Two-hundred million bottles with Alex Fraser

A new glass additive bin at Alex Fraser’s Clarinda recycling facility is boosting its reprocessing capability by 40,000 tonnes a year and has the capacity to double that production annually.

Late last year, Alex Fraser was among 13 recipients of the Victorian Government’s $4.67 million Resource Recovery Infrastructure Grants program.

It used the $336,500 grant towards the construction of the new glass and brick additive bins at its Clarinda facility recycling facility, where they are used to blend recycled glass sand and brick into a new, sustainable roadbase product.

This single piece of recycling infrastructure is markedly increasing the distribution of recycled glass and brick into road and rail projects throughout Melbourne’s south eastern suburbs.

Delivering on end-market demand is a central focus for Alex Fraser, with Clarinda currently processing hundreds of thousands of tonnes of recycled products for use on road construction and maintenance projects across Victoria.

Peter Murphy, Alex Fraser Managing Director, says the facility is currently reducing the landfilling and stockpiling of problematic glass by 40,000 tonnes per year – the equivalent of 200 million bottles.

He adds that with the new additive bins in full production mode, Alex Fraser has the capacity to double this annual production.

“By reprocessing this priority waste into high quality sand, we’re able to supply rail and road projects with a range of high-spec, sustainable materials that cut costs, cartage and carbon emissions, and reduce the strain on natural resources,” he says.

“We’re pleased to be working with the Victorian Government to overcome one of the state’s biggest recycling challenges.”

Matt Genever, Director Resource Recovery at Sustainability Victoria, says SV recognised the Clarinda recycling facility as an important site for resource recovery in Melbourne.

“Processing up to one million tonnes of recycling per annum, the site serves a dual purpose, both as a hub for C&D waste in the south-east and through supply of aggregate and sand into new construction activities,” he says.

“We are acutely aware of the shortage of quarried materials to supply the state’s significant infrastructure program and having a site of this scale located in close proximity to these major projects is essential in ensuring ongoing supply of recycled construction products and materials.”

Recently, the Southern Program Alliance opted to utilise almost 200,000 tonnes of tonnes of Alex Fraser’s recycled materials on the Mentone and Cheltenham Level Crossing Removal Upgrade (LXRA).

The project, expected to be completed in early 2021, is set to save 170,000 tonnes of material from landfill and will reduce the strain on natural resources by 185,000 tonnes.

With the additive bin now in full operation at the Clarinda Recycling Facility, Alex Fraser is increasing its handling of priority recovered materials – like glass fine and brick – to around 800 tonnes per week.

“Glass is a high-volume waste stream, so it is imperative its recycling facilities are well located close to the point of generation and close to its end-markets,” Peter says.

He adds that as inner-metropolitan quarries deplete, natural sand is being trucked up to 100 kilometres, driving up costs, traffic congestion and emissions.

The additive bin will not only help with Melbourne’s glass waste problem, but provide and inner city supply solution that reduces these impacts.

“We are not only reprocessing waste materials, but ensuring that the material is recycled into a valuable resource that needed and contributes toward Victoria’s growing circular economy,” Peter says.

Alex Fraser’s Clarinda facility has the capacity to recycle a million tonnes of C&D waste each year. Peter explains that the reprocessed material typically goes out to road and rail projects as recycled aggregates, road base or asphalt.

“With the new additive bins, we are able to blend recycled glass sand and brick into a product that meets Vicroads specifications for most road bases which are being used in huge qualities on municipal works and Big Build projects throughout the south east,” he says.