|
Glass is a packaging material consumed by millions of Australians every day. We are good at recovering glass containers, with around two out of every three collected at kerbside, but around 30 percent of the glass we collect each year (or 130,000 tonnes nationally) cannot be recycled due to breakage and/or contamination.
The focus of this program is targeting projects which will increase the recovery of glass for recycling and the development of sustainable and economically viable alternative uses for recovered glass.
The development of alternative markets for glass.
One of the most effective applications for recycled crushed glass (RCG) is as a partial substitute for sand which can be used in asphalt or concrete. Across Australia we use 9 million tonnes of asphalt each year for road construction. Substituting RCG into the asphalt mix of even 10 percent of Australia’s roads will eliminate Australia's large stockpiles of glass and provide an ongoing local market for the glass we collect through our kerbside collections.
Research into glass recycling and alternative uses for RCG such as a sub-base aggregate in footpaths, road base, kerbing and asphalt.
See our studies:
- The use of Crushed Glass as both an Aggregate Substitute in Road Base and in Asphalt in Australia
- Specifications for recycled crushed glass as an engineering material -RCG safety report -GHD final modulus report
-Margaret River- case study
-Waverley Council- case study -RCG Safety- fact sheet
-GHD Performance report- fact sheet
-The Significance of Contamination of Glass in Fibre Packaging and Non-Packaging Material in Australia. Alternative market projects have been completed or are underway in:
-
Tasmania: in 2009,in an Australian first, a partnership between the PSF and Clarence City Council saw the first public demonstration project of the use of 53 tonnes of recycled glass sand in various civil construction applications in the Rosny Tennis Club car park – see New Glass Recycling Initiative in Tasmania
-
Tasmania: in 2011, a partnership between the PSF, the Department of Infrastructure, Energy and Resources (DIER), the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water & Environment (DPIPWE), Roadways Pty Ltd, and the Hazell Bros Group, saw the construction of a 100 metre length of the East Derwent Highway using 12 tonnes RCG.
-
NSW: a partnership between the PSF, Waverley Council, Roads and Traffic Authority NSW, the Office of Environment and Heritage NSW and the Roads & Transport Directorate of the Institute of Public Works Engineers has seen the construction of a100 metre section of an asphalt road (June 2010) and a 100 metre section of a concrete road (March 2011) using a total of 83 tonnes of recycled crushed glass in Bondi.
-
NSW: in 2011, a partnership between the PSF, Great Lakes Council, Roads and Traffic Authority NSW, the Office of Environment and Heritage NSW and the Roads & Transport Directorate of the Institute of Public Works Engineers saw the construction of a 100m section of road pavement using RCG in the asphalt surface, the first regional NSW site to use RCG in road construction.
-
Victoria: in 2009, a partnership between the PSF, Manningham and Brimbank Council's and the Municipal Association of Victoria saw the construction of two new bicycle and pedestrian pathways using a 100 percent mix of RCG and crushed rock in the sub-base.
-
Victoria: in 2011, a partnership between the PSF, Brimbank Council and the Municipal Association of Victoria saw the construction of a 285 metre stretch of road which used 155 tonnes of RCG in the road base.
-
Western Australia: in 2011, a partnership between the PSF and the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River saw the construction of a 1400 square metre stretch of road using 100 tonnes of RCG in the asphalt - the first site in regional Western Australia to demonstrate the use of RCG in road construction. A cost benefit analysis was undertaked by the Shire which showed that local reprocessing of glass and the potential reuse of RCG in civil construction applications locally would dramatically reduce landfill costs and significantly increase recycling rates.
The PSF has also supported the establishment of new glass reprocessing infrastructure to:
- Hamilton Island: to enable the local use of RCG on the island without having to transport material back to the mainland for processing.
- Tuncurry, Regional NSW: to enable the use of RCG collected through regional kerbside recycling systems to be used locally in civil construction applications. Local council, Great Lakes, used RCG from the facility in the construction of the first of two roads in early 2011 (the second site will be completed in late 2011).
- Shoalhaven, Regional NSW: to enable the use of RCG collected through regional kerbside recycling systems to be used locally in civil construction applications.
- TPI, Wodonga, regional Victoria: to enable the use of RCG collected through regional kerbside recycling systems to be used locally in civil construction applications.
Development of national specifications for recycled crushed glass.
The PSF has also funded the development of national specifications for RCG. The specifications apply to four alternative applications - as partial replacement in asphalt paving; sand replacement in concrete; pipe embedment; and aggregate mix in paving. The specifications, which were developed by the ARRB Group and peer reviewed by GHD’s Geotechnical Division, are now available to local and state governments and road authorities throughout Australia. (Please contact Chris Jeffreys at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
to request a copy of the national specifications for RCG).
Examples of some of our other glass recovery and recycling projects include:
Bottlecycler, a glass crushing machine enabling pubs and clubs to effectively recycle, which is now recovering an additional 4,000 tonnes of glass annually for recycling. Bottlecycler can be found in well known venues such as the Hilton in Sydney, the Qantas Club in Melbourne and even crossing the Bass Straight on the Spirit of Tasmania vessels.
'Clean Stream', a partnership between the PSF and Gold Coast City Council, was a project to encourage Gold Coast venues to increase recycling efforts in the hospitality industry. During the 12 months of the project, participating venues diverted almost 500 tonnes of recyclabes from landfill and saved thousands of dollars.
For information on the PSF, our glass projects and the new national specifications for recycled crushed glass contact: Chris Jeffreys at
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
|
