Our Services Archives

Cleanaway celebrates five years of serving Brisbane through Resource Recovery Innovation Alliance (RRIA)

Communities - Our Services - Partnerships - Resource Recovery

August 7, 2023

Highlights

“At the heart of this complex operation are the people, approximately 100 individuals from the RRIA administration team, resource recovery operators, drivers and the Brisbane Landfill team. These individuals are providing a truly essential service that keeps our city clean, green and healthy.”

“I truly believe the next five years are going to be really exciting and the work rewarding. We’ll be augmenting the systems we have in place to further remove garden organics and food organics while continuing to work on reducing resource losses.”

Tags: Communities

Highlights

Cleanaway and Brisbane City Council (BCC) officially launched the Resource Recovery Innovation Alliance (RRIA) in 2018. The alliance is a ten-year partnership for the management of Brisbane’s waste.

Under the alliance Cleanaway provides BCC with post collection and haulage services, operating five facilities – Brisbane Landfill (Rochedale) and four resource recovery centres (Chandler, Ferny Grove, Nudgee and Willawong).

During the 2022 floods this was expanded to 10 facilities in total. This included three temporary resource recovery centres set up specially for ‘Operation Collect’ which cleared 100,000 tonnes of waste during the crisis.

Pictured: Cleanaway trucks delivering flood waste gathered from Operation Collect to Brisbane Landfill.

Pictured: Cleanaway Executive General Manager, Solid Waste Services Tracey Boyes (far left) with the Brisbane Landfill team. From left to right: Operator Duane Campbell, Admin Supervisor Kim Riddles, Supervisor Ewan Brooks, Branch Manager Joel McCumstie, Leading Hand Paul Adams, Supervisor Shaun Gilshenan and Queensland General Manager, Solid Waste Services Aaron Carter.

Pictured: The Chandler Resource Recovery Centre team (from left to right): Operator Rob Gorman, Queensland General Manager, Solid Waste Services Aaron Carter, Supervisor Ewan Brooks, Operator Adam Watt, Health & Safety Business Partner Emily Sime, Queensland Fleet Equipment Manager Matt Baxter, Operator Cliff McRoberts and Resource Recovery new starter Michael Howe.

2023 marks the fifth anniversary of the RRIA. To date the alliance has served the Brisbane community by:

serving over 5.8 million customers
transporting over 2.5 million tonnes of general waste
diverting over 500,000 tonnes of waste from landfill via resource recovery operations.

RRIA Operations Manager Shannon Gorman said, “At the heart of this complex operation are the people, approximately 100 individuals from the RRIA administration team, resource recovery operators, drivers and the Brisbane Landfill team. These individuals are providing a truly essential service that keeps our city clean, green and healthy.”

“This is on top of constantly looking for new and emerging markets for recoverable materials.”

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

Cleanaway responds to herbicide spill via 1800 SPILLS emergency hotline

Communities - Our Services

May 19, 2023

Tags: Communities

Highlights

At 10.30pm on 30 January 2023 a call came in through our 24 hour emergency hotline 1800 SPILLS notifying Industrial Waste Services Wodonga (IWS Wodonga) of a chemical spill.

The IWS Wodonga team was informed that a freight truck carrying approximately 10,000 litres of glyphosate rolled at a roundabout in Ettamogah north of Albury.

There was no time to waste as the accident had forced a road closure.

IWS Wodonga liaised through the night with Albury Fire Brigade and put a plan in place to have the waste picked up and disposed of quickly and safely so that the road could be reopened to the public.

The team then reached out to Branch Manager Dave Collins from Solid Waste Services Albury-Wodonga (SWS Albury) who aided in getting the damaged intermediate bulk containers (IBCs) picked up.

Dave and his team also worked to supply the fire brigade with extra IBCs to complete the liquid transfer.

The type of waste and where it could be safely accepted complicated the task of containing the spill.

EBP Hayden Rossback communicated with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (NSW EPA) and arranged for temporary approval to store the product at Cleanaway’s Knights Road facility in Albury.

Branch Manager Daniel Saliba and Chemist Wayne Ling from Cleanaway’s Haztech team in Glendenning arranged for the pick up of the waste and damaged containers.

All in all, three separate Cleanaway divisions (IWS Wodonga, SWS Albury and Haztech Glendenning) collaborated to deliver a safe outcome for the public.

Our 24 hour emergency response hotline 1800 SPILLS (1800 774 557) is the number to have on hand for any organisation dealing with the transport or storage of waste, liquid products, chemicals and operational plants.

Our expert teams provide urgent containment and clean up for:

grease trap and oily water
stormwater or sewer/septic waste
hazardous and non-hazardous spills
factory or facility response
bulk hazardous waste
large chemical spills.

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

FOGO no-nos for your bin

Learning - Our Services

April 27, 2023

Highlights

Not all kerbside FOGO bins can accept the same kinds of food and kitchen waste. This difference is due to the availability of the facilities nearby.

Tags: FOGO

Highlights

Not all kerbside FOGO bins can accept the same kinds of food and kitchen waste. This difference is due to the availability of the facilities nearby.

When it comes to kerbside organics recycling, what can go into your bin can differ wildly from council to council, not to mention state to state. Not all Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) materials can go into your bin. Here’s what you should know about your kerbside FOGO bin:

Almost all FOGO bins will always accept grass clippings, small branches, and flowers in the kerbside organics bin. These can be placed as is in your bin, no bagging required. Be careful not to overfill your bin and that the lid can always be closed.

Not all FOGO are created equal

Not all kerbside FOGO bins can accept the same kinds of food and kitchen waste. This difference is due to the availability of the facilities nearby. Not all facilities are able to process food and kitchen waste, especially cooked food and bones.

What you can do

If you have access to a FOGO bin, always check with your council before placing food waste into the bin. If you cannot place food in your kerbside organics bin, look around in neighbourhood chats to find composting groups for your food waste.

Meal planning and making a list of groceries you need will also help you cut down on potential food waste. Across the supply to consumption chain, it is estimated that Australians waste around 7.6 million tonnes of food annually, the equal of 312kg per person. Planning both your meals and your grocery will help cut down on this.

Sustainability projects for the new school term

Learning - Our Services

February 7, 2023

Highlights

“Swap sandwich bags and cling wrap for reusable containers, beeswax wraps or silicone sandwich bags that can be washed and re-used.”

Tags: Schools

Highlights

“Swap sandwich bags and cling wrap for reusable containers, beeswax wraps or silicone sandwich bags that can be washed and re-used.”

The new school term is a great opportunity to start the sustainability conversation with young students. Here are some simple and practical projects you can explore:

Improving lunchboxes

Cleanaway Education Officer Michelle Murrell recently shared some simple changes to make school lunchboxes sustainable.

“Swap sandwich bags and cling wrap for reusable containers, beeswax wraps or silicone sandwich bags that can be washed and re-used,” she suggests, pointing out that otherwise, using single-use plastic sandwich bags can send around 180 bags sent to landfill per child, per year.

The same goes for disposable water bottles, which requires 3 litres of water and 250ml of oil to produce a single water bottle containing 1 litre of water.

Food waste is especially concerning, as large amounts are being thrown away – wasting not just the resources to grow and produce the food, but also the money on purchasing it in the first place. Michelle suggests involving children in the process of making recess and lunch and letting them choose what to eat. This hands-on approach can “encourage them to spend the time eating the food and not throwing it away.”

Finally, she also points out that if food is coming home, stop sending any to school. Children will let you know if they need more food. As play time often follows eating time, children may decide to forfeit food for more play time, so consider packing food that’s quick and easy to eat.

What goes into the bin

The Australasian Recycling Label, introduced in 2018 to provide recycling information, can help spark conversations and discussions about packaging and help ensure the right materials go into the bin. Planet Ark has a comprehensive Educator’s Tool Kit to help educators and schools introduce this topic to students.

A waste audit is also an effective way to get students to think about what goes in a bin. It’s a practical approach that gets students thinking creatively about waste and its effect on the environment.

From trash to treasure

Creating meaningful artwork from discarded waste can also help students appreciate both their natural environment and kindle a love for sustainability. Activities such as Gympie’s recent “Junk for Junk” and Cleanaway’s Waste Warrior Challenges encourage creativity and heightened sensitivity to the effects of waste on the environment.

It sounds unusual, but worm farming is a novel way to teach students about sustainability while helping schools manage their organic waste, particularly food. Worm farms and compost heaps can get students thinking about where their food comes from and the effort it takes to grow them.

Inkerman Landfill’s 10-year masterplan to ramp up resource recovery in South Australia

Our Services

October 10, 2022

Highlights

“In the one-to-five-year timeframe we are looking to commence projects involving soil recovery, basic C&D processing as well as garden organics receival and processing.”

“In the five-to-ten-year timeframe we will be considering an on-site resource recovery centre to recover materials that would otherwise go to landfill."

Tags: Landfill

Highlights

“In the one-to-five-year timeframe we are looking to commence projects involving soil recovery, basic C&D processing as well as garden organics receival and processing.”

“In the five-to-ten-year timeframe we will be considering an on-site resource recovery centre to recover materials that would otherwise go to landfill."

Inkerman Landfill is one of South Australia’s largest landfills and accepts approximately 250,000 tonnes of waste from across the region each year.

As the operator of the landfill, we are working on a 10-year masterplan to divert and recover materials on site. This is in line with the transition from a use-and-dispose economy to a circular economy which is the key focus of South Australia’s 2020-2025 Waste Strategy.

Source: The Circular Economy in South Australia (Green Industries SA, SA Waste Strategy 2020-25)

Our masterplan is also expected to extend the life of Inkerman Landfill from the current forecast of 50 to 60 years.

Regional Manager David Leaney says, “In the one-to-five-year timeframe we are looking to commence projects involving soil recovery, basic C&D processing as well as garden organics receival and processing.”

“In the five-to-ten-year timeframe we will be considering an on-site resource recovery centre to recover materials that would otherwise go to landfill. We are also considering other waste streams including high level contaminated waste (HLCW) and low concentrations of PFAS, subject to regulatory approvals.”

Pictured: David Leaney (middle) at Inkerman Landfill.

Pictured: Map of Inkerman Landfill.

At the core of Inkerman Landfill’s 10-year masterplan is our Inkerman team’s dedication to innovation which has garnered the landfill several industry accolades over the years.

During the 2015 Waste Management Association of Australia Awards, Inkerman Landfill won the Landfill Excellence Award for its containment and control systems as well as its engineering-grade and site-based GPS system.

This GPS system allows real-time tracking and recording of data on sensitive waste loads such as non-friable asbestos or quarantine waste.

Pushing the limits of technology has also enabled our Inkerman team to further compact the waste in the site’s cells, increasing the density and lifespan of the waste.

Through landfill gas capture and flaring, the team also minimises the release of methane into the surrounding air.

Pictured: Landfill gas flaring.

Pictured: Heat map showing overall levels of Inkerman Landfill. The top left corner is where two new cells are being constructed.

The 10-year masterplan is being developed with the consideration of the surrounding farming community. The Inkerman Landfill Community Reference Group (ILCRG) – which consists of members of communities surrounding Inkerman Landfill – plays a crucial role in its present and future.

“The ILCRG is not only updated on what we’re currently doing at the landfill but are actively consulted and involved in the development of our 10-year masterplan.”

“Seeking community feedback is important to us. We take it upon ourselves to making ourselves known and building trust within the communities we operate in.”

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

Cleanaview – five years of service and counting

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.”

Tags: Our services

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.”

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.

Toby’s Estate advances its zero waste goals through Bin Trim Round 4

Our Services - Partnerships - Resource Recovery

July 26, 2022

Highlights

“It is always a fulfilling experience to work with a customer like Toby’s Estate who are especially passionate about improving their recycling.”

Tags: Resource Recovery

Highlights

“It is always a fulfilling experience to work with a customer like Toby’s Estate who are especially passionate about improving their recycling.”

Toby’s Estate was one of the businesses that came under the purview of Cleanaway’s Centre for Sustainability in NSW EPA’s Bin Trim Round 4 program which took place from May 2021 to February 2022. This project is a NSW Environment Protection Authority, Waste Less Recycle More initiative funded from the waste levy.

The coffee company’s goal was to identify areas for improvement in its push for zero waste. Through Bin Trim Round 4 assessments, our Centre for Sustainability (C4S) team was able to make recommendations on recycling some of the material that was going into the general waste streams at two Toby’s Estate sites in Sydney – Alexandria and Chippendale.

One of the recyclable materials that came into focus during the assessments was soft plastics. The C4S team assisted the business in setting up a collection system for this waste stream at the two Toby’s Estate sites.

Currently, both clear and coloured soft plastics are collected in bags to be taken away for recycling at our Greenacre facility.

The other waste stream the C4S team looked at was Toby’s Estate hessian coffee bags which were initially categorised as an organic waste stream. However, the business was facing difficulties in getting an organics recycler to accept this material.

The C4S team assisted Toby’s Estate by contacting textile recyclers and enquired on what kind of collection and recycling services they could provide. This search eventually led Toby’s Estate to partner with WornUp, a textile recycler that could recycle the coffee bean bags.

Pictured: Toby’s Estate hessian coffee bean bags sorted for recycling.

Chaff was another potentially recyclable material our C4S team looked into. Chaff is the husk of coffee beans and a problematic biproduct of the bean roasting process. While it is an organic material, it is also very light and usually ended up in the general waste bin.

With the C4S team’s recommendation, Toby’s Estate installed custom equipment to compact chaff and make it suitable for food organics recycling collection by Cleanaway.

Pictured: Toby’s Estate installed specialised machinery to assist with the compacting of coffee chaff for organics recycling.

Toby’s Estate has now increased its total landfill diversion from 24 tonnes per year to 42 tonnes per year.

The volume of waste recovered has also significantly increased at its two sites. The Alexandria site increased from 52% to 86% by volume while its Chippendale site diversion increased from 28% to 84% by volume.

Resource Recovery Specialist Helina Kila says, “It is always a fulfilling experience to work with a customer like Toby’s Estate who are especially passionate about improving their recycling.”

“Finding solutions for their problem waste was made possible with the assistance of the Cleanaway network and knowledge of our staff. We will continue to look for alternative ways to divert additional waste from landfill for the customer to progress their waste management.”

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

Vacuum innovation sets new standard for beach polystyrene clean-ups

Communities - Our People - Our Services

July 18, 2022

Highlights

"During this trial, we also gained valuable learnings on how we can improve it for implementation in similar projects in the future."

Tags: Communities

Highlights

"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.

TOMRA Cleanaway returns as NSW CDS Network Operator for another 4 years

Industry Updates - Our Services - Resource Recovery

May 20, 2022

Highlights

Since the commencement of the scheme in December 2017, NSW communities and businesses have returned over seven billion containers.

Tags: CDS

Highlights

Since the commencement of the scheme in December 2017, NSW communities and businesses have returned over seven billion containers.

The New South Wales (NSW) government announced that the TOMRA Cleanaway joint venture will continue in the role of Network Operator for its Container Deposit Scheme (CDS), ‘Return and Earn’ for another four years, ending in late 2026. Minister for Environment James Griffin called the scheme “one of the most successful and trusted recycling initiatives Australia has seen.”

Cleanaway CEO and Managing Director, Mark Schubert welcomed the announcement, “Cleanaway is proud to play a key role in delivering this enormously successful scheme. Our refreshed Blueprint 2030 strategy centres around delivering sustainable customer solutions and making a sustainable future possible together. We are pleased to be able to continue to deliver an efficient CDS Network Operator service to the NSW community through our joint venture partnership with TOMRA. We look forward to driving even higher recovery rates and greater community access to the scheme in the future.”

Under the extension agreement, TOMRA Cleanaway continues to be responsible for the NSW Container Deposit Scheme network of return points, including Reverse Vending Machines, over-the-counter drop offs and automated depots. The joint venture will also be responsible for recycling collected containers and ensuring this material is sent to appropriate destinations, such as the Circular Plastics Australia facility in Albury.

Circular Plastics Australia is a joint venture with Cleanaway, PACT, Asahi Beverages and Coca Cola Europacific Partners. The PET plastic pelletising facility by the venture turns used PET containers into recycled PET pellets that can be used to make new packaging. The NSW CDS provides a significant portion of the feedstock for this circular economy solution.

TOMRA Cleanaway has also committed to greater community access to ‘Return and Earn’ by increasing the number of collection points across NSW.

TOMRA Cleanaway CEO James Dorney said he looks forward to continuing working with the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) and the scheme coordinator Exchange for Change.

“Working with our partners, we look forward to building upon the incredible successes of the scheme to date and the positive environmental, charity and community outcomes delivered as part of the circular economy in NSW,” Mr Dorney said.

Pictured: TOMRA Cleanaway board representatives and CEO James Dorney

Since the commencement of the scheme in December 2017, NSW communities and businesses have returned over seven billion containers and significantly improved resource recovery and recycling rates across the state.

Before NSW introduced the ‘Return and Earn’ scheme, more than 160 million drink containers littered our streets, beaches, waterways, and parks. Drink container litter made up 44 per cent of the volume of litter in the state and cost more than $162 million a year to manage.

Pictured: A Return and Earn Reverse Vending Machine (RVM)

The renewal and expansion of the contract isn’t just good news for the environment, it’s also good news for charities, with more than $30 million raised for charities and community groups via donations and fees since the scheme commenced.

St Vincent de Paul Society NSW CEO Jack de Groot said through the partnership they’ve developed a valuable new income stream to support their work.

“It started out with over-the-counter collections in Vinnies Shops across Western Sydney and the Illawarra,” Mr de Groot said.

You can read the Cleanaway media release here.

You can read the release from the Minister for Environment, James Griffin, here.

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

Lesser-known waste management solutions

Our Services

May 18, 2022

Highlights

Complex clean ups, hazardous materials and expert solutions in specialised fields

Tags: Hazardous

Highlights

Complex clean ups, hazardous materials and expert solutions in specialised fields

There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to waste management and industrial rubbish removal. Beyond bin collections and resource recovery, our teams regularly deal with complex clean ups, hazardous materials and provide expert solutions across a variety of industries. Take the road less travelled into the world of waste management.

1) High hazard crude oil tank clean

Our SA and NT Industrial & Waste Services team recently completed a complex tank clean in remote Western NT. The expert crew successfully desludged the tank, having to enter under breathing apparatus with an ultra-high pressure hydrojet. “Under trying and challenging circumstances, the crew successfully completed the task to high level of customer satisfaction and very high safety level over three weeks.” said Operations Supervisor Lachie Anning. Hydrocarbon waste disposal also means complex tank cleans for some customers.

2) Hazardous materials endanger flood recovery efforts

During recent flood recovery works in QLD, 9kg LPG gas canisters incorrectly disposed of in our commingled waste stream sparked a potentially serious incident with our mobile equipment. Thanks to safety protocols and quick thinking by our operators, no one was hurt. Never dispose of chemicals, lithium-ion batteries and gas cylinders in kerbside bins. Use a council organised hazardous waste collection service instead.

3) Asbestos contaminated bins

Can you spot what’s wrong with this picture? Spot on if you noticed the small amount of asbestos cement roof sheeting in one of our skips. Asbestos is not only harmful to health, it needs to be disposed of correctly. Our eagle-eyed operator isolated the skip and a licensed asbestos revivalist was contacted to remove and provide a clearance certificate.

4) Off the road and into the seas

Great to see our cruise industry getting back on its feet. We provide this ship in White Bay with a crane-approved bin service to support the ship’s maintenance through Cleanaway’s Grasshopper Environmental team in NSW.

5) Innovative solutions to everyday problems

Our Mandurah team is always looking for new ways to tackle old problems. The team have been working on a simple, effective innovation for hook-lift bin safety with a local bin manufacturer which is now being trialled in southern WA.

Most side opening hook-lift bins have no handle. This results in them being operated inconsistently, using pinch-bars more and increasing manual handling risks. This is an incredibly simple drop-away handle to keep us out of the line of fire and improve the operability of the door. It’s easily retrofitted to existing bins if the trial is successful.

6) Automated equipment cleaning services

Check out our newly installed Cleanaway parts washers for our customer in the mining and construction industries. The units pictured are a 10,000 litre agitated hot tank, and a TW6 “Rinse and Divert” Turbowash. Following careful consultation with the customer, these machines are helping them meet their contamination control requirements. These machines are highly entrenched in day-to-day operations with more than 15 other machines just like these across the site.

7) Household hazardous waste collection events

We recently supported the NSW EPA’s annual household hazardous waste collection event program in Sutherland where more than 200 tonnes of hazardous packaged waste were collected over four days. Household hazardous waste such as lithium-ion batteries, paint and chemicals should never be disposed of in the kerbside bins. Check with your local council on the availability of local drop-off events, permanent disposal sites, and national or state collection programs.

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