Communities Archives | Page 6 of 13

Ma Vilma, recycling champ with a heart of gold

Communities - Our People

June 25, 2021

Highlights

If everyone took a page out of Ma Vilma’s book and ran with it, I can only imagine the improvement it would have in the world.

Tags: Container deposit scheme

Highlights

If everyone took a page out of Ma Vilma’s book and ran with it, I can only imagine the improvement it would have in the world.

Administration Officer Ma Vilma Ortega is the go-to person in her team, always smiling and helping others through any challenge she faces. Even more remarkable is her amazing contribution to vulnerable communities, using refunds from recycling drink containers through NSW’s container deposit scheme.

Originally from the Philippines, Ma Vilma lived and worked in New Zealand for nine years before moving to Australia in 2017. She joined Cleanaway in 2018 and eventually took a role at our Glendenning site in NSW, led by Branch Manager Daniel Saliba.

“In the Philippines, I saw people struggling and I promised myself that if I was ever fortunate enough to get a chance, I would help them in whatever way I can,” said Ma Vilma. “I had been sending help and doing charity work in the Philippines, like providing school supplies to children, food relief and food vouchers to people affected by typhoons and COVID-19 lockdowns, care packages for my former schoolmates and friends, and financial assistance to some people experiencing sickness and death in their families.”

Providing donations on top of her personal expenses was sometimes a struggle financially for Ma Vilma, but she didn’t want to let that stop her from helping people. In March this year, Ma Vilma found a solution for raising more funds when she started collecting bottles to recycle through NSW’s container deposit scheme, Return and Earn.

“I can continue my charity work on a regular basis and devote more time to it – I have generated several hundreds of dollars since I started using the scheme in March. I was able to feed about 270 children in April and May and 150 in June, as well as providing 30 Mother’s Day surprise packs for my friend,” Ma Vilma explained. “The container deposit scheme helps me a lot in augmenting my personal funds to continue my charity and, importantly, I’m also helping to clean up Australia.”

Finding the funds is not the only challenging aspect of Ma Vilma’s charity work. “Finding the time to do the collection, sorting and trips to the return points is sometimes challenging. Another thing is planning and scheduling the areas and availability of my friends who do the work in the Philippines,” she described. “It all requires time and effort, but it pays off when you see people appreciating what you do. It makes you feel inspired to do more.”

One of the people inspired by Ma Vilma is her manager, Daniel Saliba. “Since she joined the business, we have been able to run so much more efficiently, which has helped to grow the business. This is mainly because Ma Vilma is such an intelligent woman, and she absolutely smashes a home run with everything that’s thrown her way.”

“Her positive attitude has an effect on the rest of my team, putting everyone in a good mood and more willing to take on any challenges,” he said. “The world needs more people like her in it. If everyone took a page out of Ma Vilma’s book and ran with it, I can only imagine the improvement it would have in the world. We are certainly blessed to have her in our team!”

Ma Vilma’s colleagues at Glendenning and other Cleanaway sites have got onboard her charitable work by adding to the collection of containers that she takes to refund points. She also collects containers that have been littered, which she empties and sorts. “Our yard supervisor, Tim, set up a drum container and labelled it so that Glendenning staff know to put their empty containers in there for me to collect. They are so kind and supportive; I can’t thank them enough for that,” she said.

“Australians are so blessed in everything this country has, but it’s not the case in other countries like the Philippines where some people cannot even afford to have three meals a day. I have seen how families struggle just to have something on their table to eat. With the pandemic and lockdowns, the situation has just gotten worse,” Ma Vilma explained of what drives her to continue her fundraising work. “Once COVID restrictions have lifted, I will definitely go back to the Philippines for a week or two to lead the charity work myself.

“I owe the success of my charity work to all the people who are supporting me – from my neighbour to my friends, and most of all to our team here at Glendenning. Thank you for being a part of this journey.”

Cleanaway commends NSW Government for 20-year waste strategy

Communities - Industry Updates

June 18, 2021

Tags: CWY

Highlights

Cleanaway congratulates the NSW Government for releasing its long-anticipated Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 document, commonly known by the industry as the 20-year waste strategy, and the NSW Plastics Action Plan.

In the strategy documents, the NSW Government has committed to an ambitious reform agenda including phasing out problematic single-use plastics, mandating the procurement of recycled content, mandating the separation of food organics and garden organics (FOGO), and providing incentives for biogas generation from waste.

Cleanaway’s Chief Operating Officer Mr Brendan Gill said: “I commend the NSW Government for its commitment to creating a domestic circular economy. These strategies provide industry with certainty moving forward to invest in infrastructure and innovation and, in turn, create new opportunities and jobs.

“Over the next five years, the NSW Government will back these strategies with more than $365 million of funding to maximise recycling. Cleanaway has previously benefited from $5 million from the Environmental Trust as part of the NSW Government’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative to build a PET pelletising facility in Albury*. It is anticipated the facility, a joint venture with Asahi and Pact Group, will recycle the equivalent of around one billion 600ml PET plastic bottles each year, which will be used as a raw material to produce new bottles and food and beverage packaging in Australia, to close the loop on our recycling.

“The strategy includes a policy framework recognising energy-from-waste as an important part of the waste hierarchy, notably in managing residual waste where waste cannot be avoided and recycling and other forms of recovery are not possible. The benefits of energy-from-waste include reducing landfill volumes and a reduction of our carbon footprint, building towards a more sustainable future.

“Cleanaway has a long-term role to play in NSW, ensuring recyclables reprocessing capacity can continue to grow into the future, which is aligned to Cleanaway’s Footprint 2025 roadmap. We are supporting the NSW Government to realise the objectives and targets outlined in its circular economy policy Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 by creating economic growth, jobs and making a sustainable future possible.”

* This initiative is funded through the NSW waste levy, with the support of the Department of Regional NSW and the Australian Government Recycling Modernisation Fund.

For more information, contact:

Cleanaway:
Mark Biddulph
Head of Corporate Affairs
+61 499 332 601
Mark.biddulph@cleanaway.com.au

Download media release (PDF)

Cleanaway works with Indigenous business to drive growth in the Pilbara

Communities - Partnerships

May 27, 2021

Highlights

Due to our model, we have doubled our activity and associated revenues from last year to this year

Tags: National Reconciliation Week

Highlights

Due to our model, we have doubled our activity and associated revenues from last year to this year

A waste management joint venture between Cleanaway and a female indigenous-owned business, King Kira Group (KKG), is providing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as it grows strongly in the resource-rich Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Pilbara Environmental Services (PES) doubled its operational activity and associated revenues in the last financial year and has strong prospects to win more business, according to joint venture manager Tim Hyatt.

However, these opportunities also bring challenges in finding enough people to service new contracts as potential candidates are being absorbed by WA’s booming mining industry.

“We are grappling with the pains of that – recruiting and retaining staff,” Tim says.

Pictured: The PES team and successful recruits at work

PES is a joint venture (JV) with KKG, a business connected to the Nyiyaparli and Plyku Aboriginal groups and the Kariyarra and Ngarluma peoples and owned by KKG Director Tammy O’Connor.

The success of the JV is one of the key achievements of the ‘Innovate’ Reconciliation Action Plan 2018–2020 in which we committed to continuing to improve diversity in our supply chain by utilising the services and developing the capacity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses.

The JV is a key aspect of the RAP Plan as it develops into its next phase.

PES provides solid and liquid waste management and recycling services, as well as industrial cleaning services primarily to mining, oil and gas, government, and infrastructure industries in the Pilbara.

It has a flexible workforce of about 90 people and a modern fleet of about 50 trucks and ancillary equipment.

Pictured: One of the modern trucks in service in the region

Under the JV agreement, KKG and Cleanaway collaborate to provide the people and fleet to customers under the most appropriate model for the work required.

Tim says mining companies and tier one contractors are increasingly recognising the importance and benefits of supporting local indigenous communities and awarding contracts to businesses such as PES, which can draw on the resources required to reach common diversity objectives.

“Due to our model, we have doubled our activity and associated revenues from last year to this year,” he says.

He estimates contracts offering significant growth will be coming up for tender across solid waste and industrial services over the next two to three years as mining and resources companies recognise the ongoing development of viable business alternatives and go to tender.

“If we can win 30 to 40 percent of that market, we would be pretty happy. That would be as much as we could handle in the next three years. That’s significant growth in current market conditions,” he says.

“We are constantly looking for new ways to maintain and grow our operations while the booming mining sector continues to absorb labour and resources. Mining is a higher paid industry, which at the moment is focused on safe and sustainable productivity increases to meet the forecast global need for Western Australia’s resources.

“This never happened in the last boom. Mining companies are saying ‘we will take you on with little to no skills and train you’, which results in the pool of people we aim to attract getting smaller.

“But we have good flexible working conditions to help our people get home to their families, and the business maintains its personal feel through our shareholders and Board whilst never losing sight of our people’s health and safety as a priority. These things make a difference.”

PES provides waste management services to iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) at its Solomon, Christmas Creek/Cloudbreak and Iron Bridge iron ore mines and port and rail assets in Port Hedland, as well as an ever growing customer base in the wider resources industry in the Pilbara.

It also works for iron ore miner Atlas Iron and FMG contractors Laing O’Rourke, Civmec and NRW Holdings.

The JV has had a number of name changes since it was established in 2010, with Cleanaway buying the founding 50 percent shareholder Toxfree in 2018 and KKG increasing its shareholding to 50 percent nearly two years ago.

“Formerly known as PTK, PTW and originally PTES, PES – Pilbara Environmental Services is the new brand that the Board of Directors will now stick with for the foreseeable future as it is more closely aligned with the diverse range of services on offer from the business,” Tim says.

Contact us to learn more about how we’re making a sustainable future possible for communities and businesses across Australia.

Donation prevents closure of Aboriginal counselling service

Communities

May 26, 2021

Highlights

Without your donation, we would not be able to continue our aim of working with Aboriginal men who use violence.

Tags: National Reconciliation Week

Highlights

Without your donation, we would not be able to continue our aim of working with Aboriginal men who use violence.

Cleanaway has come to the rescue of an Aboriginal counselling service in a remote part of Australia which has allowed it to keep its doors open.

We have donated skip bins for disposing of hard waste at a property where the Aboriginal Males Healing Centre (AMHC) operates a counselling service in the town of Newman in Western Australia.

Pictured: AMHC founder and CEO Devon Cuimara with one of our skips

AMHC founder and CEO Devon Cuimara wrote to Cleanaway to express his gratitude for the nine cubic metre bins, which are being used to collect and dispose of hard waste at the property in Newman’s Parnpajinya Aboriginal Community.

“We are happy to let you know that we can now continue serving the most vulnerable people in our community,” Devon wrote.

“Without your donation, we would not be able to continue our aim of working with Aboriginal men who use violence. Thank you again for your commitment and generosity.”

Newman Branch Manager Alan Leonard said they were thrilled to receive the positive feedback from the organization, which operates the Parnpajinya Aboriginal Males Healing Service (PAMHS) at House 1 Parnpajinya Aboriginal Community (PAC).

PAMHS provides services include counselling, group therapy, men’s health services, cultural healing, and Aboriginal lore and culture programmes to Aboriginal men and women.

“We get some thank-you letters but they’re few and far between, so this was really appreciated,” Alan says.

The opportunity to help the organisation came via Pilbara Environmental Services, our joint venture with KingKira Group, an Aboriginal-owned business connected to the Nyiyaparli and Plyku Aboriginal groups and the Kariyarra and Ngarluma peoples and owned by KingKira Director Tammy O’Connor.

PES was asked to provide skip bins by AMHC but passed on the job to Cleanaway which decided to provide it for free to help the organisation.

“We’re proud to support the communities in which we live and work,” Alan says.

“We know staff at PAMHS work on a pro bono basis so it seemed only right that we provide the bins for free.

“This is consistent with our values including integrity, which means doing the right thing.”

Melbourne Regional Landfill Extension Update

Communities - Industry Updates

May 20, 2021

Tags: CWY

Highlights

Brayden and friends take a stand against careless campers with bush clean-up

Communities - Our People

May 18, 2021

Highlights

Everybody who participated had the satisfaction of removing a full skip bin of rubbish from the bush and at the end of it we said ‘cheers’ to the fact we are keeping camping sites clean and open for future generations.

Tags: clean up

Highlights

A territory manager with a large social media following has organised a clean-up of camping grounds in south-west Western Australia with the assistance of a skip bin donated by Cleanaway.

About 800 kilograms of rubbish was removed from sites in the bush around Wellington Dam near Bunbury on Sunday 25 April.
The project was the brainchild of Picton Bunbury Territory Manager Brayden Cresswell, who was fed up with seeing his favourite camping spots covered in litter.

“A few friends and I were chatting around a campfire about how camping had changed, and with COVID it had become more popular. We’ve found that much more rubbish is out and about, but nobody is doing much about it, so we thought ‘what can we do?’,” Brayden says.

“Working at Cleanaway, our mission is making a sustainable future possible, so I spoke to my manager and said, ‘this is what I want to do’. Although I am doing it in my private time, I also work for Cleanaway, so how can we link the two together?”
Brayden promoted it on social media including Instagram and YouTube, where he has his channel devoted to four-wheel-driving (4WD) and camping.

He was joined by about 25 volunteers who donned sunscreen, hats, glasses, gloves, long pants and heavy boots to tackle the task in warm conditions.

Pictured: Brayden with a skip bin used in the clean up efforts

Bunbury Depot Branch Manager James Wilson approved the donation of a skip bin for the job, which involved moving from site to site, loading rubbish onto trailers and dropping it off at the skip, which was later picked up and transported to our Dardanup landfill near Bunbury.

The volunteers found car parts, carpet, tin, linoleum, camping chairs and inflatable mattresses as they made their way around the lake.

Cans and plastic bottles were also collected and donated to a charity to raise money.

“The big thing is how the rubbish around camping grounds has changed in the last 12 months. Previously we mainly found bottles around camp sites. With the influx of weekend campers, the rubbish has changed and increased. It comes down to a lack of care and respect because anybody who is into camping knows that you clean up after yourself,” Brayden says.

“Everybody who participated had the satisfaction of removing a full skip bin of rubbish from the bush and at the end of it we had a few beers and said ‘cheers’ to the fact we are keeping camping sites clean and open for future generations.”

Brayden has released more than 100 videos on his 4X4 Camping and Adventures channel.

Cleanaway lends expertise in cleaning up hazardous waste after NSW floods

Communities - Our Services

May 17, 2021

Highlights

This is a seriously confronting project given the scale and the nature of the material, yet it is something we are proud to be involved in by using our expertise.

Tags: Hazardous waste

Highlights

This is a seriously confronting project given the scale and the nature of the material, yet it is something we are proud to be involved in by using our expertise.

Cleanaway is playing a crucial role in another major natural disaster relief effort by collecting, processing and recycling hazardous waste washed away during the NSW floods.

We are consolidating the waste at a number of collection points in the vast flood-affected area and transporting it to our St Mary’s facility in Sydney for processing and recycling.

The material includes paint, chemicals, oil, acids and gas bottles and other items, which have to be managed carefully and cannot go into general waste and landfills.

It was washed away in floods which inundated an area stretching from Sydney to the Northern Rivers in March and picked up by contractors working for the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and NSW Public Works from a variety of locations, including waterways and beaches.

Pictured: Collected hazardous items at the Port Macquarie flood clean up

The contractors take the waste to makeshift collection points, which change every few weeks as the clean-up effort moves to a new location, where Cleanaway sorts it into various dangerous good categories before transporting it to St Mary’s.

The NSW EPA-licensed HazPak facility processes hazardous packaged liquid waste from households and businesses and is our only facility of this type in NSW.

After the material is processed, it is sent to other Cleanaway and third-party facilities for further processing or to create energy.

“We’re doing multiple collections each week and it’s going to go on for another three to six months given the huge area of flooding,” says St Mary’s Branch Manager David Nolan.

“This is additional work on top of our existing contracts, but we’re making it work. This is a seriously confronting project given the scale and the nature of the material, yet it is something we are proud to be involved in by using our expertise. We’re helping remove and recycle hazardous waste which could otherwise pose a threat to the environment and people.

“This work is a reminder of how waste management is not immune from the impact of the natural disasters and extreme weather events for which Australia is well known.”

The work is being carried out by our Liquid Waste and Health Services business unit under contract from the NSW EPA.

Contact us to learn more about how we’re making a sustainable future possible for communities and businesses across Australia and our hydrocarbon waste disposal services for hazardous waste.

New recruit breaking gender stereotypes and tackles

Communities - Our People

May 3, 2021

Highlights

"People tell me it’s a men’s job but women are as good as men"

Tags: Drivers

Highlights

"People tell me it’s a men’s job but women are as good as men"

A childhood of hearing from relatives who worked in the waste industry was enough to convince Tymekqwa Duckett she wanted to become a ‘garbo’.

When the opportunity to join Cleanaway as a ‘runner’ came up, she grabbed it, like a football, in fact! The Sydney teenager is an emerging rugby league player with the Sydney Roosters who has been juggling new job with training commitments and, as time allows, a social life.

“I was looking for a job after leaving high school last year and doing a cleaning job for a few weeks. My dad said ‘there’s a position coming up and they’re looking for a girl’. I’ve been doing it for about three months and I love it,” says Tymekqwa.

Her father John also works as a runner at Cleanaway, continuing a family tradition that dates back to her grandfather.

Pictured: Tymekqwa next to her Cleanaway truck servicing the City of Sydney

“Through my whole life growing up, my family was in the garbage industry. My pop was a garbo for about 30 years. So were my aunts and uncles. When I was younger, he took me into work a couple of times. I thought it was pretty cool. It’s rewarding from a financial point of view but it also helps the public and the environment,” she says.

“I like the early starts. You are not working late or at night. I have time for a social life and for training, although I don’t see my friends as much as I used to. I’m trying to juggle it all. We leave the yard around 4.30am and start a run around 5am. If it’s an easier day and there’s not as much to do, we clock off at around 2.30pm. But some days can finish as late as 3pm or 3.30pm.

“We go from street to street, walking or jogging, lifting the smaller bins for the first three to four hours before moving to the heavier bins later in the shift.

“Working as a runner, you do get tired. The first couple of weeks was hard with changing sleep patterns. The Roosters helped me out a lot. I didn’t have to do as much work at training.”

She is in her third year with the Roosters’ women’s under 19 ‘Tarsha Gale Cup’ rugby league side, playing as a prop, and harbours ambitions to play in first grade, and for her state and country.

Pictured: Tymekqwa in her Sydney Roosters footy gear.

The eldest of five children, all girls, she played rugby league for a few years before switching to netball at age eight, where she made representative teams, before switching back to football as a teenager.

“My dream is to make the NSW and Australian teams,” she declares.

Pictured: Tymekqwa with one of her many footy trophies

While Tymekqwa has aspirations to make it big in her chosen sport, longer term her focus is on building a career.

“Both (work and footy) are important. I’m not going to be able to play footy long term because there’s a certain age you can’t play beyond. That’s why you need a career and a job,” she says.

“I would like to work my way up. I’d like to get my truck licence and eventually to a manager role. I would like to work my way up the chain, to manage a yard.”

A rarity as a woman in a male-dominated industry, Tymekqwa has found Cleanaway to be supportive of her efforts to combine work and sport.

“Cleanaway has been very good to me. We have one of the heaviest trucks in the yard because of the loads we collect and if I tell them if my energy levels are not up, they let me swap trucks,” she says.

“They understand what footy is like and were concerned that people get injured. That was the big question they had. I explained I do a recovery and everything I can to prevent injuries.”

Hiring women like Tymekqwa in operational roles reflects our strong focus on gender equality and empowering women and girls, which is a sustainable development goal.

We aim to increase the percentage of females in operations to 6.5 percent this financial year from 5.7 percent.

Asked if other women ask whether they should follow her into the industry, she advises them to ‘give it a go’.

“People tell me it’s a men’s job but women are as good as men,” Tymekqwa says.

Contact us to learn more about the amazing people who are making a sustainable future possible for communities and businesses across Australia.

Supporting flood clean-up efforts for residents in NSW

Communities

April 27, 2021

Highlights

The team stood up every day and took on extra work loads without hesitation, a true testament to our Cleanaway value of ‘Stronger Together'

Tags: Flood clean up

Highlights

The team stood up every day and took on extra work loads without hesitation, a true testament to our Cleanaway value of ‘Stronger Together'

We were honoured to support flood clean-up efforts for residents of Kempsey Shire Council and Coffs Harbour City Council where Cleanaway crews worked tirelessly with councils and Defence Australia to collect and dispose of piles of debris and damaged household furniture in record time.

Our front lift trucks and trailers allowed us to move from house to house without the need to travel to the tip to empty individual bins strategically placed around neighbourhoods. All in all, we collected more than 143 tonnes of rubbish from 447 bins, the equivalent of two weeks of work orders!

Area Manager Shane Tildesley thanked the team for their outstanding efforts saying, “The team stood up every day and took on extra work loads without hesitation, a true testament to our Cleanaway value of ‘Stronger Together’. We were glad to be able to support residents and councils recovering from the impact of the devastating storms and return our teams to their families in time for Easter.”

NSW indigenous community win recycling award through Return and Earn

Wilcannia Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) and the Regional Enterprise Development Institute (REDI.E) won the 2020 KAB NSW Litter Prevention Award for establishing a container recycling initiative in 2019

Communities - Partnerships

Highlights

Hosting a return point has supported multiple activities, not just considerable local litter reduction, but education and engagement throughout the community.

Tags: Container deposit scheme

Highlights

Hosting a return point has supported multiple activities, not just considerable local litter reduction, but education and engagement throughout the community.

The bottles and cans collected at the return point under the Wilcannia Aboriginal Waste Management Project also earn money for the Land Council.

Pictured: TOMRA Cleanaway CEO James Dorney with Jenny and Kevin from the LALC during a site visit to Wilcannia.

The over-the-counter return point is part of the NSW container deposit scheme, Return and Earn, which is delivered by network operator TOMRA Cleanaway and administered by scheme coordinator, Exchange for Change. Return and Earn is an example of the split responsibility scheme model.

TOMRA Cleanaway CEO James Dorney paid tribute to the Wilcannia LALC and REDI.e for winning the award.

“Our partnership with the group could not have been achieved without foresight and enthusiasm from the team at Wilcannia,” James said.

“Hosting a return point has supported multiple activities, not just considerable local litter reduction, but education and engagement throughout the community.”

The idea of joining the container deposit scheme as part of a larger waste management project was proposed by Wilcannia LALC CEO Jenny Thwaites.

“Money is a big encouragement in a community that has such a high unemployment level and a really high degree of socio-economic disadvantage but it’s also reduced the number of bottles and cans lying on the street and it seems to be having a flow on effect in that there’s generally not as much rubbish, which is really good,” Jenny said.

The over-the-counter return point has received more than 200,000 drink bottles and cans since it was established in May 2019 by the land council.

REDI.E Project Manager Kevin Cattermole attended the award ceremony in Murrurundi in the Upper Hunter Valley on 14 March where he was presented with the award and a $5,000 cheque.