Our Services Archives | Page 13 of 15

Plant shutdown services in action

Our Services

October 31, 2018

Tags: Shutdown

Highlights

Plant maintenance shutdowns are a critical time in the operation of a facility. A well-planned shutdown can positively impact the plant and have it running within capacity for years.

During a shutdown, all plant activities are stopped to facilitate maintenance, repairs, and equipment replacements. Plants are regulated for health and safety to ensure operations are within guidelines set by governing legislation.

Shutdown services refer to cleaning and maintenance works performed during plant shutdowns. This may include a wide range of industrial services like scaffolding, high pressure water blasting, decontamination and mechanical repairs.

Shutdown services in action

Driving safety and efficiency without cutting corners

A car manufacturer customer had a shutdown period over the new year to perform annual maintenance. The cleaning timelines were critical for the customer as other shutdown maintenance work could only be carried out after the cleaning was done.

It took 16 operators and two supervisors, running four High Pressure and two Heavy Vacuum Units to complete the project. The workload was predominantly focused on the paint shop and included high pressure cleaning of paint booths, sludge removal from large waste ponds, and cleaning of large treatment tanks, industrial fans and general pit and drain cleaning.

Our Toxfree team completed over 1,600 man hours of cleaning in 14 days, all within the tight timeframe requested by the customer, without compromising on safety.

Innovative cleaning services for a paper mill customer

Our Cleanaway and Toxfree teams introduced several new measures to increase the efficiency of our shutdown maintenance services for a paper mill customer including:

The foul water accumulator was modified by the Cleanaway team and resulted in significant man-hour savings to the client. This job generally went unfinished in previous shuts.
To remove stains in paper machine rollers, the team introduced an Ultra-high Blasting Unit in place of the High Pressure Unit to remove stains and build up from the press rolls.
An exclusion zone tape with responsible officer names and mobile telephone numbers was introduced. This has been adopted as a site standard with pre-printed exclusion zone tapes proposed for the FY20 shutdown. The improved pre-outage preparation work will encourage more efficiencies during future shutdowns.

Automation reduces autoclave cleaning times

Autoclave shutdowns for our mining customer are conducted on a regular basis for cleaning. The manual cleaning process to decontaminate autoclaves would take over 10 days per shut down. Each day of shutdown equalled a loss of profit.

As a result of the Toxfree team’s investment in quality equipment and efficient operations, cleaning performance was vastly improved, turnaround times were reduced and confined space entries were minimised.

This reduced the shutdown time for autoclave cleaning to 5.5 days from the previous record of 10 days. Since then, the average shutdown period for autoclave cleaning has remained at 5 days, with cleaning time reduced from 20 days to 7 days, saving the customer around $600,000 annually.

Regular maintenance to improve plant performance

A tar production facility needed their naphthalene tank, heat exchanges and pipework cleaned as part of their biannual shutdown. The November shutdown also included the installation of a new on-site cooling tower. Prior to demolishing the existing cooling tower, industrial washing was required to remove residue.

Our Toxfree team supplied an Industrial Combo Unit, Heavy Vacuum Loader and 600HP 3 gear High Pressure Unit with bulk Interceptor bins. Over the 3-week shutdown the team performed industrial washing, flex-lance, high pressure pipe and duct cleaning, tank cleaning and stormwater pit cleaning within the plant.

Why use Cleanaway’s shutdown services?

Our team of experts will tailor a solution to fit your plant’s needs, processes and specifications ensuring fast turnarounds and limited outage time.

Cleanaway’s extensive range of industrial services are backed by purpose-built trucks that are certified and licensed to the highest Australian standards.

The shutdown industrial services we offer include:

Get smart about infection control

Our Services

October 24, 2018

Tags: Medical care

Highlights

According to the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), there are 200,000 healthcare-associated infection (HAI) cases affecting Australian healthcare facilities each year. HAIs are the most common complication affecting patients in hospitals, resulting in prolonged stays, unnecessary patient discomfort and additional cost to the healthcare system.

What is an infection and who is at risk?

An infection is a disease caused by any virus, bacteria or parasite, commonly referred to as ‘bugs’ or ‘germs’. Of these sources, bacteria are the number one cause of HAIs. The most common types of infection caused by bacteria include urinary tract infections, wound infections, pneumonia and bloodstream infections.

Premature babies, sick children, elderly people, people with compromised immune systems and those suffering from chronic medical conditions are at higher risk of contracting an infection.

Infections don’t just spread in hospitals, but can occur in any healthcare setting, such as general practice doctor surgeries, dental clinics and long-term care facilities. Patients, anyone working in a healthcare facility, and visitors, are all at risk.

Cleanaway Daniels Clinismart bin

How can you prevent an infection?

HAIs can be managed through quality infection prevention and control measures for patients and those that work in healthcare. With the right plan and processes in place, infection can be prevented and avoided altogether.

Some of the main prevention strategies include hand hygiene, correct Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), contact precaution and routine cleaning. Waste management also plays a critical role in preventing the spread of infection.

When handling waste:
• apply standard precautions to protect against exposure to blood and bodily substances during handling of waste and always wash hands following procedure
• avoid touching items with potentially contaminated hands
• segregation should occur at the point of generation
• waste should be contained in the appropriate receptacle (identified by colour and label) and disposed of according to the facility waste management plan
• healthcare workers should be trained in the correct procedures for waste handling

How we help medical facilities prevent infections

Stationery, open lidded and/or mobile garbage bins are common in patient-care areas, as is the practice of transferring clinical waste in bags and soft packaging. These are risky practices that result in spillage, infection transfer, pathogen build up and sharps penetration.

foot pedal for opening a Cleanaway Daniels Clinismart bin

Our container disposal systems feature exceptional standards of safety, which is a must for any waste management solution for the medical sector. The foot-pedal opening mechanism and bagless system means hand contact with containers is no longer required. This ‘no-touch’ system results in reduced risk of infection transfer, compared to standard clinical waste containers which require manual lid opening or by tying off bags before debagging.

Clinismart is proven to minimise risk of infection while increasing segregation efficiencies and reducing impact on the environment. Clinismart is also designed to manage logistical challenges commonly associated with healthcare waste disposal, while maintaining staff and patient safety as the highest priority.

The Clinismart reusable system ensures that once full, each container is closed off and presented for removal from your premises. Our rigorous 6-stage robotic wash and sanitisation process eliminates 1,000,000 even hard to kill organisms per cm2.

Cleanaway Daniels Clinismart bins

We have a range of Clinismart medical waste containers for a variety of waste streams such as cytotoxic waste, genetically modified organisms, pharmaceutical waste and laparoscopic waste.

Have you heard about Sharpsmart? Our sharps disposal containers have saved 20,000 healthcare workers from sharps injuries since 1999. Learn more here.

Talk to Cleanaway Daniels today to learn how you can help your business prevent infections.

Is zero organic waste to landfill possible?

Our Services

October 22, 2018

Tags: Organics

Highlights

Australia’s Commercial and Industrial (C&I) sector creates over 1.9 million tonnes of food waste every year, with the food and beverage (F&B) retail and service sectors accounting for over half of the general waste stream.

There are several reasons why food organics recovery isn’t as high as it could be. The value of recovered materials can be very low in many areas of Australia. On-site handling, storage and collection difficulties make food organics processing a challenge. Many service sites are aware of food waste generation but either do not know where or are unable to recycle it.

The spotlight is on supermarkets, cafes, restaurants and caterers for their low recovery rates (7-14%), but the good news is that F&B manufacturers are already quite good at recycling organic by-products. A study for the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities found that 55% of organic waste produced by manufacturers are diverted from landfill every year.

The same study noted that the higher diversion rate is likely because F&B manufacturers produce relatively clean or uncontaminated waste streams which can be easily collected for recovery.

To its credit, the F&B industry have been quick to adapt their manufacturing procedures to not only find efficiencies in energy and water use, but also for ways to reuse organic by-products. Smarter use of organic by-products and better management of unusable waste is now considered best practice within the industry.

Composting

Like other recovery options, composting or co-digestion diverts waste from landfill but agricultural use of compost is low for several reasons:

High volume
The product is heavy and bulky, making it expensive to transport.

Lower nutrient value
The nutrient value of compost is lower compared to chemical fertilisers. Nutrient deficiency in crops are also an issue because the rate of nutrient release is slow.

Variable content
The composition of compost is highly variable compared to more standardised values in chemical fertilisers.

Contamination
Agricultural users might have concerns regarding potential levels of heavy metals and other possible contaminants in compost. It’s an important issue when compost is used on food crops.

Animal feed

Feeding food scraps that contains meat products or swill to pigs is illegal in Australia because it opens the door for diseases, potentially impacting human health. It’s illegal to feed pigs anything that:

contains meat, meat products or any other products from mammals
has been in contact with meat, meat products or any other products from mammals.

It’s also illegal to supply another person with animal by-products for feeding to pigs. Business owners cannot allow a farmer to collect food waste from their business to feed pigs.

This means that only organic, non-animal sources of food waste such as grains, fruits and vegetables, can be used as animal feed, provided they have not been in contact with meat.

This is obviously a huge limitation for F&B manufacturers that produce large quantities of meat by-products.

Soil injection technology – a true end to end organics recovery solution

A genuine closed loop solution for recovering organic by-product means zero waste to landfill and all materials recovered to be used as resource.

Cleanaway’s innovative soil injection technology collects organic liquid residuals from F&B manufacturers and recycles the nutrient-rich material into fertiliser for agricultural land.

Unlike co-digestion or use as animal feed, soil injection maximises the nutrient value of organic by-products by collecting and treating the biosolids without exposing them to the air, and then injecting them directly into the soil.

This method preserves the valuable nitrogen and phosphorous in the organic material that leads to stronger, healthier crops. By using organic instead of chemical fertilisers, less fertiliser is required over time, and healthier cattle is produced with excellent frame scores and marbling content.

How does soil injection work?

We collect organic by-products from F&B manufacturers and transport them to pasture sites with our fleet of purpose-built vehicles. The organic material collected is stored on site in bulk storage tanks to be assessed and readied for application.

The organic by-product is then transferred to specialised agricultural equipment and injected below the soil surface to an approximate depth of 10 to 30cm. The paddocks are then ploughed to ensure the product is incorporated into the topsoil layer. This process allows the nutrients to be extracted from organic product and returned to the soil.

How businesses can benefit

Cleanaway has performed soil injection of nutrient rich fertilisers in Victoria since 2006 where we are the only company with an EPA license for the technology.

Our F&B customers in NSW were looking for more ways to increase their sustainability rates and reduce waste to landfill. After partnering with Cleanaway for our soil injection solution, we diverted their organic by-products to be used as fertiliser at Brookhaven, chosen for its ideal logistical and farming conditions.

With this solution, our customers were able to deliver on the triple bottom line of sustainability:

Economic benefit by taking large volumes of by-products and converting to cost-effective fertiliser.
Environmental benefit by reducing greenhouse gases and improving landfill diversion.
Social benefit by supporting the local agricultural industry.

Cleanaway has a long and proven history of supporting industries and communities within regulatory guidelines. We are the only EPA licensed operator in Victoria with a fleet of purpose-built trucks capable of injecting 20,000 litres of fertiliser in just three minutes.

To book a soil injection recycling service for your business follow this link.

Why reusable containers are better for sharps waste

Our Services

October 18, 2018

Tags: Sharps

Highlights

Healthcare facilities across Australia are focusing on reducing the environmental impact of their waste streams. By disposing of sharps waste in ‘reusable’ containers instead of ‘disposable’ containers, the medical sector can make a huge difference to sustainability rates.

What’s the difference?

Disposable

Disposable sharps containers are destroyed along with their contents. Because of this, they are the least environmentally friendly method of handling sharps waste. Disposable containers are required to be packed in single use cardboard boxes in order to be distributed. This cardboard requires disposal at the healthcare site, adding to the waste generated.

The disposal process uses valuable energy resources when containers are treated, commonly through incineration or autoclaving. For every disposable container that is used, another new container must be manufactured as a replacement. This process requires a completely new allocation of materials and additional energy resources. The containers also add to the volume of residual material that ends up in landfill.

Recyclable

While recycling has received a lot of positive attention in recent years, the process is not as simple for medical waste.

Generally, recycled plastic comes from ‘safe’ sources such as soft drink bottles. In order to avoid issues of potential contamination and to maintain product strength and integrity, only 10% of recycled material is used when producing new plastic items.

If used sharps containers were to be used as a source of recyclable plastic, a safe method of opening and handling the contents would be required. In addition, containers would need to be cleaned to a standard that recyclers would accept. Such a process would involve a significant amount of energy and materials, and would still require a large amount of new plastic to make new containers.

Reusable

When a reusable container is filled, only the waste inside it is disposed and destroyed, lessening the environmental impact of discarded plastic and cardboard. The used container is hygienically washed and returned, ready for the next use.

Benefits of reusable containers

The Sharpsmart

A study conducted in an 850-bed acute care facility in 2012 examined greenhouse gas emission (GHG) comparisons between disposable sharps containers and Cleanaway Daniels Sharpsmart reusable containers. The results were unprecedented, revealing an 84% reduction of carbon emissions – the equivalent of 84,368 kg’s per annum.

Each year, for every 100 occupied beds, the Cleanaway Daniels Sharpsmart reusable sharps container:
• Reduces plastic waste by 2,100 kg
• Reduces cardboard waste by 150 kg
• Eliminates the manufacturing and landfilling of 2,500 disposable containers.

The Clinismart

The Clinismart container is a specifically designed vessel to compliantly contain clinical waste, without the use of a liner bag. This is brought about by the use of the quality seal in the lid which provides a water tight seal when the lid is closed. The bagless system reduces the volume of plastic waste going to landfill.

Are you at risk from sharps injuries? Find out in this article.

Contact Cleanaway Daniels for more information on how our reusable products help make a sustainable future possible for the healthcare sector.

How to manage healthcare waste sustainably

Our Services

October 10, 2018

Tags: Medical care

Highlights

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), of the total amount of waste generated by healthcare activities, about 15% is considered hazardous material that may be infectious, chemical or radioactive:

Infectious waste: waste contaminated with blood, bodily fluids, cultures, infectious agents, waste from patients with infections
Pathological waste: human tissues, organs or fluids, body parts and contaminated animal carcasses
Sharps waste: syringes, needles, disposable scalpels and blades
Chemical waste: solvents and reagents, disinfectants, sterilants and heavy metals contained in medical devices and batteries
Pharmaceutical waste: expired, unused and contaminated drugs and vaccines
Cyctotoxic waste: waste containing substances with genotoxic properties such as cytotoxic drugs used in cancer treatment
Radioactive waste: products contaminated by radionuclides including radioactive diagnostic material or radiotherapeutic materials

Improper management of these hazardous materials can lead to the spread of infectious diseases and pose large-scale health risks such as:

exposure to infectious diseases
sharps-related needlestick injuries
toxic exposure to pharmaceutical products
toxic exposure to cytotoxic carcinogens
heavy metals leak into the environment

Why is waste segregation important?

Waste segregation is a crucial element in any sustainable waste management strategy for the healthcare sector. Every facility should separate its waste at the source to reduce risk of infection, as well as the cost of handling and disposal.

Effective segregation at the point where waste is generated ensures that hazardous waste is treated in a safe and environmentally sustainable way, without risk to healthcare workers and patients. At each point of waste generation, there should be separate, properly labelled and colour-coded containers appropriate for the specified type of waste.

When waste is sent for disposal or treatment, having a contaminated load can affect the disposal process. Contamination occurs when waste is put in the wrong bin – for example, if clinical waste is inappropriately disposed into general waste, one of two consequences will occur, either:

the complete load will need to be sent off for appropriate treatment, and increase the cost and environmental impact of disposal
the load is not identified as contaminated and will be sent off to landfill which has the potential to becoming a health and environmental hazard

Effective segregation:

ensures each waste item is collected and treated in accordance with regulations for each waste type
prevents hazardous waste in the general municipal waste stream
prevents illegal reuse of pharmaceuticals
provides opportunities for recycling
reduces the cost of treatment and disposal by reducing waste to the general bin
ensures safety of healthcare workers, patients and visitors

Cleanaway Daniels Clinismart medical waste bins

How we segregate medical waste

When it comes to understanding the complexities of waste management in the medical sector, Cleanaway Daniels is your ideal partner for safe and effective solutions.

Our team of experts ensure that each healthcare facility we work with is fully compliant with all local and federally mandated regulations. Through training, site mapping and online reporting, we work closely with each healthcare facility to mitigate the risk of fines and infringement penalties.

The Cleanaway Daniels range of products support segregation at the source with clear colour and labelling, and includes:

Sharps collection
The Cleanaway Daniels Sharpsmart system is the world’s safest and most environmentally responsible sharps management system. Designed specifically for sharps collection and disposal, the Sharpsmart can be attached to an Accessmart to group it with any Clinismart product, it is also available for pharmaceutical purposes. It is available in 6.5, 14.5 and 23.5 litres capacities to suit low volume and high volume areas.

Laparoscopic waste
The Cleanaway Daniels Laprosmart is the premium solution for instrument disposal in a theatre environment. The Laparosmart’s wider aperture and taller vertical drop creates a compatible solution for longer bulkier instruments and volumetric sharps waste.

Cytotoxic waste
The Cleanaway Daniels solution to cytotoxic waste includes a Clinismart, sharps collectors, pails and MGB’s. These products are used for clinical waste that has been contaminated with cytotoxic chemicals. All cytotoxic waste is incinerated, and it is important that this waste stream is correctly segregated at the source.

Pharmaceutical waste

The Cleanaway Daniels Pharmasmart product range includes a sharps collector, Clinismart, pail and MGB for pharmaceutical related products. Sharps should always be disposed of in the sharps collector, the other collectors are designed for prescription or expired medication, glass vials and ampoules with drug residue. All pharmaceutical waste is incinerated, and it is important that this waste stream is correctly segregated at the source.

Clinical waste
Clinical waste is any waste that has been contaminated with blood or bodily fluid (except urine or faeces, unless also contaminated with blood or other known infectious matter) and waste that has the potential to cause infection or offence. The Cleanaway Daniels clinical waste collection range includes the Clinismart, pails and MGB’s to suit all volumes and usage frequency.

Cleanaway Daniels Clinismart medical waste bins

Anatomical waste
Anatomical waste is any pathological specimen, biopsy specimen, recognisable tissue taken during surgery or autopsy, as well as any identifiable body part. The Cleanaway Daniels range for anatomical waste includes MBG’s and pails.

Are you at risk from a sharps injury? Here’s everything you need to know about the safe disposal of sharps.

How to use high pressure water for industrial cleaning

Our Services

October 2, 2018

Tags: Ultra high pressure

Highlights

Water blasting, also known as hydro blasting, is a cleaning technique that removes dirt, scale, and other unwanted materials from surfaces and is typically used in sewers, drains, tanks, marine vessels, bridges, buildings, and manufacturing plant facilities. It can be considered to be part of industrial waste management.

How does high pressure water blasting work

A pressurised stream of water produced through a specially designed nozzle is targeted at undesired coating, residue and dirt build-ups even in hard-to-reach places. The water pressure is scalable to allow for different levels of abrasiveness, with water pressure capabilities reaching up to 36,000 psi / 2,482 bar. Psi or pounds per square inch is a common unit of pressure used in many different industrial measuring applications such as tyre pressure, fuel storage and waste water management.

using high pressure water for industrial cleaning

Why high pressure water blasting

Dry blasting techniques using abrasive materials such coal slag, smelter slag and sand can be damaging to people and the environment. Sand has a high breakdown rate which results in substantial dust generation while coal and smelter slags are known to release hazardous contaminants that pollute the air.

By combining water and air pressure, water blasting minimises fatigue on the surface being cleaned and leaves little to no environmental impact, as no additives or abrasives are used. This keeps the equipment clean while optimising operating conditions, which reduces asset downtime.

High pressure water blasting in action

Porters Creek’s spillway hydro blasting

Our Toxfree team provided a water blasting service for Shoalhaven Council for an area spanning over 1000 m² at Porters Creek Dam, 20 minutes inland from the NSW Coastal town of Ulladulla. The goal was to lightly scabble the entire spillway surface using our 2500 bar High Pressure Water Blasting Unit as part of a structure strengthening project. Using a hand gun from an on-site 40-metre straight boom, the task was completed safely, on time and to the Council’s specification.

Removing damaged concrete off Peninsula Link’s retaining wall

A retaining wall in the Peninsula Link, Victoria, was damaged, causing a honeycomb effect that required concrete to be re-poured around 650 securing bolts and plates. Despite a tight deadline, the Toxfree team stepped in with two high pressure water blasting units and exposed an area 200 mm by 100 mm deep in the wall. All bolts and plates were exposed without damaging any of the surrounding walls.

Underwater high pressure water blasting in the Bass Strait

Unmanned platforms that were once oil wells still stand five hours off Lakes Entrance in the Bass Strait. Our team was called upon to maintain the ‘Perch’ and ‘Dolphin’ platforms in good condition and prevent it from becoming a hazard in the ocean.

We provided robot-guided high pressure water blasting on a 2-metre long underwater pipe found to be covered in calcium build-up. Guided by a camera, the robot identified the section that needed blasting. We combined the underwater water blasting with a garnet, creating an abrasive solution that can cut into the build-up. The abrasive water was used on the pipe in a criss-crossing motion to break up the calcium. After additional high pressure blasting to remove calcium chunks, the smooth pipe underneath was revealed.

Upon completion, weak areas on the pipe section were identified and repaired to avoid hazards.

Why use Cleanaway’s water blasting service

Cleanaway has a comprehensive range of high pressure water and abrasive cleaning services to meet the requirements of any industrial application.

General high pressure water cleaning

Cleanaway is the leader in commercial high pressure cleaning services, servicing Australia’s top oil and gas, mining and construction firms, as well as government agencies and municipal councils engaged in a broad range of activities.

Shutdown cleaning

Water blasting can boost shutdown maintenance cleaning, ensuring it is performed on time, within budget and with minimal disruption. Industries that can benefit from this service include furniture manufacturers, chemical plants, automotive factories, defense facilities and large food manufacturers.

Internal and external hull cleaning

High pressure water blasting can get rid of barnacles and sea plants attached to boat and ship hulls that have been submerged for a long time. It can also help prepare surfaces before new paint or protective coating is applied.

Surface preparation

Many municipal and road management organisations have benefitted from our water blasting services, especially in multi lane freeway shutdown cleaning and bitumen surface preparation for repainting, remarking or resurfacing.

Monument and public facilities

The perfect solution for removal of grime, graffiti and paint from surfaces such as brick, concrete, metal and other common commercial surfaces lies in our water blasting services. We currently service industries such as mining, oil and gas, manufacturing, construction and government utilities.

We can undertake any size high pressure water blasting with our mobile equipment and skilled technicians. All vehicles operate under strict licensing standards that comply with all state and environmental regulations.

Follow this link to book our water blasting services today.

Get your free Bin Trim waste assessment today

Our Services

September 18, 2018

Tags: Bin trim

Highlights

Book your free Bin Trim assessment today. Eligible Cleanaway customers can email us to register with our experienced Cleanaway Bin Trim assessors.

Book now

What is Bin Trim?

Bin Trim is a New South Wales (NSW) government initiative that helps businesses reduce their general waste by recycling more. It is part of the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s Waste Less, Recycle More program.

The program offers participants two free waste assessments. These assessments will create a picture of what customers are throwing in their general waste and how to increase diversion rates.

Why should Cleanaway customers participate?

Your general waste bin is charged by weight so the heavier it is, the more expensive it is. By diverting heavy, wet material like food scraps to an organic service, and common recyclables like glass and cardboard, you can save a huge amount on your general waste bill.

Up to 70% of the items in the general waste bin can be recycled or reused instead of being sent to landfill. Businesses have reported increased savings by employing new waste management technologies, source-sorting waste materials into common streams, and by reviewing current collection systems with their waste management provider.

Who is eligible?

Small to medium-sized businesses in New South Wales only (up to 400 full time employees per site)
Existing Cleanaway customers only
Not public listed or government owned
Businesses with a general waste service
Businesses with a commingled bin but have the potential to divert organics, cardboard or other waste streams from general waste

How does a Bin Trim work?

Initial waste assessment
Your Cleanaway Bin Trim assessor will perform a visual assessment of your internal and external bins to ensure you have the right waste and recycling services.
Action plan
A report will be created with the data collected during the initial waste assessment. This report will contain an overview of the waste generated onsite and recommendations to implement a positive change in your waste management.
Implementation
You can then choose the actions you wish to implement (which can be one or all suggested actions). The Cleanaway Bin Trim assessor will provide full support to your business to implement the desired actions, which may include purchasing and applying for a rebate for any recycling equipment acquired during this stage.
Second assessment
Once the implementation process is complete, our Cleanaway assessors will return to conduct a second assessment. A second report will be provided so that businesses can track and measure achievements.

Meet the Cleanaway Bin Trim team

Cleanaway has engaged over 2,400 businesses since Bin Trim began. We have helped our customers divert over 12,300 tonnes of waste in just two rounds of the program.

The “Bin Trim Veteran” – Theresa Troup
Theresa has been involved with the Bin Trim program since it began, successfully managing both round 1 and 2 for Cleanaway.

The “Project Lead” – Mikaela Orme
Mikaela has been involved in the development and delivery of a wide range of waste education programs for Cleanaway’s commercial customers across Australia. She is currently the acting Cleanaway Project Lead for round 3 of the Bin Trim program.

The “Sustainability Expert” – Rebecca Evered
Rebecca is Cleanaway’s Centre for Sustainability Manager, overseeing a multidisciplinary team assisting customers to achieve their resource recovery and sustainability goals. The team runs a large number of projects including the coordination and implementation of new and ongoing education programs, visual and volumetric auditing and community behaviour change.

The “Man on the ground” – Eddie Santos
Eddie is new to the Bin Trim program, but he has many years of experience in waste auditing and helping businesses to improve their recycling efforts and increase their landfill diversion rates.

Case studies

These businesses trimmed their bin and discovered new opportunities for their general waste:

Pallet Collars
During the Bin Trim exercise, we identified an opportunity to divert Pallet Collar’s sawdust and woodchip waste from landfill. We helped Pallet Collars apply for a rebate to turn their waste into wooden briquettes. These briquettes were then sold as combustibles, creating a new revenue stream. Pallet Collars is now recovering up to 90% of their wood waste and receiving up to 3 tonnes weekly from a neighbouring sawmill, recovering up to 180 tonnes of wood waste annually.

Corrimal RSL
At the first Bin Trim assessment, we discovered that Corrimal RSL was already recycling 60% of their waste, with the potential to divert an additional 28% from landfill. Subsequently, we worked with Corrimal to prepare and educate their staff on the new organics service. Additional signage and bin stickers supplemented with education sessions were provided. When Corrimal RSL’s bin was assessed for the second time, they were recycling 80% of their waste, an increase of 20% from their last assessment.

Learn how businesses can reduce food waste, one waste audit at a time as we follow Cleanaway’s Sustainability Solutions Specialist, Manny Manatakis for a five-week waste audit tour across Australia.

Book your FREE Bin Trim assessment today.

What everyone should know about landfill levies

Our Services

Tags: Landfill

Highlights

Next year Queensland will reintroduce a landfill levy, joining New South Wales, ACT, Western Australia, Victoria and South Australia who already have levies in place.

What do levies mean for sustainability and why are they necessary?

A landfill levy is a tax applied to waste types by weight, that is designed to incentivise waste generators to reduce general waste, and increase diversion through recycling. Governments also use landfill levies to fund environmental and sustainability programs to improve waste management.

Queensland’s Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe, in announcing the levy said, “Reintroducing a waste disposal levy is part of our broader strategy to improve waste recycling and recovery and support jobs growth. Our local councils will play a key role in helping their communities reduce waste and increase resource recovery.”

How do levies work?

A levy is added to the tipping fee, or gate fee, at landfills to increase the cost of disposal of general waste, and encourage diversion as a more economically viable option.

It is usually charged by weight and depending on the state, may be priced according to point of origin (New South Wales), landfill destination (Victoria) or waste type (South Australia, Queensland, ACT). The three broad waste landfill waste types are:

Municipal solid waste
Also known as household rubbish, this is general waste from kerbside collection bins. Items in this bin are not recyclable and include waste types like used nappies, Pyrex™ glassware, and ceramics. The high levels of organic matter, like food, in kerbside waste bins means this is also called putrescible waste.
Construction and demolition
This waste stream is generated by demolition and building activities including excavations, road and rail construction and maintenance, and home and building renovations, and is also considered dry waste.
Commercial and industrial
This category consists of the waste generated from the general waste bin used by institutions and businesses such as schools, restaurants, retailers and manufacturers.

How levies benefit communities

One of the key goals of a levy is to provide funding for waste reduction efforts by government, industry and communities. Some examples of waste management programs include:

upgrading kerbside recycling systems
collecting uncommon, hazardous waste streams
raising awareness and education about recycling
major studies into waste minimisation
supporting community projects

The Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR) in its examination of the “Economic effects of the South Australian solid waste levy” noted that nine jobs are created for every 10,000 tonnes of waste recycled, compared to three jobs for landfill. The same report noted that more recycling and less waste to landfill resulted in more jobs being created in the economy.

The National Waste and Recycling Industry Council (NWRIC) in a statement said that the imposition of a landfill levy also generates funds which can be reinvested into infrastructure planning, education, enforcement of standards and grants for innovation and research.

“Effective planning for waste management and recycling infrastructure will ensure the public is not adversely affected by these essential services – while landfill levy revenue could be used to fund new and ongoing enforcement initiatives,” said NWRIC Chairman Phil Richard.

How to be levy ready

While landfill levies are shown to deliver triple bottom line benefits of economy, environmental and social, the cost is born by waste generators including businesses, and rate payers. The key to reducing the impact of the landfill levies is the reduce the weight of general waste by maximising diversion.

Paper and cardboard, plastic containers and glass bottles, steel and aluminium cans, and milk cartons that are all clean of food and dry of liquids are the best items to put in the recycling bin.

Divert food waste

Food and liquids are very heavy so diverting these with an organics recycling service can seriously reduce the weight of your general waste bin. Almost $20 billion worth of food goes to landfill every year even though food and organics have incredible potential for recovery.

Households can consider starting a compost heap or taking food scraps to a local community garden if a food and green organic waste (FOGO) collection service is not available.

Find collection points for other waste streams

E-waste, soft plastic and other items like paint, mattresses and scrap metal are perfectly recyclable, just not in the commingled recycling bin. You can search online to find collection services or drop-off points in your area, such as TechCollect’s e-waste drop off and paint drop-off points.

What more can you do?

For businesses, a waste audit can help divert even more waste from landfill by identifying new waste streams, as Unilever Tatura, GPT and Argo Café discovered.

Introducing a new bin to address specific materials in your waste stream can actually work out more cost effective especially if rebates are available. By diverting heavy, wet material like food scraps to an organic service, and common recyclables like glass and cardboard, businesses can save a huge amount on the general waste bill.

A comprehensive waste management plan can help businesses improve their landfill diversion and sustainability rates, while pinpointing business inefficiencies. Putting business waste in its place can also generate long-term savings, reduce environmental impact and increase customer satisfaction.

If you’re looking to improve your business‘ waste processes, a waste audit is the first step. Cleanaway offers a no obligation waste assessment to help you in your journey towards making a sustainable future possible.

How to remove large amounts of liquid waste

Our Services

September 12, 2018

Tags: Vacuum loading

Highlights

What does it take to remove over 12 million litres of brine water from a pond?

Over 4500 man hours
2400 machine hours
A dedicated team working around the clock
Our vacuum loading trucks

A customer approached the Toxfree team to quickly mobilise a team to empty and clean a large brine pond. The pond’s liner integrity had failed, making it a time-critical task. The job was a challenge because 12 million litres of liquid needed to be removed with a vertical head pull of approximately 18 metres.

removing large amount of brine water from a pond

How we did it

After assessing the project, a detailed work plan was put together and a fleet of king vacs and semi tankers were mobilised to site. Hundreds of metres of 6-inch vacuum hose was run through the site and trash pumps set up, all joint wrapped, to ensure no further damage to the pond’s liner could occur.

In this case, a vertical head pull of 18 metres meant that a vacuum truck was located 18 metres above the floor level of the pond and the hose opening. The liquid was pulled up the hose along the pond wall, against gravity, which is hard to do and required the end of the hoses to have “breathers” to suck air for assistance.

We removed more than one million litres of water per day, with our operations running day and night. An industrial combination unit and fire-fighting pumps were also used to clean the pond to a high standard, allowing the liner to be tested for use again.

Liquid and powder removal for disposal & recycling

Vacuum loading capabilities provide solutions across a range of operational situations. Our extensive fleet of wet and dry vacuum loading units are capable of pumping liquids, sludges and powders at up to 3,000 litres per minute and up to 200 metres. These industrial vacuum trucks have a capacity range of 3,000 litres to 10,000 litres.

Cleanaway and Toxfree’s industrial vacuum and recovery tanker trucks fleet can efficiently pump, collect and dispose of a large variety of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. Our services include:

Liquid and powder removal for disposal and recycling
Sewer, drain and pipe cleaning
Tank and vessel cleaning
Grease trap cleaning
Sludge removal from water treatment plants, tailings dams and industrial ponds
Underground sump cleaning
Catalyst handling
Loading and unloading of materials from cargo holds, marine ballasts, boiler fire boxes, confined spaces and more.

Once your waste has been collected by our vacuum trucks, it will be sent to an EPA-compliant facility to be treated and all possible resources recovered. For certain types of waste, a secure product destruction service may be included at request.

Contact us to pump liquid, sludges, and powders, and for industrial vacuum cleaning services in emergency spill situations or during planned maintenance shut downs.

What is non-destructive digging?

Our Services

September 11, 2018

Tags: NDD

Highlights

While investment in infrastructure is good for stimulating the economy and improving quality of life, its impact on the environment and communities must also be considered. To minimise the potential impact of infrastructure projects on the environment and the community non-destructive digging (NDD) is an effective and safe alternative to conventional digging, or jackhammers and drills.

How does NDD work?

NDD, also known as hydro excavation, works by blasting soil or other surfaces with highly pressurised water and air. The pressure mimics the effect of mechanical digging, but because the water or air is focused on the target, it doesn’t impact the surrounding area, underground assets or tree roots. After the soil is loosened, it is sucked up with other debris using a high-volume suction hose into the hydro vac storage tank.

Upon completion of repairs or construction, the initial soil which has been removed can be returned to the hole, which reduces waste.

What is NDD used for?

NDD is a great option when excavating near underground services like sewerage pipes, gas, water and telecommunication lines. Mechanical drilling can be slow as the risk to surrounding areas in high, whereas NDD is safe and efficient.

Non-destructive digging is not only useful for potholing and excavation, it’s a safe method for areas with valuable underground assets, straightening power poles and obtaining soil samples with coring (while reducing risk of cross-contamination).

What are the benefits of NDD?

The pressure system applied during non-destructive digging is significantly quieter than traditional mechanical digging equipment, which is important in suburban and metropolitan areas with residential properties and foot traffic.

NDD also ensures less mess than other approaches to digging, reducing clean up time, while saving cost throughout the project.

Detours and road closures are other inconveniences of infrastructure upgrades. Non-destructive digging can reduce the impact, with excavations taking minutes instead of hours.

The non-invasive method also ensures that underground assets are not harmed in the process, eliminating cost from potential repairs. Tree roots and plant life are also better protected from damage.

What projects can NDD be used for?

Cleanaway’s hydro excavation services are used in a wide variety of industries in both remote areas and metro locations including municipal councils, construction, rail network and telecommunication industries.

Potholing for gas, water, sewer and telecommunication line maintenance
Potholing is a technique whereby a small hole is vacuum excavated at the point where the repair or relining of an existing line is to take place. This avoids large trenches, saving both money and time.

Excavating around gas, water, sewer and telecommunication lines
Cleanaway provides vacuum excavation services to the construction industry, in early works and where services need to remain in place while work is undertaken. Some examples include; railway level crossing removals, road and pavement building works, and general construction involving hydro excavation.

Straightening power poles
Strategic hydro excavation of only one portion of soil surrounding a power pole enables it to be straightened and the foundation reinforced without having it completely removed. Users of this service include power companies, utilities, and the construction industry.

Coring to enable soil samples
Using non-destructive digging for core sampling minimises the risk of cross-contamination that could occur when traditional excavation techniques are used. This is essential for geotechnical and soil analysis prior to work or even post-works site remediation.

Tree planting and remediation
Utilities and services such as sewer, telecommunications, power or gas lines, often exist in the site where trees need to be planted or remediated. Non-destructive digging is an ideal and cost-effective solution to investigate the extent of root invasion without damaging the underground lines.

Cleanaway’s non-destructive digging technology is licensed by the EPA and not only reduces risks associated with conventional digging, but also closes the loop on industrial waste by ensuring that slurry produced by hydro excavation is reused as backfill whenever possible.

Partner with us if you want a non-mechanical excavation method that’s environmentally-friendly, non-invasive and non-destructive.