World-first recycling dramatically cuts landfill waste
In late October, state-of-the-art recycling machines were switched on at Sims Aluminium that will cut the amount of hazardous waste going to landfill from aluminium recycling by 95 per cent.
Visiting Sims Aluminium secondary plant in Laverton North, EPA’s John Merritt said the two new “dross” presses would benefit the environment by preventing hazardous salt and aluminium oxide waste going to landfill.
EPA’s HazWaste Fund provided funding of $773,000 to help purchase the machines, which cost $1.97 million.
“These machines, which dramatically reduce hazardous waste going to landfill, are an innovative approach to reducing our impact on the landscape and an impressive example of what the HazWaste Fund can achieve,” Mr Merritt said.
Traditionally salt is used in the scrap aluminium smelting process in order to maximise aluminium recovery. At present this waste cannot be used and has generally gone straight to landfill.
General Manager Australian Manufacturing Division, Sims Group Australia Holdings Limited, Doug McLean said the dross presses remove the need to use salt in the smelting process.
“This means the leftover fines will no longer be contaminated with salt and can be subsequently recycled. This funding has allowed us to become the only known secondary aluminium smelter in the world to operate a ‘salt free’ process utilising dross press technology,” Mr McLean said.
“We’ve tailored the equipment to suit our specific needs and as a result can guarantee diversion of 1800 tonnes of salt, and eventually an additional 12,000 tonnes of aluminium fines, from going to landfill per annum.”
The HazWaste Fund supports investment in three key areas - infrastructure and implementation; research and development and demonstration projects; and, knowledge and capacity-building.
In the two years EPA’s HazWaste Fund has been operating, $18.3 million of a total of $30 million has been allocated to almost 60 different projects.