Innovative machines and artificial intelligence (AI) technology are significantly reducing emissions at Noosa’s Eumundi Road Landfill facility.
In a boost to Council’s war on waste, Noosa councillors last Tuesday officially launched a new polystyrene thermal processing machine and Containers for Change reverse vending machine.
“We’re very proud of this,“ Mayor Clare Stewart said. “This will save Noosa Council $380,000 per year. It was a $300,000 investment.
“With this technology, we can process polystyrene in-house, sparing an estimated 50 tonnes – the equivalent of two Olympic swimming pools – of polystyrene from ending up in our landfill each year. What this machine will do, it will reduce that amount of polystyrene by 90 per cent. That means far less going into landfill.
“Also that 90 per cent of polystyrene is part of the circular economy. It’s reused. It’s reused for decking, reused for picture frames.
“It’s a huge impost, polystyrene, on our landfill. This machine will go a long way to reducing the impacts of landfill and the concerns around that. We know 60 per cent of emissions come from landfill. This is huge ammunition in our war on waste.”
“We saw in February 2022 with the pontoons that washed ashore in Noosa during the floods, just how environmentally destructive polystyrene can be to Noosa, so this thermal compactor is a real game-changer.”
The thermal compactor works by heating up polystyrene waste and compressing it into small, solid bricks. This process reduces the material’s size by 90 per cent, making it more manageable and cost-effective to transport for repurposing into new products.
Waste Services manager Kyrone Dodd encouraged residents to make use of the facility and contribute to the circular economy.
“Unfortunately, people can’t put polystyrene in their yellow lidded bins, but we do encourage them to store it and bring it to Noosa’s Eumundi Road facility so it can be repurposed rather than sent to landfill,” he said.
Mr Dodd said now the machine was up and running, the Council would be working on locating different suppliers and the best prices for the recycled polystyrene and expect to be able to sell the material for reuse for about $400 a ton.
Gympie Council has also come on board with the technology and committed to sending its polystyrene for processing as part of the newly signed Waste Memorandum of Understanding agreement between the two councils.
The installation of a Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) as part of the Containers for Change container refund scheme is proving popular at the Eumundi Road Landfill facility.
In a partnership with Ecoboxtec, the RVM has a combination of four identification methods, including shape recognition using AI, developed at Peregian Beach Digital Hub, to accept eligible drink containers.
Ecoboxtec director Julien Craeye said the easy-to-use machine reduces handling, logistics and CO2 emissions.
“This is the first one in Australia, the first in Queensland. It’s been manufactured in Queensland,” he said.
“What this machine does is it collects material, it separates material and it reduces the size of material at a rate of 30 bottles per minute.We’ve started collecting every day on this site. We also work alongside Containers for Change and make sure the community has easy access to this machine and recycling.
“We have received incredible positive feedback from users who find it quick and convenient in processing rink containers for a refund.
“Recycling one tonne of aluminium cans through the machine saves 6.8 tonnes of CO2 emissions.“
Cr Stewart said Council was tackling waste head-on and identifying opportunities to turn waste into a resource.
“These two new machines are tangible examples of how Council is diverting recyclable material from landfill to both reduce emissions and conserve landfill space,” she said.
