by Komoneed | Nov 7, 2023
Rino Recycling is set to open its $95m high-tech waste recycling facility that is located on an 8-hectare site in the Brisbane town of Pinkenba in Queensland.
The 4000 m2 fully automated recycling plant is designed to turn construction and demolition waste into recycled material, which can then be used on new infrastructure projects.
Rino Recycling General Manager Dan Blaser said the site can process up to 475 tonnes an hour — including material such as concrete, excavation waste, construction and demolition waste (C&D), raw dirty fill, skip bin waste and vacuum waste & non-destructive digging (NDD) waste.
“This plant has scale, capacity and efficiency — it can recycle more than 1.5 million tonnes of waste with 97% recovery annually whilst producing high-quality products such as aggregates, sand and road bases to the equivalent standard of quarried material but with significant environmental benefits,” Blaser said.
“In under 20 minutes, a truck can go from offloading construction waste and leave with a new load of high-quality, recycled products ready for the job site. It is a green, circular economy in action.
“This puts in place the infrastructure for developers and all levels of government to adopt a ‘recycled first’ policy when it comes to construction and waste management.”
The recovery centre is claimed to be the world’s largest recycling facility under the one roof (for volume) and the first of its kind globally. Based on an independent report, it’s estimated the new recycling facility will help reduce carbon emissions by 55,000 tonnes per year.
Rino Recycling’s Director, Todd Pepper, said the new facility could help Queensland lift its recycling rate from 68 to 75%, by recovering 97% of the material fed into the plant.
“We are helping decarbonise through recycling waste and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the number of truck movements on the road,” Pepper said.
“The new facility is 13 kilometres from the CBD, so trucks have less distance to travel, and we are replacing the need to have to go to landfill sites west of the city, like Swanbank in Ipswich.”
The plant has an acre of rooftop solar panels for energy efficiency and recycles 35 thousand litres of water every hour, making it ‘water neutral’.
The Green Star Certified plant has an expected opening date of late November 2023.
Top image caption from left to right: Ed Bull, Director; Richard Jacobitz, CFO; Daniel Baser, General Manager; and Todd Pepper, Director at Rino Recycling.
by Komoneed | Nov 7, 2023
Environmental and social commitments are aligning more closely with tangible financial goals, a sign of sustainability’s maturity in business.
by Komoneed | Nov 7, 2023
Governments around the world are securing their travel visas, rallying their best nerds and sharpening their pencils for the next big United Nations meeting on plastic pollution.
by Komoneed | Nov 7, 2023
Products are often described online and in fashion media using ambiguous language such as fleece, satin, crepe, or leather-like, leaving consumers in the dark about the true composition of their clothing, writes Lisa Griplas of The Woolmark Company. Their newly launched Filter By Fabric campaign offers a simple strategy to address this lack of transparency: […]
The post New Campaign Has a Simple Solution for Fashion’s Lack of Fabric Transparency appeared first on Good On You.
by Komoneed | Nov 7, 2023
According to new research by the Australian Hydrogen Centre, renewable hydrogen generated from renewable electricity could provide a feasible pathway for Australia’s clean energy future by using existing gas distribution networks.
Based on independent economic and commercial assessments across the full renewable hydrogen value chain, the report shows how policy settings can foster the development of a new renewable energy source, retaining the ability for Australians to access sustainable energy in much the same way as they access their energy today.
Craig de Laine, CEO of the Australian Gas Infrastructure Group, a founding member of the centre, said the reports show the significant role that renewable hydrogen delivered through existing gas distribution networks can play to help reduce carbon emissions.
“As a result of investment over the last two decades in our world-class infrastructure, our existing gas distribution networks are ready today to deliver renewable hydrogen, with much of our distribution network already ready for 100% renewable hydrogen. All of our networks are set to be 100% hydrogen-ready in the near future with minor incremental investment.
“This report shows that a 10% blend of renewable hydrogen in our distribution networks can be a no-regrets pathway for carbon emissions reduction. Further, Australia has the potential to unlock a cost-efficient pathway towards 100% renewable hydrogen, making the most of our existing built infrastructure to help deliver on the transition.”
De Laine said that AGIG’s Hydrogen Park South Australia facility is already supplying some of its domestic gas customers with a blended renewable hydrogen gas.
“Using existing technology to produce and supply 100% hydrogen can result in stable energy bills similar to projections of customer bills from 2021, excluding any cost of carbon or technology breakthroughs, which would put additional downward pressure on costs,” de Laine said.
Transitioning gas networks to supply renewable hydrogen has significant potential to deliver long-term economic benefits for Victoria and South Australia, with the report finding 10% hydrogen could create more than 700 new jobs during construction and more than 150 new jobs ongoing. Achieving 100% hydrogen across both states could create nearly 18,000 new jobs — 12,000 new jobs during construction and more than 5500 new jobs ongoing.
“Australia’s emerging renewable hydrogen industry has huge potential to develop skills, jobs and export opportunities while we work towards delivering Australia’s carbon reduction targets,” de Laine said.
“AGIG is proud to be a leading investor in hydrogen, but the key to continued investment and maximising the carbon reduction and economic benefits from hydrogen deployment is ensuring we have supportive policy to create a sustainable investment ecosystem.
“This is just the start of what is possible for Australia’s energy system. We want to be able to continue to make investments and realise our low-carbon vision of fully transitioning our gas distribution networks to renewable gas by 2040 as a stretch target, and no later than 2050.”
Image credit: iStock.com/Petmal
