glass for sandblasting and drainage aggregates, steel, aluminum and mixed plastics.
Site 3 - Remondis Organic Resource Recovery Facility, and new MRF site, Port Macquarie
The Organic Resource Recovery Facility (ORRF) was constructed for Hastings Council in an effort to dramatically reduce waste to landfill. It is designed to process organic and mixed solid waste, turning these wastes into valuable, reusable products. Remondis AES P\L has designed the ORRF to utilise a number of proven technologies as used in Europe for over twenty years.
The main feature of the ORRF technology is the Composting Tunnels, which are the first of their kind to be constructed in Australia. The ORRF has been in operation since November 2001 and has attracted enormous local, national and international interest.
Site 4 - Coffs Coast Resource Recovery Facility, Coffs Harbour
This site tour will be conducted by Lee Beckett, Manager Biomass Solutions (Coffs Harbour) Pty Ltd. As the site is not expected to be fully operational at the time of our visit, it will feature a detailed presentation of how this facility will operate once it is commissioned. One of the features of the presentation will be to demonstrate how this project will recover beneficial products from 80 per cent of wastes currently landfilled and ultimately eliminate the need for landfill by 2020.
Other unique features to protect the environment during the full life cycle of construction and operation of the waste processing plant and reducing and ultimately extinguish all environmental impacts experienced in any continuing landfill operations will be explored as well.