Innovative Resource Recovery

Increasing and maintaining the capacity of South Australia’s recycling systems and reprocessing infrastructure is a key priority for Green Industries SA.

The waste management and resource recovery industry is a major player in South Australia’s economy with approximately 4,800 people employed. For every 10,000 tonnes of waste recycled there are 9.2 full time jobs created compared to 2.8 jobs when sent to landfill.

More than 50 local companies reprocess paper, metal, glass, plastics, concrete, asphalt, timber, electronic waste and organics with Green Industries SA stimulating the industry’s development through grants and loans.

South Australia’s leadership in innovative practices and reforms in waste management, recycling and resource recovery means that is in a good position to ensure resources circulate more, as evidenced by the well-developed reprocessing industry.

The transition to a Circular Economy needs innovation, along with investment and development of new infrastructure and technology, to enhance resource efficiency and create business opportunities both locally and overseas. As Australia is beginning to think ‘circular’ there is much that can be learned from South Australia’s experiences and practices.

Advanced Plastic Recycling

Advanced Plastic Recycling has taken wood plastic composite technology to new levels – and to many parts of Australia and internationally with the assistance of Green Industries SA grant funding. Export markets include Dubai, Indonesia, USA, New Zealand and Thailand. Its range of products can be found in parks, gardens and schools, by the side of the nation’s roads and throughout the transport, mining and agricultural industries.

Jeffries

Jeffries operates a multi-purpose facility that accepts green waste and sells its range of recycling landscaping products, such as mulch and compost. A feature of its Buckland Park site is ROSS – its Recycled Organics Screening System, a $6 million investment in this state-of-the-art technology which incorporates magnets and x-rays to detect and screen contaminants – and funded with the assistance of a Green Industries SA grant.

Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority

Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority (NAWMA) operates a world leading resource recovery and recycling centre in Adelaide's northern suburbs, a cornerstone of the circular economy in South Australia. It invests in the very best equipment, importing ballistic separators, baling equipment and conveyor belting. Combined with some $1.5 million in grant funding from Green Industries SA and local design and support expertise NAWMA has purpose built a system tailored to specific local needs.

Peats Soils & Garden Supplies

Peats Soils & Garden Supplies invests in key infrastructure with the assistance of Green Industries SA grants for specialised grinding and screening machinery. It is revolutionising the commercial composting of organic waste with innovations in place that enable it to produce and sell every year some 150,000 tonnes of high-quality compost, soil and mulch products in South Australia.