Industrial waste recycled successfully by DEP's initiatives

27/4/99
Tonnes of industrial waste have been saved from landfill and turned into profits of nearly $200,000, thanks to the success of a recent Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) initiative.
The DEP's Industrial Waste Exchange (IWE) is a database that connects waste producers with companies that can reuse or recycle the waste materials within their own industries.
Environment Minister Cheryl Edwardes said IWE users helped the environment by reducing the amount of waste going to landfill, disposing of hazardous wastes, and reducing the consumption of natural resources in the manufacture of new products.
"Waste producers save on disposal costs, and waste users get materials at low cost or for free," Mrs Edwardes said.
The biggest saving of the last six months was by Western Power, which accepted 2000 tonnes of Queensland lump coal that could not be used by a Kwinana pilot ore smelter because it had been contaminated by iron fines.
The coal will be used by Western Power at the Kwinana Power Station to generate electricity for Western Australia.
Mrs Edwardes said not only would it have cost the company $90,000 to dispose of the coal, but the estimated value of the raw material to Western Power was $125,000.
"This is a good example of the scale of savings that can be made by IWE users, at the same time that they are being environmentally responsible," she said.
Other IWE success stories include 200 litres of acid generated each week by a mineral leaching process that is being reused in the manufacture of high-strength acid cleaners, and one tonne per week of high-grade waste paper that is being reused by schools all over the metropolitan area.
A damaged container of surfactant (used in foam manufacture) is now being reused in the development of a special soil conditioner. The material would have cost $13,000 to dispose of, and will now earn the waste reuser $18,000 instead.
Mrs Edwardes said of the 46 registrations of waste materials made in the last six months, 22 had been successfully exchanged.
"This has saved the waste producers nearly $130,000 in disposal costs, and has resulted in the reuse or recycling of material with a market value of approximately $178,000."
The IWE is open to the public, as well as commercial and industrial users. Waste producers can register over the Internet, mail, or phone.
Those wanting specific materials can search the database using the Internet, or by phone inquiry. For more information contact Steve Gostlow, Waste Management Division on 9476 7479.
Media contact: Nicole Trigwell 9421 7777.