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Cleanaway proudly supports Clean Up Australia, the charity that has inspired more than 20 million people to clean up, fix up and conserve our precious environment over more than 30 years.
Communities - Partnerships
February 20, 2023
Highlights
“It’s through great collaborations like what Clean Up Australia has with Cleanaway that really makes a difference.”
“It’s through great collaborations like what Clean Up Australia has with Cleanaway that really makes a difference.”
Cleanaway proudly supports Clean Up Australia, the charity that has inspired more than 20 million people to clean up, fix up and conserve our precious environment over more than 30 years.
Founded in 1989 by solo yachtsman Ian Kiernan AO, Clean Up Australia Day is a fixture of the country’s calendar on the first Sunday in March but the charity has evolved to provide practical solutions to help all Australians live more sustainably all year-round.
Clean Up Australia is chaired by Ian’s daughter, Pip Kiernan, who says organisations such as Cleanaway help fund free kits that include gloves and bags, tapping into a sentiment that we can all do something practical.
“[They] help us to evolve as an organisation and broaden our reach and influence in terms of prevention, helping Australians move towards that circular economy,” she said. “That is the solution where we need to be to tackle our waste challenges in this country.
“It’s through great collaborations like what Clean Up Australia has with Cleanaway that really makes a difference.”
Pip says this year, post-Covid, there is a great opportunity for people to come together again as a community and do something practical for the environment.
Clean Up Australia also run Business Clean Up Day, on 28 February, a dedicated day for workplaces of all sizes to get involved and engage teams on a fun, practical volunteering day while improving the local environment.
Cleanaway colleagues in Queensland will spend the first half of their Tuesday morning helping to clean up J J Smith Park in Marsden, Logan, and raise money for Clean Up Australia. Click here to join, support or learn more about the event.
Batteries and other e-waste are a growing threat to the waste industry and communities across Australia
Communities - Industry Updates - Resource Recovery
February 9, 2023
Highlights
“When we think about the journey our rubbish goes on, from kitchen bin to the street for collection and then to waste facilities, if there’s a battery in the mix, the risk of a fire starting along the way soars.”
“When we think about the journey our rubbish goes on, from kitchen bin to the street for collection and then to waste facilities, if there’s a battery in the mix, the risk of a fire starting along the way soars.”
The waste industry is seeing a sharp increase in waste fires on garbage trucks and in waste facilities. In Australia more than 450 fires have been linked to lithium-ion batteries over the past 18 months, according to data provided by state fire departments. WA alone recorded 81 lithium-ion related fires in the last year compared to 21 in 2018, NSW recorded 180, 120 in VIC and 72 in QLD.
Many of these incidents are a direct result of waste contaminated with lithium batteries and other household batteries, which are a no go for kerbside bins.
Late on Boxing Day 2022 the Canberra suburb of Hume was rocked with news of a blaze at the local Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).
ACT Fire and Rescue chief, Matthew Mavity, said in an interview with The Guardian that an incorrectly recycled battery or vape had not been ruled out.
“Any battery … has potential chemical energy stored and that can be released if it’s damaged,” he said.
Pictured: Facebook post by the ACT Emergency Services Agency detailing the Boxing Day blaze at Hume MRF. The fire has detailed residential recycling in the ACT.
ACT transport minister Chris Steel added that the incident should serve as a wake up call for people to make sure they only placed non-hazardous recyclables in their bins.
“Unfortunately, we do see too many dangerous objects put into the recycling stream that simply shouldn’t be there,” he said.
“Things like vapes, batteries and even gas cylinders that can cause a hazard and a risk of fire.”
The destruction of the Hume MRF is a massive blow to waste management in the ACT.
Thousands of tonnes of waste that could’ve previously been recycled locally is now being transported interstate for processing.
A nationwide concern
The Hume MRF fire is far from isolated. At around the same time, two fires broke out at a facility for yellow lidded waste in Kwinana, WA.
Just like the Hume incident, the Kwinana fires are believed to be caused by lithium batteries thrown into kerbside bins.
Pictured: Facebook post by City of Kwinana reporting on the fires that broke out at the local MRF in December 2022.
All eight incidents forced the truck drivers to dump their hot loads on suburban streets.
In an interview with the Brisbane Times, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said that household batteries that were discarded in council bins were suspected of causing the fires.
“When we think about the journey our rubbish goes on, from kitchen bin to the street for collection and then to waste facilities, if there’s a battery in the mix, the risk of a fire starting along the way soars.”
Not even landfills are safe from battery fires.
The Australian Battery Recycling Initiative (ABRI) in its Inclusion of all batteries in the Victorian landfill ban submission to the Victorian EPA mentioned reports of at least two fires in a Victorian landfill believed to have been caused by li-ion batteries.
ABRI further explained in its submission that the incidence of battery fires in landfills continue to grow and that these incidents create hazardous fumes which are a danger to both firefighters and landfill operators.
A cause for change
According to the Hazardous waste infrastructure needs and capacity assessment report by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) the surge of li-ion entering the waste stream in the years to come is of particular concern.
The report estimates that waste li-ion batteries will grow by upwards of 300% each year by 2036. The result is the generation of between 100,000 to 187,000 tonnes of waste per year.
To put this into perspective, the Sydney Opera House weighs roughly 165,000 tonnes.
Source: Randell Environmental Consulting Pty Ltd & Blue Environment for the Hazardous Waste Section Department of the Environment July 2016.
Pictured: Battery recycling rate in OECD countries including Australia (ABRI 2017).
The waste industry’s fight for fire safety requires concerted action to tackle Australia’s rapidly growing li-ion waste stream. This can be addressed by further developing the current battery recycling ecosystem to keep household batteries away from kerbside bins.
A nationwide effort such as this demands cooperation from the public, waste service providers and industry to support stewardship programs such as B-cycle, Australia’s official recycling scheme.
Safe and sustainable alternatives are also being developed by Australian companies as a long term solution to the li-ion waste problem.
Brisbane-based Redflow and Sydney-based Gelion have developed batteries with world leading zinc bromine flow technology.
Zinc-bromide batteries offer a safer and more reliable alternative to li-ion batteries. These next gen batteries also provide performance advantages over li-ion batteries by maintaining 100% state of health even after thousands of cycles.
Apart from new and emerging technologies, battery recycling education remains the waste industry’s best safeguard against waste fires.
Cleanaway provides free resources for Australians to learn how to properly discard of their batteries and other potentially hazardous household waste.
Batteries of all types can be found in nearly everything we use today: from button batteries in our car keys to lithium batteries in our smartwatches.
Our busy lives are powered by these little things, and in turn we should never be too busy to discard them properly at the end of their life cycle.
Why is it important to keep used batteries out of kerbside recycling bins?
No battery lasts forever. It’s in the nature of single use batteries to run flat and the same goes for rechargeable batteries which eventually lose their capacity to hold a charge.
If you’re still guessing where, here’s a hint – it’s not in your wheelie bin!
Pictured: Batteries disposed in kerbside bins can start fires in the back of garbage trucks and threaten the safety of the community at large.
Most batteries contain toxic heavy metals such as nickel, cadmium and mercury that are harmful to human, animal and plant life if released into waterways and ecosystems via landfill.
Li-ion batteries are highly sensitive to temperature changes and when discarded in household recycling bins they are likely to catch fire.
Fires can also break out in the back of garbage collection vehicles and at transfer stations where batteries frequently come into contact with flammable waste.
Pictured: Li-ion batteries discarded in a kerbside bin ignited at a Cleanaway transfer station.
What should you do with your used batteries?
Before dropping off your used batteries for recycling, tape the terminals first. To do this all you need is some non-conductive tape such as clear sticky tape, duct tape or electrical tape.
The next step would be to keep them in a glass jar, away from metal objects or heat sources such as stoves, radiators and even the sun!
Also, never store your batteries in a metal container as this can lead to sparks.
Pictured: The fire damage seen in the pictures above was caused by a vape pen battery that was thrown in a kerbside recycling bin.
Where can you dispose of your used batteries?
Aim to drop off your used batteries for recycling every six months. Retail outlets and supermarkets accept all kinds of batteries and e-waste for recycling:
Aldi: household batteries i.e. AA, AAA, C, D and 9V batteries (both rechargeable and non-rechargeable are accepted)
Battery World: check with your local store to see which kinds of batteries are accepted
Bunnings: household batteries i.e. AA, AAA, C, D and 9V batteries, batteries from power tools
Officeworks: household batteries i.e. AA, AAA, C, D and 9V batteries, laptop/mobile phone batteries
Woolworths: household batteries i.e. AA, AAA, C, D and 9V batteries.
Pictured: Battery recycling drop-off points at Bunnings (left) and Woolworths (right).
You can also search for a drop off point nearest to you using B-cycle’s list of drop off points.
B-cycle is Australia’s official battery stewardship scheme and is government backed to recycle used batteries, ensuring that the precious materials used to make them are reused.
The scheme has collected more than 918,000 kilograms of used batteries through 3,200 drop-off points across all states and territories in just six months.
Many councils offer free old battery disposal and e-waste recycling programs for residents to bring in their unwanted household batteries.
You can ring your local council and ask if battery disposal and recycling services are available to you.
Pictured: A Cleanaway driver servicing City of Casey had to drop the hot load in his new truck for the County Fire Authority to put out.
Pictured: This laptop with its battery still intact started a fire inside a baler at a Cleanaway sorting facility.
What happens to used batteries that are dropped off for recycling?
Batteries contain up to 95% recyclable materials. Through recycling, any steel, copper and aluminium present in them are reintroduced to the manufacturing sector for use in new products.
The active components of li-ion batteries such as graphite, cobalt, nickel and aluminium are turned into mixed metal dust which forms the building blocks of new li-ion batteries.
Battery manufacturers are seeing the value in battery recycling and are ramping up their roles within the ecosystem in Australia. According to McKinsey Battery Insights manufacturers will benefit greatly from a closed loop for batteries.
End of life li-ion batteries is a waste stream that is growing by 20% each year. As the battery recycling market matures, manufacturers will be able to lower their production costs by reusing raw materials present in used batteries while lowering their dependence on virgin raw material – a win-win situation for both industry and the environment.
Contact us to learn more about how we’re making a sustainable future possible for communities and businesses across Australia.
Let’s make our Australia Day celebrations sustainable because every small bit scores big points for a cleaner, greener Australia.
Here are our top tips to get you started:
Waving the Aussie flag
Flags will be flying on Australia Day but where will yours end up after the 26 January celebrations?
Remember to store your flags in a convenient place for future celebrations. If you have any tattered or discoloured flags, give them a dignified send off by posting them to companies such as Flagworld who offer free flag and banner recycling services.
Hand flags are a different story altogether. You can make the call to only buy ones that are made with 100% recyclable fabric such as cotton or canvas and avoid buying hand flags that are manufactured with unrecyclable materials or materials you’re not familiar with.
Throwing a party
If you’re going to cook up a storm, plan your recipes around ingredients you can get at your local market.
Produce found at local markets generally use less packaging and are cheaper than store bought items. Another upside to buying from the market is you can get your hands on locally grown produce, which have a much smaller carbon footprint than produce transported from out of state.
On the day of the big do, make it easy for your guests to dispose of their waste by having dedicated waste sorting station. For example, have a bin for 10c recyclable bottles and cans and another one for food waste which can be disposed of through your organics bin or compost heap. Who knows – by being an environmentally conscious host you could inspire your guests to make their own changes at home!
Need more ideas on what you can recycle at home? Check out our Recycling Hub for plenty of ideas.
Making a case for food waste
Chances are that you’ll be left with heaps of leftover food from your party. If you don’t have access to an organic waste service, try composting at home to reduce the weight and volume of your general waste bin.
The best part about composting is that there are a few easy ways to do it. If you have a yard or even a small outdoor patch, you can make a compost heap.
However, if space is an issue – as it is with many homes these days – you can do worm composting indoors with a bin which you can easily buy from a nursery or hardware store.
Spending time outdoors
Whether it’s camping or kayaking, the golden rule is to leave only footprints.
Enjoy nature responsibly by following guidelines set by parks, reserves and protected areas. These are put in place to maintain the delicate balance of ecosystems and protect our precious native animals and plants.
If you’re planning on grabbing a bite outdoors, avoid disposable cutlery such as paper cups (which have plastic lining and therefore are not recyclable) and plastic forks and spoons. Instead, go for reusable cutlery and bring your own rubbish bags with you to ensure it’s only your footprints left behind.
This way you can keep the environment pristine and avoid having to deal with a hefty littering fine too.
Going a step further for a greener future
Cleanaway in partnership with Clean Up Australia, has encouraged millions of volunteers to take to their streets, beaches, parks, bushland and waterways to remove litter and illegally dumped rubbish.
If you’d like to do more for your community you can participate in Clean Up Australia Day which takes place on Sunday 5 March 2023.
You can also join an existing Clean Up or register a Clean Up on Clean Up Australia Day or any day of the year.
Contact us to learn more about how we’re making a sustainable future possible for communities and businesses across Australia.
This year you can take charge with your very own Clean Up on Clean Up Australia Day which takes place on Sunday 5 March 2023.
Getting started and organising your event is half the fun. Here’s how you can lead your very own Clean Up in your community:
Step 1: Register a Clean Up
You can register a Clean Up on Clean Up Australia Day or any day of the year. However, you should first find a spot that deserves a good tidying up – beaches, parks, bushland and riverbanks are perfect.
Need help picking a site? Talk to your local council. They might know of illegal dumping spots that could use a good clean up!
Step 2: Get your Clean Up kit
Once you fill up the form to register your community site, you will receive a free Clean Up kit including bags, gloves, information and promotional materials in about two weeks from your registration date.
Don’t worry! There are a few things you can do while you wait for your Clean Up kit to arrive in your mail.
Step 3: Plan your Clean Up
Visit your site in advance and find out exactly where you can leave rubbish and recyclables so you can focus on the work at hand on the day of your Clean Up. There’s nothing worse than a last minute hiccup to ruin your big day out.
This is your chance to snap some ‘before’ photos too. Once you’re done with the Clean Up you can take some ‘after’ photos – these will also help you share the success of your Clean Up and recruit volunteers for future events.
Remember, safety first! Plan for potential scrapes and falls by saving contacts of hospitals and other emergency services that operate in the vicinity of your community site.
Packing a first aid kit and keeping it close by at all times would be a good idea too.
Step 4: Promote your Clean Up
Now it’s time to recruit some volunteers. These can be your friends and family or even your neighbours or colleagues from work – basically anyone who shares your passion for keeping your surrounds in tip top shape.
You can even go a step further and create an event on Facebook to keep your team in the loop for updates. Share those ‘before’ photos you took – it can help you make a case for your community site and why it deserves a good Clean Up.
Clean Up Australia also has promotional materials that you download and use to spread the word in the days leading to your Clean Up.
Find out how our Cleanaway team members participated in Clean Up Australia Day 2022 with their local community organisations and family members.
Contact us to learn more about how we’re making a sustainable future possible for communities and businesses across Australia.
FareShare receives $50,000 grant in Round 4 of Melbourne Regional Landfill Community Benefit Fund
Australia’s largest charity kitchen network is one of seven community groups that run wellbeing projects in the local area
Communities
December 15, 2022
Highlights
"Cleanaway is delighted to provide funding for local initiatives that enhance community health and well-being."
"These community groups have a tremendous positive impact in their local area and we’re proud to support them to enable them to continue to support their local community through a range of programs."
"Cleanaway is delighted to provide funding for local initiatives that enhance community health and well-being."
"These community groups have a tremendous positive impact in their local area and we’re proud to support them to enable them to continue to support their local community through a range of programs."
Charity kitchen FareShare is one seven community groups to receive a $50,000 grant each in Round 4 of Melbourne Regional Landfill Community Benefit Fund.
FareShare’s network of charity kitchens is the largest in Australia. With kitchens in Melbourne and Brisbane, FareShare mobilises chefs and volunteers to cook free, nutritious meals made with rescued, donated and homegrown ingredients.
Pictured: FareShare chefs and volunteers show off their latest culinary creations in the Derrimut kitchen.
Cleanaway’s Head of Rehabilitation & Workers Compensation Andrew Mosca, Rehabilitation & Injury Management Advisors Juliana Boron and Joanne Moss and National BDM – Service Improvement Rick Pruckner recently volunteered at FareShare’s kitchen in Derrimut, Victoria.
Our four volunteers channelled their inner master chefs for three hours. They chopped up leek, fennel, onions and kohlrabi for FareShare’s chefs and volunteers to prepare meals.
These meals were then handed out to soup vans, homeless shelters, women refugees and disadvantaged groups.
Pictured from left to right: Andrew, Juliana, Joanne and Rick have a go in the FareShare kitchen.
Melbourne Regional Landfill Community Benefit Fund supports local community initiatives that promote health and wellbeing.
Examples of eligible funding projects include:
activities that enhance the local environment such as tree planting, litter collection or other types of environmental regeneration programs
construction of gardens, greenhouses or compost systems to promote waste reduction
installation of solar panels or additional recycling bins in schools or community buildings
charity groups or welfare programs that support communities in need.
sporting activities or community events that promote community inclusion and well-being
training or employment assistance schemes.
FareShare is one of seven local community groups to come out tops in Round 4 of Melbourne Regional Landfill Community Benefit Fund.
The other grant recipients in Round 4 were:
Aintree Scout Group
Burnside Heights Football Club
Caroline Chisholm Society
Caroline Springs Cricket Club
Caroline Springs Football Club
Western Emergency Relief Network.
The recipients were selected by a review panel consisting of Councillors from Melton City Council and Brimbank City Council and Cleanaway’s Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager Olga Ghiri.
“Cleanaway is delighted to provide funding for local initiatives that enhance community health and well-being. These community groups have a tremendous positive impact in their local area and we’re proud to support them to enable them to continue to support their local community through a range of programs,” said Olga.
For enquiries please contact:
Olga Ghiri – Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager Email: olga.ghiri@cleanaway.com.au Phone: 0478 316237
Contact us to learn more about how we’re making a sustainable future possible for communities and businesses across Australia.
Supporting community initiatives with Cleanaway’s MRL Community Benefit Fund
Cleanaway awarded $50,000 worth of grants to community groups in Melbourne as part of the MRL Community Benefit Fund - Round 4
Communities
November 18, 2022
Highlights
These five worthy groups have a huge impact on the communities in Melbourne’s west and we’re proud to contribute funds to help them continue providing support and engagement programs.
These five worthy groups have a huge impact on the communities in Melbourne’s west and we’re proud to contribute funds to help them continue providing support and engagement programs.
Melbourne Regional Landfill – Community Benefit Fund
Cleanaway is proud to award $50,000 of grants to seven community groups across the West of Melbourne, funded through our Melbourne Regional LandfillCommunity Benefit Fund – Round 4.
Launched in 2019, our annual grants support a range of community well-being projects in the local area enabling welfare support, community connectivity, waste reduction and sports participation.
Congratulations to our Round 4 grant recipients:
Aintree Scout Group
Burnside Heights Football Club
Caroline Chisholm Society
Caroline Springs Cricket Club
Caroline Springs Football Club
Fareshare
Western Emergency Relief Network (WERN)
The recipients were selected by a review panel consisting of Councillors from Melton City Council and Brimbank City Council and Cleanaway’s Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager, Olga Ghiri.
Olga said of the fund: “Cleanaway is delighted to provide funding for local initiatives that enhance community health and well-being. These community groups have a tremendous positive impact in their local area and we’re proud to support them to enable them to continue to support their local community through a range of programs.”
Aintree Scout Group – The Aintree Scout Group provides services to youth aged 5-15 in Melton, Taylors Hill and Caroline Springs. Our funding will support the secure storage and IT infrastructure costs required to safeguard their equipment inside their new hall after construction is completed.
Burnside Heights Football Club – Burnside Heights Football Club, also known as The Bears, is a community-based Australian Rules football club with a strong emphasis on junior player development. Our funding will enable them to run off-season fitness and training programs to keep youths active beyond the usual footy season, over summer.
Caroline Chisholm Society – Caroline Chisholm Society provides support to pregnant women and parents of young children. The Society provides a range of programs for families in need, including counselling, housing, material aid, and maternal and child health assessments.
Cleanaway’s funding for the Caroline Chisholm Society will go towards running costs, practitioners, clinical supervision, and providing material aid to vulnerable women and children.
Caroline Springs Cricket Club – Funding will support the club’s development of the next generation of female cricketers and aims to increase the success of their 2022-2023 season with the best possible resources and assistance for their young female players.
Caroline Springs Football Club – Our grant will enable the club to upgrade its sound system to improve capacity for larger community events and club functions, as well as hosting community fund raising events for Breast Cancer and the Big Cancer Morning Tea.
FareShare Kitchen in Derrimut – FareShare runs Victoria’s largest charity kitchens in Derrimut and Abbotsford. They collect donations of surplus nutritious food from businesses and their chefs supervise more than 150 volunteers to cook thousands of appealing healthy meals. The meals are distributed for free to many charities supporting people who are unable to cook meals for themselves and their family.
Western Emergency Relief Network (WERN) – The WERN community aid program is run by Rotary Clubs across the West of Melbourne, collecting and redistributing second-hand furniture, bedding, electrical and whitegoods to assist refugees, victims of domestic violence, homelessness and mental health.
WERN assists an average of forty families each month and has more than 360 accredited case managers dedicated to delivering support services to people in need.
If you have a great initiative that will make a difference, please contact Olga Ghiri on 0478316237 or email olga.ghiri@cleanaway.com.au to find out how you can apply for Round 5 funding in 2023.
Our Previous Grant Recipients
All grant recipients are assessed against a range of criteria and selected on the merits of their project and benefit to the local community.
Caroline Springs Community Garden – a local residents groups will convert a barren plot of land in Caroline Springs into a Community Garden and provide educational workshops to encourage community participation in tree planting, composting, garden and greenhouse construction.
Hillside Football Club – our grant will subsidise the purchase of uniforms for two new female teams in 2022 and encourage more female participation and development in AFL football.
Lions Club Taylors Lakes – the club will construct a new Community Garden in Taylors Lakes and will call on local residents to volunteer to learn about garden construction, local fauna, planting and sustainable horticulture.
Refugee Migrant Children Centre – an education program for teachers to help them engage with recently resettled refugees, migrants and asylum seeker children aged 5-7 years, to encourage parents and guardians to participate in the school community and their children’s learning.
Western Region Football League – co-funding a Multicultural Development Hub targeting Vietnamese, Chinese, Maltese and Indian youth aged 10-16 to join AFL football. The program will replicate a successful multi-cultural AFL program rolled out in the City of Greater Dandenong.
Caroline Chisholm Society – provides support to pregnant women and parents of young children. The Society provides a range of programs for families in need, including counselling, housing, material aid, and maternal and child health assessments.
Western Emergency Relief Network (WERN) –This community aid program is run by Rotary Clubs across the West of Melbourne, collecting and redistributing second-hand furniture, bedding, electrical and whitegoods to assist refugees, victims of domestic violence, homelessness and mental health.
The WERN community aid program is run by Rotary Clubs across the West of Melbourne, collecting and redistributing second-hand furniture, bedding, electrical and whitegoods to assist refugees, victims of domestic violence, homelessness and mental health.WERN assists an average of forty families each month and has more than 360 accredited case managers dedicated to delivering support services to people in need. The program was also one of the recipients in the 2019 MRL Community Benefit Fund.
Burnside Heights Football Club
Burnside Heights Football Club, also known as The Bears, is a community-based Australian Rules football club with a strong emphasis on junior player development.
Due to the shutdown of sport during the COVID-19 pandemic, the club has suffered a lack of income that would normally come from registrations and canteen and merchandise purchases. The grant money will enable The Bears to purchase uniforms for volunteers and provide jackets for players to wear while on the bench.
Caroline Chisholm Society
Caroline Chisholm Society provides support to pregnant women and parents of young children. The Society provides a range of programs for families in need, including counselling, housing, material aid, and maternal and child health assessments.
Cleanaway’s funding for the Caroline Chisholm Society will go towards running costs, practitioners, clinical supervision, and providing material aid to vulnerable women and children.
George Cross Football Club
Established in 1947, George Cross Football Club is a soccer club for players of a variety of ages. The club plays in Victoria’s State League Division 1, a regional, semi-professional league.
The club aims to achieve a better balance of male and female participation in soccer by introducing new female teams. The funding will support upgraded facilities, a new strength and conditioning program, and fully accredited coaches.
Caroline Springs Cricket Club
Caroline Springs Cricket Club was established in 2003 by local parents wanting to support the growing number of junior players looking to play cricket. Since then, the club has grown to include 180 members across six senior teams and 12 junior teams.
Cleanaway’s funding will enable the club to provide specialist coaching programs for its coaching staff.
To learn more about how we’re making a sustainable future possible working with communities across Australia, contact Olga Ghiri, Stakeholder and Community Engagement Manager on olga.ghiri@cleanaway.com.au or 0478 316237.
Cleanaway is committed to our priority SDGs aligned to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We are committed to making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable and we engage with local communities to understand the economic, environmental and social forces that shape Australia’s future needs.
Our integrated system for councils provides residents with better service and quicker response times
Communities - Our Services
September 21, 2022
Highlights
"The Cleanaview team is looking forward to continuing to develop Cleanaview so it provides even greater benefit to our branches and our ability to provide the best service to our customers.”
"The Cleanaview team is looking forward to continuing to develop Cleanaview so it provides even greater benefit to our branches and our ability to provide the best service to our customers.”
1 September 2022 marked five years since the launch of Cleanaview (Municipal Version), our integrated system that helps our municipal customers keep track of collections with real time data gathered from the Cleanaway fleet.
Head of Cleanaview Redevelopment Paul Young said, “Thank you to our branches and their operations and support staff, customer service teams and drivers for embracing the technology and making it work. The Cleanaview team is looking forward to continuing to develop Cleanaview so it provides even greater benefit to our branches and our ability to provide the best service to our customers.”
In 2018, Noosa Shire Council employed Cleanaview as a single point of call for reporting and resolving issues.
Today it is in operation for 61 of our council contracts with 51 councils using purpose built, council branded Cleanaview portals to monitor Cleanaway vehicles and job completion.
Pictured: Over 1,100 Cleanaway solid waste services vehicles currently use Cleanaview to communicate bin events to council customer service teams. The Cleanaview platform brings customer transparency, which is a unique selling proposal to municipal users. This transparency also minimises any back and forth between residents, councils and Cleanaway admin teams.
The system gathers data from our fleet of trucks and enables our drivers to report driver-initiated alerts including high definition images directly to council. This includes contaminated or damaged bins as well as bins that have not been emptied or presented.
Cleanaview also enables our drivers to take photos or record videos of such bin events on their routes for council customer service teams to action on in real time.
Such visual information offers councils greater visibility over bin usage in the community and more control over kerbside collections.
Pictured: Cleanaview allows council customer service teams to give feedback to residents who call about their collections and provide them with a first call resolution.
Over its first five years in service, Cleanaview has evolved to make our fleet safer and more compliant.
Before leaving the depot our drivers complete a pre-start checklist (electronic Safe Truck Safe Drive) on Cleanaview to ensure that their vehicles are safe from a driving perspective. Similarly, at the end of the shift driver is directed to complete post trip checklist form.
Pictured: Each Cleanaview equipped vehicle is fitted with up to seven vehicle mounted cameras (left) and automatic smart sensor brakes (right) to ensure the safety of our drivers and other road users in the community.
Major highlights
Electronic job scheduling and completion has allowed drivers to receive jobs while in the field and to take photos as required to report issues. Operations teams have greater visibility of job progress throughout each day.
The introduction of the digital Safe Truck Safe Drive process enabled drivers to complete pre and post shift electronically with automated corrective maintenance work order creation, which is now standard in many Cleanaway branches (and being used in over 850 vehicles). This has saved a significant amount of administration effort, not to mention the trees that have also been saved.
Bin events (including photos) such as contaminated bins from municipal trucks being reported in near real time so users can see images from the truck cameras straight away.
Other key features are as follows:
A series of automatic contamination letters sent to residents for bin contamination event
SMS texting alert to residents for their scheduled hard waste collection
Electronic turn by turn navigation for drivers
Enhanced route optimisation based on driver shifts, vehicle capacity, job types etc
A purposed built portal for residents for self-service to book and track a service request
Business to business integration with council system either via real time interface or batch interface.
Contact us to learn more about how we’re making a sustainable future possible for communities and businesses across Australia.
In keeping with Cleanaway’s mission statement — making a sustainable future possible together — Cleanaway encourages the young to think sustainably. At the recent Gympie EnviroTech day, Cleanaway and Gympie Regional Council challenged school students to upcycle their waste items and create junk boats.
EnviroTech aimed to highlight sustainable technologies across a range of sectors and celebrated the sustainable work already undertaken by households, schools and businesses. A wide range of stalls displayed information about the importance of reducing emissions, financial benefits of these technologies and empowering a sustainable community.
This year, the event also showcased sustainable schools within the district. The organisers of Envirotech, Gympie Regional Council and local Councillors approached Cleanaway’s Education Officer to create a competition to encourage the participation of youth in the local area.
The junk boat entries were showcased in the Junk to Junk Competition and judged by members of Gympie District Sustainability Alliance.
The Prep to Year 3 category was awarded to students from Tin Can Bay State School. Their innovative junk boat design transformed multiple waste items into a floating boat.
“It was amazing to see all the effort that went into creating each junk boat. Students were very creative in upcycling their waste items into various parts for their boats. One of the requirements of the competition was the junk boats had to float. I think the judges had the most fun picking the winner”. Chloe Zatta, Cleanaway Education Officer and organiser of the Junk to Junk Competition.
Pictured: Junk boat competition at EnviroTech event challenges youth to find new innovative ways to reuse their waste.
Part of the prize for Tin Can Bay State School was Prep to Year 4 receiving a Cleanaway truck visit and recycling education lessons. Students were able to meet the Cleanaway driver, Kevin and learn how the rubbish truck picks up a bin and where it goes once the truck is full.
Pictured: Students from Tin Can Bay State School get up close with Cleanaway’s rubbish truck and learn about ways to reduce their waste at school.
During the recycling lesson, students discovered the importance of resource recovery and how they can reduce their waste at school and at home.
Cleanaway’s Waste Education Program encourages the development of short and long term environmental behaviour change through curriculum aligned lessons and supported activities.
The program is available to local schools in the Gympie region and offers a variety of topics that improve recycling habits and waste reduction within schools and the community.
Contact us to learn more about how we’re making a sustainable future possible for communities and businesses across Australia.
"During this trial, we also gained valuable learnings on how we can improve it for implementation in similar projects in the future."
Following the February flooding in South East Queensland, approximately 85km of beachfront between the North Sunshine Coast and Fraser Island was contaminated with polystyrene particles that were left behind after pontoons washed ashore.
Cleanaway’s Queensland IWS team was contracted by Noosa Council to remove the polystyrene pollution from the affected areas of Noosa Beach on a trial basis. However, with no purpose-built technology for removing polystyrene pollution from beach sand, the team had to think outside the box to come up with an all-new solution for the trial.
Further complicating the problem was the terrain of Noosa Beach which featured hundreds of metres of steep sand cliffs. These cliffs had formed along the beach by rough surf and the situation made it difficult for Cleanaway all-terrain vacuum trucks to access the problem areas.
Pictured: Polystyrene particles washed up on the Noosa Beach shoreline.
“When Noosa Council approached us for a solution, I started researching beach cleaning methods and contacting people who run beach clean-up drives to check if any work had been done in the past, but I couldn’t find what we needed,” said Graduate Engineer Pir Muhammad Junejo.
“So, I approached my IWS team to see what kind of machinery and equipment we have on site. After some brainstorming sessions with the team including Branch Manager Nick Emmett, Key Account Manager Ben May, Project Manager Steve Milward and Operations Supervisor Cem Kusdemir we decided to go ahead with a vacuum unit with vibration separator as our prime method for the trial.”
Pictured: Graduate Engineer Pir Muhammad Junejo from our Queensland IWS team next to an all-terrain vacuum truck. The Noosa Beach polystyrene clean-up trial was Pir’s first project with Cleanaway.
Despite the challenges, the Queensland IWS team conducted the polystyrene clean-up trial in early April 2022 – only four months into Pir’s career with Cleanaway. Using his newly modified general waste vacuum unit, the team went to work sucking up layers of sand containing polystyrene, which would then be screened at a nearby quarry. Once the polystyrene particles were screened, the clean sand was returned to the beach.
Pictured: The mobile screen that was set up at a nearby quarry to screen polluted sand collected from Noosa Beach.
To facilitate the removal of polystyrene pollution from hard to reach dune areas, the Queensland IWS project team brought in extension hoses to extend the reach of the all-terrain vacuum trucks.
Pictured: The Queensland IWS team sucking up polystyrene waste from the affected areas of Noosa Beach using extension hoses.
Pictured: Some of the polystyrene debris collected during the clean-up trial.
The team’s vacuum innovation cleaned up a total of 160L of polystyrene along 5.5km of beachfront in just five days. Any remaining polystyrene particles were collected by hand by Noosa Council crews who were brought in to follow behind Cleanaway vacuum operators.
This successful trial eliminated the risk of microplastics entering the water table and impacting the marine life off the Noosa Beach coast.
“Seeing our methodology work and our team effort pay off gave me immense contentment,” said Pir.
“During this trial, we also gained valuable learnings on how we can improve it for implementation in similar projects in the future.”
Contact us to learn more about how we’re making a sustainable future possible for communities and businesses across Australia.
