A combined effort by five Southeast Queensland councils to find feasible and progressive methods of resource recovery and waste disposal has taken a significant step forward.
Logan City Council, Ipswich City Council, Redland City Council, Lockyer Valley Regional Council and Somerset Regional Council, are seeking expressions of interest for the delivery of resource recovery and waste disposal services.
Proposals can focus on one or more of the available waste streams offered by one or more of the five councils.
The councils have collaborated to offer aggregated waste volumes to industry and technology proponents.
The combined effort aims to stimulate resource recovery opportunities across the waste supply chain and maximise diversion of waste from landfill.
Ipswich City Council interim administrator Greg Chemello said this was an opportunity for councils to take a stronger leadership role on waste and recycling; by collectively inviting innovative approaches and solutions.
“A regional approach effectively puts the power of five councils behind this critical issue. It’s a commitment to consider ways that we can collectively address our waste and recycling needs in southeast Queensland.
“Under the state’s planning laws, we have to deal with development applications for waste as they are lodged. But this EOI invitation means that we are jointly and positively asking for regional solutions from industry.”
“This is a global challenge, and one we all must face over the coming decade, and beyond. And this call for expressions of interest allows the industry to work with an entire region and its various communities.
“It’s entirely appropriate that councils work together to solve a problem which impacts us all.”
The waste materials offered under this EOI Invitation are broadly categorised into the following streams:
- Residual Waste: Waste that has not been specifically collected, received or sorted for reuse, recycling or beneficial reuse, or is generated as a result of some form of pre-treatment or resource recovery process
- Recyclable Waste: Items and materials for recycling or other form of beneficial reuse
- Organic Waste: Garden and/or food waste for the purposes of beneficial reuse
- Regulated Waste: Waste as defined in Schedule 7 of the Environmental Protection Regulation 2008 (Qld) of primarily domestic origin
- Problematic Waste: Items that are currently not sorted or recovered but would be desirable to divert away from landfill for the purposes of beneficial reuse
The key objectives of this EOI Invitation are to procure resource recovery and/or waste disposal services that:
- are affordable, reliable and adaptable in providing long-term security to respond to potential changes in waste volumes and composition
- minimise waste disposal to landfill and maximise the recovery of resources for beneficial reuse and/or recycling
- encourage and enable economic development and circular economy in the sub-region giving consideration to the availability and maturity-of-end markets
- deliver environmental and sustainability benefits for the Councils’ communities.
Examples of services that may be offered include:
- complimenting existing waste materials collection systems
- single or multi-material sorting and separation processes
- beneficial reuse/upcycling of waste materials
- recycling waste materials – remanufacture and refurbishment of materials into new products/ outputs such as compost and recycled content construction materials
- recovery of waste materials – alternative waste technologies such as energy from waste (EfW) and anaerobic digesters
- landfill disposal
The examples above are simply some examples of services that may be offered. This is not in any way intended to be a prescriptive list nor a limit to the types of services that can be offered.
For further information or to lodge an expression of interest, see the LG Tender box advertisement issued by Logan City Council on behalf of the Sub-Regional Alliance at www.lgtenderbox.com.au
