Repurpose It: 2020 Winner – Innovative Products or Services
Repurpose It is the winner in the Premier's Sustainability Awards 2020 – Innovative Products or Services category. Australian First Washing Plant
With the ambition to deliver a positive environmental outcome, Repurpose It (RPI) identified an opportunity in the construction and demolition waste sector to recover sands and aggregates from waste soil, including contaminated soil which had not been previously recycled in Australia.
Product accreditation was obtained across key stakeholder sectors including water agencies, Yarra Valley Water and City West Water, for the use of recycled sands, glass and aggregates materials. Approval was obtained from the Department of Transport to produce industry-first engineering materials that support road construction using the recovered clay from the washing process.
In 2019 RPI diverted 148,567 tonnes from landfill in its washing process and produced 141,000 tonnes of materials to substitute virgin extractive resource. Based on an independent LCA (Life Cycle Assessment), for each tonne of contaminated soil diverted from landfill and processed at the facility, 168kg of CO2-e is diverted from the atmosphere.
The relationships formed with key stakeholders has led to other partnership success stories, including RPI's remediation of the former Glass Recovery Services site in Coolaroo, where more than 50,000 tonnes of glass has since been recovered.
