WSN Environmental Solutions' Macarthur Resource Recovery Park has now formally entered its commissioning phase. On Friday 4th July, local and state government leaders officiated the park's opening at a special ceremony held within the receival hall of the centrepiece Ecolibrium^TM Mixed Waste facility.

This leading-edge, fully-integrated municipal waste facility will see household recycling rates increase from 50 to 85 percent in South-West Sydney.

The $50 million Macarthur Resource Recovery Park will receive 8 percent of Sydney’s household waste streams and will cut greenhouse gas emissions, save water and generate renewable energy.

This will be achieved at minimal extra cost to the community, due to resource sales and avoided landfill levies.

“With the opening of this new park, about 100,000 households in fast-growing Camden, Campbelltown, Wollondilly and Wingecarribee LGAs will become among the best recyclers in the country,” said WSN Environmental Solutions CEO Ken Kanofski.

“This new facility will recycle household garbage that previously has gone to landfill,” Mr Kanofski said. “The opening of this facility signals the start of a new era for waste management in south-western Sydney, with the existing Jacks Gully landfill closing to council garbage trucks next week. At full operational level, the landfill avoided is equal to 9,000 garbage trucks a year.”

Mr Kanofski said the Park will generate enough renewable energy from waste to power all its operations and then export surplus baseload electricity to the power grid, equal to powering 1,700 homes.

The Park will recover thousands of tonnes of extra plastic and metal from household garbage and sell this to manufacturers, reducing reliance on virgin materials and further cutting greenhouse emissions. It will also produce a range of bulk compost products from food and garden waste.

WSN Environmental Solutions developed the Macarthur Resource Recovery Park, following a successful tender bid in December 2005. The main elements have taken two years to build.

“Compared with landfill, WSN’s Resource Recovery Park will help avoid greenhouse gas emissions equal to taking 8,000 cars off the road for a year,” Mr Kanofski said.

“Macarthur Resource Recovery Park also produces more water than it uses through a combination of rainwater harvesting and extracting water from the waste it receives.”

The Park will also deliver economic benefits for the local community, creating 40 new full-time jobs.

The main technology elements will now undergo a nine-month commissioning process and are expected to be fully operational in March 2009.


Find out more
 
Download the What Happens at Macarthur Resource Recovery Park Brochure

Download the Macarthur Resource Recovery Park Fact Sheet

For more information contact Aaron Findlay on 02 9934 7033.