Sino - Australian Mission on Integrated Solid Waste
Management - 1997
Seminar - 12 June
Workshop - 13 June
Trade Mission - 14 - 19 June
Organised By
Environment Australia
with assistance from
AusTrade and AUSTEMEX
Report Prepared By
Paul F Howlett
- President,
Waste Management Association Of Australia
and
- General Manager,
Environment Industry Development Network
Contents
Contents
Overview from Seminar, Workshop and Trade Mission
Summary of Key Issues
Summary of Areas for Collaboration
Seminar, Workshop and Trade Mission Organisation
Key Subjects Raised in Seminar and Workshops
Notes from Subsequent Meetings
Shanghai EPB - 18 June 1997
Landfill
Medical Waste
Shanghai MSWA - 19 June 1997
Landfill
Construction and Demolition Waste
Transfer Stations and Logistics
WMAA and Cleaner Production
Reliance Environmental Services Co Ltd - 18 June 1997
Construction and Demolition Waste
Hospital Cleaning
Associated Engineers Ltd - 19 June 1997
Transfer Stations
Sewage Management
Tetra Pak China -17 June 1997
Notes from Site Visits
Urban Waste Transfer Stations
Small Urban Facilities (Fig.STN.1)
Medium Sized Urban Facilities (Fig.STN.2)
Regional Facilities (Fig.STN.3)
Urban Waste Transfer Station (Fig.STN.4)
Industrial Waste Transfer Station (Fig.STN.5)
Recycling and Resource Recovery
San Lin Transfer Site
Laogang Waste Disposal Site
Nanjing Landfill Gas Utilisation Project
Areas for Further Collaboration
Integrated Waste Handling and Transfer Station Engineering
Summary of Collaboration
Background
Outline of Collaboration
Key Parties
Outcomes
Timeframes
Financing Options
Hazardous Waste Management Systems - Medical Waste Pilot
Summary of Collaboration
Background
Outline of Collaboration
Key Parties
Outcomes
Timeframes
Financing Options
Distributed Manufacturing Technologies to Utilise Recycled Materials
Summary of Collaboration
Background
Outline of Collaboration
Key Parties
Outcomes
Timeframes
Financing Options
Integrated Landfill and Horticulture Opportunities
Summary of Collaboration
Background
Outline of Collaboration
Key Parties
Outcomes
Timeframes
Financing Options
Overview from Seminar, Workshop and Trade Mission
Summary of Key Issues
The interaction and discussion which has commenced through the Seminar
and Workshop must be treated as the beginning of a long term relationship
between the two countries in the area of waste management.
There are many waste management issues in common between the two
countries. The differences which exist arise from different values, priorities
and commercial environments. These commonalities and differences provide
the starting points for collaboration between the two countries.
Development of waste management practices in Australia has occurred
through adapting overseas experiences to the unique conditions applicable in
Australia. This same model can be applied in China, and Australian
practitioners can assist in the process.
Hazardous waste management in Shanghai has been addressed from a
regulatory perspective, and treatment systems for liquid wastes are being
implemented using a liquid treatment plant and cement kiln
incineration. Medical waste is outstanding in that it has not been addressed on
a holistic basis as yet.
Selection of sites for waste management facilities presents major problems
with community concerns about potential negative impacts on environmental
amenity.
Tariffs are progressively being introduced on a user pays basis for waste
management, and even though they are quite low, regulators are concerned
about the effectiveness and impact of these tariffs and the reactions of waste
generators to increases in tariffs.
Urban solid waste has not been adequately addressed thus far and major
initiatives are planned. In particular the issues of source separation, recycling,
control of hazardous waste in urban wastes, and processing options for
residuals - landfill or incineration - are now high on the agenda both
nationally and in Shanghai.
Cleaner production is seen to be a cultural issue and will require education of
professionals at the tertiary level before the principles become used on a
widespread basis and understood in industry. Cleaner production needs to be
interpreted and implemented within the bigger context of integrated waste
management in China.
Integrated management systems are needed throughout the solid and liquid
waste sectors to enable effective programs to be implemented and
maintained.
Arising out of the seminar and workshop there appears to be a number of
areas where follow-up collaboration could be welcomed by both
parties. Meetings to be arranged during the trade mission portion of the SinoAustralian mission will test these options.
Summary of Areas for Collaboration
Integrated Waste Handling and Transfer Station Engineering - an opportunity
to build on existing Australian trade links into Shanghai in the area of solid
waste transfer station engineering, design, fabrication and installation.
Hazardous Waste Management Systems - Medical Waste Pilot - an
opportunity to work closely with the Environment Protection Bureau (EPB) of
Shanghai in developing and demonstrating an integrated medical waste
management system from within a Shanghai hospital through to the
destruction of the wastes.
Distributed Manufacturing Technologies to Utilise Recycled Materials - an
opportunity for Australia to work as a surrogate networker and clearing house
for Chinese entrepreneurs who want to establish businesses in the
manufacturing sector using recycled materials.
Integrated Landfill and Horticulture Opportunities - an opportunity to build
on existing Chinese combined landfill and horticulture activities to include
landfill mining and greenhouse growing systems.
Seminar, Workshop and Trade Mission Organisation
The Sino-Australian mission on Integrated Solid Waste Management was
organised by Environment Australia with assistance from AusTrade and
AUSTEMEX.
A one day seminar was conducted in Shanghai on Thursday 12 June followed
by a one day workshop on Friday 13 June. The seminar was intended as an
information exchange day to inform parties from each country of the solid
waste management practices that each was pursuing, and then to highlight
those issues where further discussion was warranted. The workshop was
structured to focus on those issues and seek areas where further collaboration
would be welcomed by both parties.
The Australian delegation involved in the seminar and workshop included:Dr Richard Rigby Australian Consul General, Shanghai
Mr Paul Perkins Chairman, AUSTEMEX
Deputy Chief Executive ACTEW Corporation
Mr Rob Joy Director Policy, EPA Victoria
Mr Arek Sinanian Consultant, Collex Waste Management
Mr Rod Sanderson Project Co-ordinator, Ecowise (Environmental)
Enterprises
Mr Brian Roylett Chief Executive Officer, RiskCorp Australia Pty ltd
Mr Paul Howlett President, Waste Management Association of Australia
General Manager, EIDN
Ms Kerry Smith Environment Australia
The seminar and workshop were arranged in conjunction with a trade mission
which involved detailed discussions with particular parties involved in solid
waste management and inspections of facilities, in the Shanghai and Nanjing
regions. One of the objectives of these discussions and inspections was to
refine the ideas for further collaboration which came from the seminar and
workshop, and to prepare proposals for that follow-up. The trade mission
aspect of the visit was conducted by Mr Paul Perkins and Mr Paul Howlett,
with the support of from officers of AusTrade officers from the Shanghai and
Nanjing offices, in particular Mr Alan Morrell, Mr Tang Shiming, Ms Julia
Zhu, Ms Cecelia Fan and Ms LiLi Zou.
The Chinese representatives at the seminar and workshop were arranged
through contacts in China and included participants from organisations such
as:National Environment Protection Authority (NEPA)
Shanghai Environment Protection Bureau (EPB)
Provincial EPBs (20 represented)
Shanghai Environmental Sanitation Administration Bureau (SESAB)
Academia
Industry
Consultants and Researchers
Key Subjects Raised in Seminar and Workshops
The following notes list the main areas or subjects raised during the course of
the seminar and workshop. It is not intended to report verbatim on the
proceedings, rather to capture and summarise points that were raised by the
various presenters, to provide a background setting to the discussion on areas
for possible further collaboration. These points have been roughly grouped by
subject areas for clarity.
Waste management lags considerably behind air and water management in the
implementation of China''s environmental management programs.
Integrated solid waste management, recycling and cleaner production are seen
as three key areas in solid waste where collaboration between China and
Australia would be beneficial, in addition to the current work with Australia in
water pollution.
Noise from urban infrastructure construction and traffic is a major pollution
concern.
The waste management regulations in China have been developed within a
framework based around the concepts of the Basel Convention,. and tThe
authorities are particularly targeting the movement of wastes between the
provinces, as thiswhich has been employed to avoid appropriate disposal
methods. Before waste can be transferred from Shanghai to any other
province, the transfer must be approved by the receiving province and the
Shanghai EPB must inspect the capability and capacity of the receiving
province.
Economic instruments in regulations have lagged well behind other regulatory
measures, with the result that tariffs for waste amount to around 2% of the real
cost of waste disposal. The low tariff is seen to have a negative effect on
waste management and disposal attitudes.
Waste management is divided into three main categories - industrial;
hazardous; and urban. In all categories, waste minimisation and resource
management are focal issues. Hazardous wastes are of particular importance.
National solid waste legislation was introduced in 1996.
A national solid waste register was established in 1994, and is due for
completion in 1997. This has been undertaken to provide a basis for further
work in waste management.
Shanghai is seen to be a leading centre of industrial and commercial
development in China, and is a focus for trialling and demonstrating many of
the waste management initiatives that the central government wants to see
implemented throughout the country.
Some relevant statistics for Shanghai relative to the nation as a whole are:population 13 million - 1.1% of nation
area 6340 sq km - 0.6% of nation
gross industry production 525 billion RMB - 11.9% of nation
total revenue 70 billion RMB -- 11.4% of nation
GDP in Shanghai has grown by 13 to 14% paper annum for the last several
years. Between 1978 and 1997 there has been a 4.4 fold increase in
GDP. The GDP per capita is over 18,000 RMB paper annum.
The manufacturing base in Shanghai is being moved from primary/secondary
to more secondary/tertiary. By the year 2000, the aim is for 50% of all
industry in Shanghai to be tertiary.
NEPA is looking for provincial EPBs to staff initiatives and move programs
forward.
The total solid waste generated in Shanghai in 1995 was 13.7 million tonnes,
excluding construction and demolition waste, an increase of 9.9% on 1994.
A 1993-95 World Bank survey showed that Shanghai produces 530,000 tpa of
industrial hazardous wastes of which 47% comprises acids and alkalies. The
chemicals industry produces over 60% of the industrial hazardous waste, with
the next largest producing sector accounting for only 10%. There are 1100
generators of hazardous waste spread over 39 industry sectors.
Australian consultants had previously been involved in an aid program to
develop a waste management master plan for Shanghai. The report was not
available for this mission as background information and there does not
appear to have been any substantive follow-on from that assignment.
The Norwegian Government contributed funds for a study into cement kiln
based disposal of up to 19,000 tpa of suitable industrial hazardous
wastes. The government is now going through study phases, and the
Norwegians will provide the cement kiln technology. The target date for this
facility 1998.
The British Government is funding study work in cleaner production and ISO
14000 accreditation, and it is expected that British consultants and technology
suppliers will be used to provide and implement solutions.
The government has been unsuccessful in siting a 5,000 tpa hazardous waste
landfill due to resident protest. NIMBY is common in China. This facility
was planned under US Government assistance and involves US providers in
the implementation phase. The facility was scheduled to be commissioned in
1997. Liquid industrial hazardous wastes will be solidified before landfilling.
Examples of community consultation in Australia, with engagement strategies
and management plans would be welcomed in China.
Waste exchange centres for hazardous wastes are used as part of the thrust to
reduce disposal quantities and encourage reuse. Waste exchange legislation
was introduced in 1995 with a "black list" of industrial hazardous wastes
targeted for exchange programs. Transfers through the waste exchange
involve no mandated cash transactions between the parties, but the generator
is required to pay to the exchange the equivalent of the cost of treatment, had
such treatment been required.
Management of urban solid waste is now recognised to be lagging well behind
that of other wastes, and has thus become one of the most pressing
needs. Urban waste costs are roughly split 40% disposal and 60% collection
and transport.
Shanghai currently generates approximately 8,900 tonnes per day of urban
waste.
Landfill, incineration and composting are seen as the three primary processing
and disposal options available for urban wastes. A trial with two small urban
waste incinerators will be implemented in the near future.
Urban renewal is a major development program in China, and Shanghai in
particular, generating considerable volumes of construction and demolition
debris.
Landfill gas utilisation is being experimented with in a number of provinces,
but is still in its infancy.
Greater levels of source separation for urban waste is considered desirable by
the authorities - in particular the separation of organic wastes from plastics. If
this can be achieved, then composting type operations for organics will be
possible and incineration of the inorganics becomes more viable.
Trials have been conducted with recycled plastics, involving washing and
converting them into a petroleum product - however the process creates
environmental problems through the wash water and process emissions.
Fast food packaging is becoming a problem, in particular polystyrene (white
rubbish) which is used extensively for lunch-box meals on trains and other
transport systems. Authorities are keen to find solutions to the polystyrene
problem, and are investigating the greater use of biodegradable plastics.
Some difficulties are being experienced with the management and control of
medical wastes. Shanghai EPB has placed medical waste at the top of their
list of hazardous wastes for attention. In particular they need practices and
management systems for the hospitals', transport and disposal of medical
wastes.
There are very few medical waste disposal operations that are
approved. Medical waste is commonly mixed with general waste from
hospitals and may end up in either the industrial waste stream or the urban
waste stream. At those hospitals which do incinerate their medical waste,
operations and regulation of facilities is seen to be problematic.
Radioactive waste arises through medical applications, research, mining
wastes, and radioactive materials smuggled into the country. Mining
companies producing radioactive materials are responsible for their own
wastes, but risks associated with transport and spills are not adequately
provided for in current regulations.
The degree of line responsibility and accountability appears blurred, with
strict penalties for managers and workers directly involved in wrong doing but no corporate responsibility by directors for the acts of employees.
Mine rehabilitation in Sanxi Province is a problem, with surface subsidence
and coal reject dumps causing local difficulties. The region produces some
300 million tpa of coal and 30 million tpa of wastes. Underground backfilling
has been tried using mixtures of fly ash and coal rejects, but the process was
too expensive. The problem is an "orphan problem" in many instances.
Notes from Subsequent Meetings
Shanghai EPB - 18 June 1997
Present : Ms Lu Shuping - Director, Shanghai Municipal Bureau of
Environmental Protection (EPB)
Mr Qiu Xin Yan - Deputy Chief, Shanghai Municipal Bureau of
Environmental Protection, Co-Operation Department
- Deputy Director, World Bank, China-Shanghai
Environment Project Office
Mr Alan Morell - Trade Commissioner, AusTrade, Shanghai
Ms Julia Zhu - Business Development Manager, AusTrade, Shanghai
Mr Paul Perkins - Chairman, AUSTEMEX
- Deputy Chief Executive, ACTEW
Mr Paul Howlett - President, WMAA
- General Manager, EIDN
There are four main areas of interest for the Shanghai EPB:The Shanghai Waste Management Master Plan was completed some time ago
by Australian consultants under one of the aid programs, but there was no
follow up on that work. The Shanghai EPB is familiar with Australian waste
management practices and is pleased to see this re-establishment of contact
with Australia initiated by Environment Australia and AusTrade . The EPB
has identified waste management as a major area for work, they have
allocated money and resources to the area and have held discussions with
many players. To date the discussions have been somewhat superficial and
the EPB is keen to enter serious talks and get programs moving.
Manufacture of environmental instrumentation in China is a priority and the
EPB is supportive of the ACTEW initiative.
Wastewater treatment and water pollution eradication in Shanghai need
greater attention in the small to medium sized operations plant capacity.
Air pollution involving the treatment of SOx and NOx at source, reducing
vehicle emissions and eliminating CFC discharges are the main concerns.
Landfill
Shanghai Environmental Sanitation Administration Bureau (SESAB) is
responsible for urban waste management, whilst the EPB has responsibility
for industrial and hazardous wastes. Shanghai has three sites where urban
waste is deposited, two of which will be closed in the near term, leaving
Laogang as the only site.
EPB would be very interested to be involved in any projects which:increased source separation of urban waste;
stimulated the market demand for recyclables in high value added products;
extended the life expectancy of the Laogang landfill; and
improved the combustibility of urban waste.
Medical Waste
The main sources of waste included under the term "medical waste" are
hospitals and pharmaceutical manufacturers. At present, medical wastes are
classified as Special Wastes and there are no formal systems in place for
managing them.
Over 20,000 tpa of pharmaceutical wastes are generated in Shanghai. These
are either incinerated or sent to landfill, while most wastes of a bio-medical
nature are mixed with general hospital wastes and sent to landfill.
Medical waste management systems are of particular interest, starting with
cleaner production philosophies at the source, separation of real bio-medical
wastes from general waste in hospitals, maintenance of infection control
protocols through the documentation, tracking and appropriate disposal.
On the disposal side of medical waste, EPB is only aware of landfill and
incineration options; they have not seen or become aware of other
technologies that are used in Australia such as autoclave, microwave or
chemical disinfection.
Most existing old hospitals do not have on-site treatment capacity or space for
proper waste segregation and storage; a number of new hospitals have on-site
facilities but these are poorly utilised and managed.
Aqueous wastes generated at hospitals pose some problems due to poor source
separation from other wastewater. Some aqueous wastes are treated with UV
prior to discharge to sewer, but this is not particularly satisfactory.
The EPB is very keen to foster exchange of ideas on medical waste
management in the short term, leading to a pilot demonstration in the medium
term at a selected Shanghai hospital.
Shanghai MSWA - 19 June 1997
Present : Mr Wang Jin Zhong - Director, Shanghai Municipal Solid Waste
Administration
(SMSWA)
- Director, Shanghai Motor Vehicle Scrub Administration
(SMVSA)
- Director, Shanghai Architectural Waste Administration
(SAWA)
Mr Zhu Hong - Deputy Director, SMSWA
- Deputy Director, SMVSA
- Deputy Director SAWA
Mr Deng - Deputy Director of Unit
Mr Zhu - Deputy Director of Office
Mr Zheng - Technology Promotion
Mr Li - Manager, Construction Waste Division
Mr Ma - Manager, Urban Waste Division
Mr Tang Shiming - Business Development Manager, AusTrade, Shanghai
Mr Paul Howlett - President, WMAA
- General Manager, EIDN
The unit headed by Mr Wang has three divisions which are being merged into
one unit. The three divisions are:solid waste administration,
building and demolition waste administration, and
truck cleaning administration.
This is part of the restructuring of Shanghai Environmental Sanitation
Administration Bureau (SESAB).
The subject areas covered during the meeting were:landfill regeneration;
construction and demolition waste;
transfer stations, recycling, logistics;
WMAA; and
source control, cleaner production.
Landfill
Mr Deng has looked at concepts of landfill mining some 10 years ago, as a
means of extending the life of Shanghai landfills. He felt that after biodegrading a large proportion of the waste would be a valuable growing
medium for plants.
SMSWA is interested in the concepts outlined in the possible area for further
collaboration relating to landfill regeneration and horticulture activities. They
would welcome ideas and collaboration.
Construction and Demolition Waste
In 1996 there were some 20,000 construction sites in Shanghai which
generated a total of 18 million tonnes of waste in that year. The average daily
rate for Shangahi was 40,000 tpdtonnes, and this peaked at around 60,000
tpdtonnes per day during the busy construction periods.
There are three types of waste in this sector, each managed differently:Slurry - excavated material from near surface foundations, which is
transported by barge for disposal in the South China Sea for land reclamation;
Yellow Soil - excavated material which is a soil and is used to build elevated
gardens and beds for agriculture. This soil is a good fertile growing medium
and is probably typical delta alluvium which has been dewatered/drained;
Construction Waste - from buildings and house demolition work. This is
generally used as a low grade fill material without crushing, to raise low lying
areas.
There are municipal regulations governing the handling of these
wastes; builders must register their projects through the division; approval is
required for both the removal contractor, who must also be registered, and the
disposal site/method. The disposal approval also includes approval of truck
haulage routes. Much of the demolition and hauling work is conducted at
night making policing of compliance very difficult.
Where large volumes of concrete are involved in a demolition project, the
concrete is often crushed and recycled into new concrete products. Some
demolition rubble is being used at the new Pudong International Airport site,
including runway preparation, but there does not appear to be conventional
crushing and screening of this material.
Transfer Stations and Logistics
The current plan for the Municipality is to go to compactor collection trucks,
compaction transfer stations, compaction into containers and long haul road
transport to Laogang Landfill. However, this plan will require a major capital
investment program, for which there are no funds, so for now they will only
trial the system on a pilot basis.
The rationale behind road transport, as opposed to the present barge transport,
is based on:a desire for flexibility to haul waste to either one of the two (future)
incinerators, or the Laogang Landfill;
a desire to clean up the canals where transfer stations are located; and
a desire for efficient waste unloading at the Laogang Landfill tipping face.
It is felt that with integrated tractor/trailer container units with integral
unloading rams, the unloading at the landfill will be easier.
The proposed incinerators will have a capacity of 1,000 tpd each and will be
located in Pudong and Shanghai. These are intended as pilot units only, and
the balance of Shanghai's urban waste (7,000 tpd) will continue to go to
Laogang. To keep the incinerators self sufficient with respect to energy, the
urban waste will be streamed in an effort to extract the high calorific value
waste. Given the composition of urban waste, it is expected that landfill will
remain the main disposal option, and that the incineration option will become
too expensive in comparison with landfill.
Perhaps the main priority of the Municipality is to clean up the canals,
possibly for tourist activities, and the urban waste transfer stations pose a
continuing pollution problem to the canals. It is planned to demolish the canal
side facilities and relocate them away from the waterways in locations which
are suitable for larger transfer stations and long haul vehicles. The existing
transfer station system and barge haulage method is perceived to be small
scale, inefficient, and too fragmented. The Municipality would like to see
concentration of effort into critical mass systems. The barges are seen to be
an old and traditional approach to transport and rather primitive,. and tThey
feel motivated, by this, to move towards road haul systems.
The relative merits of barge and road haul have been talked about over the
past ten years within SMSWA. Problems typically raised are associated
with:loading and unloading containers at each end of the haul are seen to exist with
the barges;
running container trucks on the uncompacted landfill is a problem;
existing transfer stations have very tight space limitations so design will be a
problem.
During the discussion the following alternative views and options were put
forward and received favourably by the management of SMSWA, and some
of these issues could be worth incorporating in any future collaboration work:the environmental impact of barges can be much lower that that of road
haulage vehicles (noise, exhaust emissions, traffic congestion, community
amenity etc);
the pollution problems of existing transfer stations (noise, odour, spillage into
the canals) are more related to design, operations and management, than they
are to the location of the stations;
most urban waste collections are carried out via small trucks and small rollon-roll-off bins, which are compatible with narrow streets and high density of
residential living in Shanghai;
small collection vehicles are not suitable for medium length haul distances to
a few large scale transfer stations, they require short haul to local stations for
best collection economics;
the estimated cost of the preferred system with large regional transfer stations
and road haulage, is too high and unlikely to be affordable;
the concept of improving designs and efficiencies with the current system has
a lot of appeal.
An outcome from this last phase of the discussions was the SMSWA would
welcome a collaborative effort between Australia and SMSWA to investigate
transfer station design options, upgrade options for existing transfer stations,
logistics issues relating to short haul collection vehicles and barges compared
with the long haul option.
WMAA and Cleaner Production
Discussion on the Waste Management Association of Australia and the issue
of source reduction and cleaner production was delayed and proceeded over a
meal period. These discussions were more informal and explored areas of
common interest. The managers of SMSWA are interested in involvement in
professional associations relating to solid waste management, and this will be
initiated through WMAA.
On the subject of source separation and cleaner production, there appeared to
be a perception that the management of urban waste and recycling in Shanghai
was significantly inferior to that in countries like Australia. This perception is
driven by a desire for state of the art technologies, best practice and adoption
of solutions seen in other countries. Given the very high level of recycling
observed, through both formal and informal systems, and the observed
composition of the waste at landfills, it is likely that the perceptions are
founded on mixed values between two cultures, and therefore not entirely
valid.
It is likely that enhancements to current systems, rather that wholesale
adoption of our system, will produce a superior result. In addition,
developments in Australian and other similar countries, has followed a
philosophy of large scale centralised management infrastructure systems eg: water and sewage. Even in cities the size of Melbourne and Sydney, this
centralised approach to infrastructure is showing signs of breaking down and
the alternative approach of adopting decentralised systems is slowly being
explored. For a city the size of Shanghai distributed/decentralised
infrastructure is more likely to be successful and should be encouraged. The
current waste management system in Shanghai is already decentralised in
approach, reversing this to a centralised system couldcold create major
problems and inefficiencies. This is an area where closer collaboration may
be beneficial.
Reliance Environmental Services Co Ltd - 18 June 1997
Present : Mr Johnny M C Tsang - General Manager, Reliance Environmental
Services Co Ltd
Mr Paul Howlett - President, WMAA
- General Manager, EIDN
The meeting involved discussion in the offices of Reliance, plus visits to San
Lin Transfer Area, and two small canal side transfer stations in Pudong. The
issues raised during the site visits are covered elsewhere in this report under
Notes from Site Visits.
Construction and Demolition Waste
The majority of this material is moved at night, so enforcement of regulations
is less that adequate. Most of the valuable recoverables are scavenged at the
site before the material is loaded out. The commercial arrangements for the
scavenging vary, from the demolition contractor taking the proceeds to offset
costs, through to outright theft of resources.
A major portion of the construction and demolition waste is destined for the
new Pudong International Airport construction; however, it appears that there
is a large degree of illegal dumping.
Hospital Cleaning
Currently all wastes from hospitals go into the general waste stream mixed
together. If there is any source separation, it is destroyed through the system
which does not allow for separate handling.
Most hospitals do their own cleaning in-house, plus their own waste
management. No special measures are taken in cleaning, over and above
normal office cleaning standards, equipment and systems; in waste
management there is no attempt to keep wastes segregated. The money
allocated to cleaning and waste management is considered to be
approximately half of what should be expended.
In addition to this poor resourcing, there is a poor appreciation in hospitals of
the importance of cleaning and waste management in health hazard
management.
Previous contact with hospital administrators has indicated that outsourcing of
cleaning and waste management is not common in Shanghai.
Associated Engineers Ltd - 19 June 1997
Present : Mr Frank Pan - Supervisor Environmental Engineering and
Industrial
Equipment, Associated Engineers Ltd, Shanghai (AEL)
Mr Paul Howlett - President, WMAA
- General Manager, EIDN
Transfer Stations
AEL own an Australian subsidiary - Ground Support Engineering Pty Ltd
(GSE) who have supplied waste transfer station steel, hydraulics, pits and
compactors to Waste Service NSW and others in Australia.
Through GSE, AEL have been successful in tendering to a district authority
for urban waste packers, push pits, trailers and a weighbridge station. The
contract will commence in July 1997 and is one of four such transfer stations
to be ordered in the near future. The capacity of the remaining three will be
800 to 1,000 tpd.
AEL want to expand the capabilities they can source from Australia in the
supply of systems, design and hardware, but theythat are not interested in
operations.
Sewage Management
Most old buildings in Shanghai have large underground storage tanks for
sewage - there being no centralised sewage system in large parts of
Shanghai. These are pumped out once or twice per month and carted by
tanker to canal side urban waste transfer stations where the sewage is
transferred to barges for disposal on farms. The plan of the Municipality in
each district, is to install small 400 to 800 tpd capacity treatment plants at the
transfer stations to process the sewage.
The authorities are interested in appropriately sized plants, which produce a
dewatered sludge. The effluent is to be of a quality suitable for discharge to
the river and the sludge to be transferred to farms or landfills.
Initially, plants would be supplied to two or three stations then manufactured
locally. In due course retro-fit of plants at the buildings could be a
possibility. Other overseas suppliers are providing such plants into new hotels
that area being constructed, but none as yet have been supplied to municipal
or district authorities.
Tetra Pak China -17 June 1997
Present : Mr Hong Gang - Business Development Manager, and
- Public Affairs Manager, Tetra Pak, China
Mr Paul Howlett - President, WMAA
- General Manager, EIDN
Mr Hong Gang made a presentation on Tetra Pak's environmental program
"Green East", presented information on a product manufactured from waste
liquidpaperboard, and hosted a visit to a manufacturer of composite cans, also
made from waste liquidpaperboard.
Mr Hong Gang was of the view that recycling and reuse of old items is
culturally accepted in China and that there are no psychological barriers to
reuse. There is an old Chinese saying, which roughly translated is "repairing
used things and making good out of waste" (Xin Jin Li Fei), which he believes
is typical of an underlying frugal nature. Whilst economics is a prime
motivator for this attitude, a growing awareness in resource limitations is
progressively driving government initiatives.
In China there is a very large market for reuse of materials and recycling,
because of the dynamics of the economy. Key features include:a large class of people, under resourced, underemployed, unskilled and living
a subsistence life. These people supply very low cost labour ionto markets for
jobs such as scavenging, recycling, cleaning etc; and they equally constitute a
large market for the reuse of old resources which have been discarded. These
people provide recovered resources to on-sellers at very low cost and purchase
recovered resources at the lower end of the cost scale;
the conversion of recovered resources into reusable products (through repair
etc) or through reprocessing (such as value added manufacture) can be
achieved at a relatively low input cost, especially labour and materials;
the markets for competitively priced locally manufactured goods are very
large compared with imported alternatives which require foreign currency and
usually have higher prices;
virgin resources are invariably more expensive that recovered resources and
are often imported.
Coupled with this are the acceptability of reuse options and the
entrepreneurial business initiative, which is prolific in China. These forces
combine to make trading in value added manufactured goods using recovered
resources, a very profitable business.
Tetra Pak China has been acting as a facilitator to encourage one Shanghai
based manufacturer to invest in manufacturing operations which utilise waste
liquidpaperboard. At the facility visited outside of Shanghai, the factory was
making composite cans from reject liquidpaperboard purchased from Tetra
Pak. The plant employed some 20 people, had an estimated turnover of
$A 4 million and it was expected that a 25% net profit would be
generated. At present this plant is using manufacturing reject material from
Tetra Pak, however, they are planning to move into recycled liquidpaperboard
product.
Another project championed by Tetra Pak China is the manufacture of a board
product from recycled liquidpaperboard, traded under the name
"Chiptec". The factory manufacturing this product is located outside of the
Shanghai area and could not be visited. The board rivals an equivalent
product developed through Tetra Pak in Germany, but is put on the market at
a far more competitive price than the German product. The manufacturers of
this board are looking for applications which have a higher value added
component than sheet building board, and are pursuing moulding applications
which could challenge some plastic and fibreglass applications.
The economics of manufacturing Chiptec in China coupled with high value
added applications, makes it almost economical to consider exporting recycled
liquidpaperboard from Australia to be used in this process.
Mr Hong Gang referred to the recent closure of 10,000 small paper pulping
plants around China. These plants were small family businesses employing
typically less that 10 people and indicative of the scale that small distributed
manufacturing can reach in China. The plants were closed because of very
poor environmental performance, and it would appear that the operators were
not able to source replacement clean technologies - hence they were closed
down.
The company manufacturing the composite cans had been confronted by
another problem faced by other Chinese manufacturers, regarding
technology. In this case, imported German manufacturing equipment was
found to be too costly, both in capital and operating costs, too complex to
operate, difficult to maintain and almost impossible to acquire spare
parts. The owner of the business designed and made his own manufacturing
equipment, which was more appropriate technologically for the circumstances
and only 10% of the cost of the imported technology.
It appears that small manufacturing opportunities, using recovered resources
are being held back by a few impediments, which typically include:a lack of knowledge about how opportunities can be realised. That is, the
market situation is well known, but the availability of manufacturing
technology and products is very limited; and
a lack of access to small capital to start up small manufacturing operations.
These two issues are symptomatic of a low level of communication and
networking from China to the outside world. In many instances the
technology and funds pouring into China are at the very big end of the market
and completely bypass the small entrepreneurs, where some real business
acumen and potential exists.
Notes from Site Visits
Urban Waste Transfer Stations
Small Urban Facilities (Fig.STN.1)
Servicing a group of residential apartments is Shanghai with mobile garbage
bins (MBGs), the municipality and the local community manage a series of
small facilities which enclose up to six 300 litre MGBs. These units are clean,
tiled, locked and free of odour and vermin. They are operated under very
strict community protocols including fixed opening hours in the mornings and
evenings, and policingpoliced by a senior resident. The bins are emptied daily
and a six bin facility would service approximately 150 to 200 units.
These facilities are built by the municipal authorities and serviced by them
with collections using small non-compaction trucks.
Medium Sized Urban Facilities (Fig.STN.2)
The municipality provides medium sized facilities at some residential
locations, where space is available. In this instance a building suitable for
housing up to 30 MGBs of 300 litre capacity is shown. This facility is
designed to service up to 1,200 residential properties, catering for some 4,000
residents.
Similarly to the smaller urban units, these transfer stations are very clean and
orderly, well run and with strictly enforced protocols by community
groups. There was no litter and no illegal dumping, despite the strict and
limited operating hours. As with the other residential facilities, these bins are
emptied on a daily basis by municipality staff.
For clusters of residential buildings where fixed facilities are not possible
front-lift and roll-on-roll-off bins of up to three cubic metre capacity are used
for urban waste (see Fig.STN.3 for typical mobile bins). As with other
services, these are collected daily.
Regional Facilities (Fig.STN.3)
Shanghai Environmental Sanitation Administration Bureau (SESAB) and
various district authorities, are responsible for operating up to ten10 regional
urban waste transfer stations around Shanghai and Pudong. A number of
these stations serve a dual purpose and also act as transfer stations for sewage
tankers serving pump- out tanks for residential buildings.
Situated along various canals in the region, these facilities are located right in
the middle of residential precincts and are sited on very small parcels of
land. Vehicles enter the site, rarely using the weighbridge facility, and
proceed to discharge their load directly into waiting barges. Once unloaded
the vehicles leave the site immediately. There is generally insufficient space
for vehicle turning, let alone parking, recycling or scavenging.
The sites inspected were relatively clean and tidy, however there was ample
evidence of long term spillage of waste into the canals judging by the odour,
colour and bubbles breaking the surface of the water.
Typically these transfer stations handle up to 1,000 tpd of urban waste. If the
proposed compaction and long haul road transport system is eventually
implemented, then this type of transfer station will be discontinued.
Urban Waste Transfer Station (Fig.STN.4)
The facility visited in this figure is operated by private sector contractors in a
commercial venture with SESAB. It handles around 1,000 tpd of urban waste
and smaller quantities of construction/demolition waste and
industrial/commercial waste. This facility accommodated scavenging prior to
wastes being loaded out to bargees on the adjacent canal, and is the only one
of its kind in Pudong.
Waste is typically dumped directly onto the ground and sorted through by
hand. It may remain on the ground for up to 48 hours while sorting proceeds,
and is then loaded out by front end loader into barges. It is guesstimated that
the scavenging may recover 5% of the waste.
Industrial Waste Transfer Station (Fig.STN.5)
This is a privately operated transfer station for specialised industrial wastes in
the Pudong area. In this instance the wastes are predominantly derived from
the ship building industry.
Some 10 to 15 tpd comes into the site and up to 10 tpd is removed from the
site as waste to the adjacent municipal transfer station shown in Fig.STN.4.
Workers at this site are paid much the same as scavengers at other sites,
around $A 15 per month, which is about 20% of the wage paid to a factory
worker or office cleaner.
The recovered resources appeared to be relatively high in value compared
with those from urban wastes, and the company employing the scavengers at
this industrial site, pays a similar scavenging rights fee, as that paid at the
urban waste site, of around $A 7,000 pa.
Recycling and Resource Recovery
The composition of urban waste going to landfill is greater than 50% organics
and possibly as high as 30% plastics (mainly film plastic). However,
consumers do use large amounts of containers, paper, packaging and other
luxury goods which do not report at the landfill.
Despite comments from various authorities, source recycling and recovery of
resources along the waste transport path, does occur. The recovery of
commodities is what accounts for the waste composition seen on the various
inspections - and from the San Lin visit, it would appear that this trend has
been much the same for many years.
Formal recycling in urban areas is typified by the Saturday morning
recyclables purchasing arrangements common in many areas
(Fig.REC.1). Here, sole traders purchase from households small quantities of
paper, cardboard and various metal, plastic and glass containers. Paper and
cardboard is purchased from residents on a weight basis, while containers are
purchased on a per unit basis. The recovered resources are bundled and onsold to secondary buyers who stockpile the materials in shops until sufficient
quantity is accumulated to sell to bulk buyers and/or reprocessors.
Around the streets, other formal purchasing systems are in place for
recyclables using various conveyances to collect and transport to secondary
buyers (Fig.REC.2).
In local community market areas there is ample evidence of the very high
level of resource recovery and reuse when it comes to electrical goods,
furniture, items of hardware, clothing and other household articles. Specialist
stores stock goods for reuse, repairing items where possible or using them for
component parts where not. This appears to be a very organised and
formalised high level of reuse.
At some urban waste transfer stations, less formal recycling systems are
employed, with scavengers pouring through dumped piles of urban waste
(Fig.REC.3). These operators recover from the urban waste resources which
residential waste generators did not remove for Saturday resale, including
used aluminium foil and used polystyrene lunchboxes. The "scavenging
company" working at this particular transfer station is reportedly paying
around $A 7,000 pa for the right to collect resources and workers are paid
around $A 15 per month.
At the third Shanghai landfill site, Jiangzhen, it was reported that the
scavenging activities were highly organised, with long lines of pickers along
conveyor belts. The scavenging company reportedly pays in the vicinity of
$A 100,000 pa for these scavenging rights.
At the San Lin Transfer Site scavenging was highly organised (Fig.SAN.3 and
Fig.SAN.4) and presumably the scavenging teams pay for their scavenging
rights as well.
However, at municipal and district transfer stations along the Shanghai canals
scavenging was not possible, and also prevented at Laogang Landfill
site. With the eventual introduction of compactor trucks, combined with the
prohibition of scavenging atand Laogang, post consumer recovery of
resources via scavenging will be eliminated and potential resources will be
lost to landfill unless greater levels of consumer resource recovery arein
achieved.
San Lin Transfer Site
The San Lin transfer site was visited on Wednesday 18 June 1997 with the
Shanghai manager of Reliance Environmental Services, an engineer from
Reliance - a former employee of the Shanghai Environmental Sanitation
Administration Bureau, and Paul Howlett from Australia.
San Lin is a transfer site for waste which was established over 20 years ago as
an intermediate storage site in the dock area of Pudong to buffer waste
moving between Shanghai and the landfill sites (Fig.SAN.1). Waste was
delivered to the site by barge, unloaded by a cactus grab on a mobile crane,
and transferred onto the site via a string of relocatable conveyors. There are
now two large mounds of waste, separated by a small canal, estimated to
contain some 500,000 m3cubic metres of waste each. The site ceased to be
used as a transfer facility in the late 1980s and plans are being formulated to
clean the site up given its very close proximity to a major prestigious bridge
which is to be opened in the coming months.
The stockpiled waste is uncompacted and substantially biodegraded with very
little remaining odour. The waste is characteristic of other urban wastes seen
in Shanghai, and after five to ten years on the site is degraded to a soil like
material with large quantities of plastic film
(Fig.SAN.2).
In the 1980s, recovery of the waste was attempted via excavation and a
screening trommel to remove the degraded organics, mix it with a local clay
and manufacture bricks (Fig.SAN.2). The State owned brickmaking
enterprise operated for some four and a half years with a manufacturing
capacity of 10,000 bricks per day. The bricks were lightly fired and used
predominantly in construction of walls for low rise residential buildings. It
was reported that the bricks had been tested and proven the have a load
bearing capacity (lying flat) sufficient to construct a six-storey
complex. Brick making costs were said to have been RMB 0.60 per unit and
the selling price was RMB 0.40 each. The plant closed in the early 1990s.
The San Lin site still receives small amounts of waste generated from ships
using the Pudong docks and from river clean up programs. One conveyor line
is used to manage this waste (Fig.SAN.3) and hand picking scavenging is
employed along the conveyors - possibly up to 30 people. The scavenging is
also on-going all over the old pile of waste and the recovered resources are
either loaded out directly onto barges or stowed in adjacent streets, where the
scavenging crews live, for resale to intermediate commodity traders
(Fig.SAN.4).
Waste mining has recommenced recently as part of the project for
rehabilitating the site
(Fig.SAN.5). The area that was inspected had been recently excavated and
presented no noxious odours. The excavated face stood near vertically for
over ten metres without signs of slumping, indicating a high degree of
degradation of the organics and draining of most of the free liquid. These
excavations are currently only trials, testing the issues associated with
relocating the waste to landfills at Jiangzhen (soon to be closed due to its
proximity to the new Pudong International Airport) and Laogang, the main
landfill site for Shanghai.
The mined waste is loaded out onto barges for transport to the landfills, where
it is being tested as a possible intermediate cover material. The San Lin site
provides an excellent opportunity to test a number of concepts associated with
landfill mining discussed in the section of this report dealing with areas for
future collaboration under the heading "Integrated Landfill and Horticulture
Opportunities". Initial trials could be carried out at San Lin with screening of
the waste, after recovery by mining, to get a soil fraction and a residual
inorganic fraction. From inspection of the degraded wastes in-situ at San Lin,
the soil fraction could provide a very fertile growing medium, while the
inorganics could be a high calorific value energy source. The San Lin site is
scheduled for clean-up and such trials would not create any environmental
downsides greater that those associated with the clean-up itself. If the trials
proved successful, then the plan for establishing a more permanent
arrangement would depend on where the soil and RDF (refuse derived fuel
(RDF) ) fractions were destined to be transported and used.
Laogang Waste Disposal Site
The Laogang Landfill was visited on Monday 16 June 1997 with Alan Morrell
and Julia Zhu of AusTrade and Paul Howlett from Australia.
The Shanghai Laogang Waste Disposal Site is operated under the control of
the Shanghai Environmental Sanitation Administration Bureau (SESAB). It is
located south east of Shanghai on the coast of the East China Sea and is a
landfill operation based on reclamation of land space from the sea via a series
of dams and dykes. The site covers a total surface area of some four square
kilometres (approx 4 km long by 1 km wide) and has been in operation since
1990, after a five year preparation and development period. The initial
receival capacity was 3,000 tpd; this has been increased to 6,000 tpd nominal
capacity, however actual receivals in summer reach up to 7,500 tpd; with the
opening of the second fill area the receival capacity will eventually be
expanded to
9,000 tpd.
Laogang is one of three sites which received urban waste from
Shanghai. With the closure of San Lin and the imminent closure of
Jiangzhen, for the Pudong International Airport, the final expansion of
Laogang will be essential to cope with the current total urban waste arisings
of
8,900 tpd.
The site is situated in an estuarine environment, and despite involving
reclamations of sea floor, the immediate surrounding waters are
predominantly fresh to brackish, owing to the significant water flow from the
Yangtze delta area. The site is formed over delta alluvium in an area covered
with dense, lush water reeds. Access to the site for waste is entirely via water
borne vehicles direct from Shanghai, through a series of canals, then the
EastSouth China Sea (Fig.LAO.1)
The reclamation is achieved through the construction of major dam walls
which define the boundary of the site and cut off the sea from the area to be
reclaimed. These dam walls are trapezoidal in shape with a height of four
metres above the sea bed, a top width of seven metres and a base twentyseven metres wide. On the seaward face these main boundary dam walls are
rock reinforced, and concrete roadways are constructed on these for
permanent access around the site (Fig.LAO.2).
The enclosed area is divided into cells, each 400 metres by 120 metres, with
space for partitioning bund or dyke walls between cells. In all, there will be
48 of these cells within the current design limits of the site. With each cell
having a volume of approximately 200,000 cubic metres, the total site has a
capacity of some 10 million cubic metres of in-situ waste space.
Waste is brought to the site in barges, direct from transfer stations in
Shanghai. Barges have capacities ranging from 55t to 200t and take up to 48
hours for a round trip. At the Laogang site barges are unloaded with mobile
crane mounted cactus grabs (Fig.LAO.1) and the waste is loaded directly into
trucks for on-site distribution of the waste to cells. There are two barge
unloading areas and in excess of 25 mobile cranes on the dock side.
Cells are first excavated to the design depth by removing silts and alluvium,
which is set aside to drain naturally and then used for final cover
material. Leachate pumping wells and gas drainage wells are constructed, and
filling commences (Fig.LAO.2). No intermediate cover is used and waste is
only compacted through the passage of bulldozers and trucks over the waste
during filling operations. The whole site is run without any scavenging, or
any opportunity for scavenging.
During filling, no intermediate cover is used, and operations only occur in
daylight hours, every day of the year. On completion, cells are covered with
silt and alluvium material from the excavation of an adjacent cell and
vegetation is planted in the top dressing material. The operators of the site, a
part of SESAB, have conducted extensive experiments with various crop
species, with both edible and non-edible products. Currently the most
favoured crop is cotton, and completed cells are leased out to self-employed
farmers who live on the site and harvest the cotton (Fig.LAO.3). Cotton
provides an annual yield and financial return for both the farmers and the site
operators.
The landfill cells are only four meters deep, so gas generation is small and
generally not of commercial value. Through gas drainage wells and the single
leachate well, sufficient gas is removed from the fill such that crop roots are
not affected by gas migration. Fig.LAO.4 shows the view from the seaward
dam at the position of the central access road. The lower view shows
completed cells under crop cultivation, whilst the top view shows the area for
future expansion, behind the sea wall dam, as yet unexcavated but partially
filled with rain water and water reeds.
Leachate at the site is pumped from cells into large treatment ponds which
occupy the central position in each of the two halves of the site. Treatment is
via chemical dosing and aeration, followed by prolonged drainage through
water reed beds (Fig.LAO.5). Initially the effluent is retained on site in
artificial wetlands andthe eventually released seaward through further
extensive reed beds. The reed beds are harvested annually and sold for paper
manufacture - water reeds being a major source of paper in China.
Monitoring at the site is an on-going exercise, both for quality of effluent
leaving the site and movement of subsurface groundwater. Experiments are
underway with synthetic liners for cells; however the main reason for this
was said to be to enable the size of intermediate bund walls to be reduced by
50%, rather thant as additional protection against leachate
migration. Research is continuing with crops on completed cells and with a
plasticised spray which could be used as an intermediate cover to reduce fly
problems and odours.
The Laogang site is very well run and very innovative. The operators at the
site are continually seeking to improve their operations. The concepts
outlined in the suggested area for further collaboration entitled "Integrated
Landfill and Horticulture Opportunities" were discussed with the management
at Laogang, the SESAB management and the Shanghai EPB, and all parties
agreed that the prospects forof lengthening the life of the site coupled with
greater horticultural returns, would be worth pursuing.
Nanjing Landfill Gas Utilisation Project
The Nanjing Landfill site was inspected on Sunday 15 June 1997 by AusTrade
representatives from Shanghai (Alan Morrell) and Nanjing (Cecelia Fan and
LiLi Zou) with Paul Perkins and Paul Howlett from Australia. The visit
followed an AusTrade brief which was prepared to alert potential Australian
pProviders to the project (see attached briefing note).
The site is reasonably well located, based on surface topography, in an open
sided valley (Fig.NAN.1). It falls within a large catchment area and runoff
could easily increase leachate management problems if stormwater separation
cannot be achieved. The site covers some 34 ha on rural and agricultural land
and drainage is away from the landfill site towards a river less that 2 km
distant to the right hand side of the photograph.
Approximately one million tonnes of waste has been emplaced at the site in a
bench style construction off a natural ground fall near the top of a saddle
which forms one boundary of the catchment. Trucks run over the waste to tip
face areas and tip back from the face to allow scavenging prior to dozing of
waste over the face edge. The equivalent of Cat. D7 bulldozers are used to
move waste and there is no separate compaction. Daily cover is not used, but
a thin cover layer - say 300mm - of local clay/soil is used once the platform
reaches the desired height, and this is progressively built out as the face
advances on a circular front.
The waste entering the site is all urban waste and its composition is typical of
that seen throughout Shanghai, and said to be common for most of China
(Fig.NAN.2). The organic content exceeds 50% and average moisture of the
waste in over 10%. Polystyrene and plastic film are prolific in the waste, with
the former being the major contributor to wind blown litter. By the time the
waste reaches the landfill site the bulk of recoverable resources have been
removed.
Scavenging for residuals is run by a team of up to twenty people who live on
the site. Typical recoverables are glass, metal, PET,
paper/cardboard. Recoverables are bundled/bagged and temporarily stored on
the site. Two or three fires were smouldering in the face and on the top
platform at the time (Fig.NAN.2).
Gas drainage wells have been constructed and at the surface and appear to be
a 1.2 m diameter concrete rendered, brick constructed pipe (of unknown
length) with a 50 mm capped stand pipe (Fig.NAN.3). It was said that the
main gas drainage pipe was 300mm (not PVC) and extended from the bottom
of the fill to the stand pipe. When the standpipe cap was removed there was
not a lot of gas issuing from the pipe. The pipe was reported to be unslotted. With no daily cover, no compaction and a large open advancing face
it is not unreasonable that there was very little gas making it through the
standpipe. There were possibly three drainage wells in place. The openness
of the face was said to be to prevent gas build-up and avoid enclosure of fires
which might burn into the waste mass.
Leachate was collected at the foot of the tipping face and drained away by
gravity to a collection pond (Fig.NAN.1). It was then transferred to a more
permanent leachate dam from which it was pumped through a small chemical
dosing plant where FeCl2 was added and the cleared effluent discharged into
the local water drainage system - being drawn into rice paddies en-route to the
river. Analytical results of water tests before and after treatment appeared
reasonable. There did not appear to be any significant groundwater
monitoring downstream from the site.
A feasibility study report for the World Bank is due for completion in July
1997 on the gas drainage and utilisation potential. The proponents, and the
Nanjing EPB (Mr Lee) are looking for capital equity to install the gas
drainage and electricity generation, this is estimated at around
$US 4 million (see AusTrade briefing note).
At the meeting, data on gas yields, quality and electricity purchase price were
not provided, and only a vague indication of incoming waste was given at
around 1,000tpd. The weighbridge did not appear to be in use. It was said
that the State owned electricity company valued electricity from such sources
and would pay a premium for the power. The possibility of using the gas at
nearby brickworks (less that 1km away) was dismissed, because it was run by
a different authority and there was no guarantee as to the life of the
brickworks. The brickworks appeared to be at least over +50 years old and
used coal for energy.
Subsequent discussions with a private consultant, who has looked at the
project previously, revealed that a letter of intent existed between a Canadian
company and the project proponents - but this was possibly 18 to 24 months
old.
Before proceeding any further, it will be essential to review the feasibility
study. In addition, any company taking commercial risk on gas drainage and
utilisation will need to insist on having significant input to and control over
the landfill operating plans and day-to-day operations as these will have a
material impact on gas generation.
Areas for Further Collaboration
The Seminar and Ttrade Mmission focused on solid waste management
including industrial waste, hazardous waste and urban waste. Following the
seminar, the site visits and discussions with local operators provided
opportunities to expand these initial contacts and seek collaborative ventures
in areas such as management systems, recycling and technology exchange. In
particular a number of specific areas considered worth pursing are:Integrated Waste Handling and Transfer Station Engineering
Hazardous Waste Management Systems - Medical Waste Pilot
Distributed Manufacturing Technologies to Utilise Recycled Materials
Integrated Landfill and Horticulture Opportunities
Project proposals for each of these prospective areas for collaboration are
outlined in the following pages.
Integrated Waste Handling and Transfer Station Engineering
Summary of Collaboration
Work with SESAB to develop an integrated system for urban waste handling
and logistics;
Establish a supply network in Australia of goods and services providers for
compaction and transfer station systems;
Boost the sales and marketing capabilities for Shanghai based groups to
broaden their existing market scope;
Tender to SESAB for integrated systems hardware and engineering out of
Australia using existing conduits of supply in Shanghai.
Background
Urban solid waste management in Shanghai involves residents hand
delivering domestic garbage to local collection points; these may be up to 5
m3 roll-on-roll-off bins, small depots with up to 10m 3 capacity in mobile
garbage bins, street side bins, or street side open dumping depots. The waste
is predominantly domestic in nature with significant quantities of paper,
cardboard, containers etc, removed for resale in separate recycling
infrastructure. The waste does not contain any significant amount of
industrial/ commercial waste, construction and demolition waste, or electrical
or white goods - ie it is principally organic food waste and packaging
materials, of which plastic film dominates the latter.
Waste is collected daily from these depots and loaded into non-compacting
vehicles then transported to canal side transfer stations (piers) where the waste
is tipped into barges for transport to landfill.
The Laogang Waste Disposal Site is the main landfill in the region and
receives Shanghai waste via barges. The barges are unloaded at docks at the
landfill site using mobile cranes and cactus or clamshell style grabs. The
waste is transferred to open trucks and hauled to the site for tipping in the
landfill. It has a nominal capacity of 6,000 tpd, but is currently operating at
around 7,500 tpd. Shanghai currently generates around 8,900 tpd of urban
waste. Laogang operates between
8:00 am and 4:00 pm, 365 days per year. The barges vary in capacity from
55 tonnes to 200 tonnes and typically take 48 hours for a round trip between
Shanghai city piers and Laogang.
The Shanghai Environmental Sanitation Administration Bureau (SESAB) is
investigating the use of compactor systems for waste handling and transfer
stations. At the city/urban collection end this will involve both stationary
compaction units with roll-on-roll-off transport, and mobile compactor
vehicles of varying sizes to suit the access constraints. Initially, at the pier
transfer points, it is proposed to discharge these mobile collection vehicles
into compacted containers in a transfer station arrangement. The containers,
with compacted waste, will be used to transport the waste on the
barges. However, it is eventually proposed that transfer and compaction
stations will be located away from the canal sites, and load out long haul road
vehicles. At the landfill site tractor-trailers will transfer to the tip face for
unloading and return containers to Shanghai city.
Stationary and mobile compactor systems for urban waste collection, coupled
with compacting transfer stations and containers for long haul transport, are
commonly used in major capital cities in Australia. Ground Support
Engineering Pty Ltd, a Sydney based company has a proven track record in
the fabrication and supply on mechanical engineering components for waste
transfer station compaction units and containers. Ground Support Engineering
is wholly owned by Associated Engineers Limited, a Hong Kong based
engineering company with offices and facilities in Shanghai.
Garwood International, another Sydney based company, manufacture mobile
waste collection vehicles, and have established a joint venture with a State
owned enterprise out of Shanghai, to manufacture compaction collection
vehicles for the local market.
Within Australia there is a proven design, engineering, manufacturing and
project experience in the supply of total transfer station systems. In addition
there is experience with logistics analysis for route and load optimisation with
collection vehicles and transfer stations. At present these wider skills are not
utilised in Shanghai. An opportunity to integrate wider engineering and
project management, with compaction hardware systems is presented, using
existing conduits from Australia to China and Shanghai.
Outline of Collaboration
The conduits between Australia and China/Shanghai already exist, as does
access to local manufacturing capacity, current market knowledge and
contacts and current recognition as quality suppliers in those markets. The
principal effort is to expand the network of technology and capability access
in Australia for Garwood International and Ground Support Engineering, and
to reinforce their existing sales and marketing capacity in Shanghai to widen
their breadth of market coverage.
The existing players in Shanghai - Associated Engineers Limited, and the
Garwood International JV, would be able to assist SESAB in the development
of integrated systems and to then stand in the market as a total package
supplier.
Collaboration between AEL and Garwood would be advantageous, as would
collaboration by Australian suppliers with GSE in Sydney. This approach is
likely to reduce the cost to all players to obtain a market share in the SESAB
work, and maximise the potential for being involved.
Key Parties
In China the principal players could include Associated Engineers Limited
Garnwood International JV
Shanghai Environment Sanitation Administration Bureau
In Australia, principal players could include -
Ground Support Engineering
Garwood International
Waste Service NSW
Collex
Gardner Willis & Associates
AUSTEMEX
Outcomes
For SESAB, it is anticipated thatthe this approach will provide an integrated
system of waste handling and logistics, which reduces costs and improves on
existing efficiencies.
For Garwood International JV and Associated Engineers Limited the
arrangements will widen the scope of products and services they can offer
their clients in Shanghai and China, and to increase the extent of local
manufacturing for these works.
For the Australian players it will provide them with expanded market
opportunities, without the need for offshore establishments.
Timeframes
The first transfer and compaction station for one pier in Shanghai, has already
been let to Associated Engineers Limited and up to three others are soon to
follow. An inspection visit to Australia is likely in September 1997 by
Shanghai officials.
Financing Options
The total development of this revised waste handling and logistics system is
likely to be on normal commercial terms with the client paying for the capital
works. The structuring of the finance and payment is not known. SESAB
will be introducing higher fees for waste disposal; however, in the short term
these are likely to be for industrial commercial waste and hazardous waste,
before they are introduced for urban wastes. Some financial support may be
needed in the transfer of knowledge on areas such as logistics management
and design optimisation in the initial phase. It is felt that this will be
commercially viable in the short term.
Hazardous Waste Management Systems - Medical Waste Pilot
Summary of Collaboration
Establish a network of Australian industry players who see the business
potential in integrated medical waste systems;
Develop a corresponding network of Shanghai based players to collaborate in
developing medical waste management protocols;
Collaboratively develop a strategy and implementation plan for a medical
waste management system;
Work with Shanghai EPB to develop and implement a pilot demonstration
system in one Shanghai hospital;
Identify opportunities for Australian providers to work with Shanghai based
companies in the delivery of goods and services needed by the plan;
Provide opportunity for the establishment of commercial relationships
between Australian and Shanghai companies.
Background
Environmental management initiatives in China have focused heavily to date
on air and water/wastewater. The National Environment Protection Agency
(NEPA) is now concentrating more efforts on chemical/hazardous waste, and
solid waste management. The regulatory framework for China, and Shanghai,
has been based on Basel Convention principles. More emphasis is being
placed on both source reduction, through cleaner production programs, and on
effective treatment and disposal of wastes. In April 1996 national solid waste
legislation and regulations were introduced.
A register for solid waste established in 1994, and due for completion in 1997,
is expected to provide essential data on waste arising. In Shanghai, a 1993-94
World Bank funded project indicated that some 1,100 industrial waste
generators produced around 530,000 tonnes of hazardous wastes paper
annum. Of this amount, over 60% was from the chemicals manufacturing
sector and some 250,000 tpa comprised spent acid and alkali. Support for the
survey came from the Norwegian Government, who have since become
involved in the design and supply of cement kiln technology for the
combustion of hazardous wastes. Hazardous wastes will be managed via a
number on initiatives, namely:a liquid waste treatment plant, established in 1995;
a waste exchange;
high temperature cement kiln incineration of 10,000 tpa to be established by
1998;
a hazardous waste landfill for 5,000 tpa with liquid wastes being solidified
before disposal, to be established by 1997; however site selection is a
problem;
a cleaner production initiative funded by the United Kingdom focusing on
process control and ISO 14000 accreditation;
establishment of protocols regarding the movement of hazardous waste from
Shanghai to neighbouring provinces.
The Shanghai Environment Protection Bureau (EPB) has placed medical
waste at the top of a list of hazardous wastes which require urgent
attention. There is a shortage of material on procedures and practices for the
transport, handling, disposal and overall management of medical
wastes. Issues of concern raised with medical waste included:lack of cradle-to-grave management system;
in-hospital management and disposal of liquid wastes;
the relative merits of single and multiple use devices in hospitals;
monitoring of medical waste incinerators at regional hospitals;
managing medical waste is regarded as a significant public health issue.
Outline of Collaboration
Hazardous waste management will require the implementation of
comprehensive regulatory, fiscal and management systems. To date,
regulatory approaches are being formulated and introduced, fiscal systems are
under review, and management systems are not being addressed. The target
for management systems should be the adoption of comprehensive
environment management systems (EMS) as per ISO 14,000, combined with
regulatory measures which monitor systems and require management
accountability. One approach in addressing the development of a
management system for hazardous wastes, is to take medical waste as a
discrete subset, and to develop a system which can be used as a model for
replication elsewhere in the management of other hazardous wastes.
Management of medical wastes in Australia has matured to the level where
each state has comprehensive, and similar, regulatory frameworks; the
industry has developed national guidelines; medical waste identification and
segregation at sources has been balanced with infection control
concerns; medical waste disposal systems are comprehensive in their
diversity - landfill, incineration, microwave, autoclave, chemical; the relative
benefits of single and multiple use medical devices are widely
understood; management systems, involving risk assessment and
minimisation, are commonly in use. Therefore, a comprehensive
collaborative effort could be launched from Australia to work with the EPB in
developing a demonstration hazardous waste management system, through a
medical waste pilot.
There are four interest groups involved with medical waste management,
namely hospitals and waste generators,
waste mangers and disposers,
environment regulators, and
manufacturers of medical consumables and pharmaceuticals.
All four contribute actively to the effective management of medical waste in
Australia, and representation from all four groups will be essential for the
program. Representatives from all four sector groups should also be involved
from the Chinese side.
The collaborative project will involve four main phases with follow-up by
each sectoral group afterwards. The phases are discussed below.
Phase 1- Assessment - a delegation of senior regulators from Shanghai visits
Australia to gain a broad brush view of management systems in
Australia. Following this, a small delegation from Australia, covering all four
sectors, inspects current operations in Shanghai and documents both current
systems and the expectations of Shanghai counterparts of their preferred
system.
Phase 2 - Model Outline - working in Australia, representatives from the four
sectors develop the outline of a model management system, cognisant of the
Assessment Report (Phase 1) and recognising this as a pilot for broader
hazardous waste management planning.
Phase 3 - Interactive Development - a delegation of sector representatives
from Shanghai visit Australia for inspections of various operations and
detailed workshops to transform the Model Outline (Phase 2) into a wider
management strategy for medical waste in Shanghai.
Phase 4 - Implementation Plan - a second delegation of the four sector
representatives from Australia, visits Shanghai to work with Shanghai
collaborators in the development of a practical Implementation Plan for the
Medical Waste Management Strategy (Phase 3) to put a pilot demonstration
system into operation at one Shanghai hospital.
Key Parties
From both the Australian and the Chinese sides, representation is required
from all four sector areas, ie health, waste managers, regulators and
manufacturers of medical consumables. The project would be facilitated by
AUSTEMEX in a networking and coordinating role. Typical of the
participants from Australia include:Health - NSW Health Department
- Vic Health Department
- Infection Control Nurses Association
Waste Managers - Total Care
- Clinical Waste Australia
- AceWaste
- Collex
- Griffith University, Waste Management Unit
- Riskcorp
- Environmental Risk Management
Regulators - Vic EPA
- NH&MRC
Manufacturers - Johnson & Johnson
- Kimberly - Clark
- Pharmaceuticals manufacturers
Outcomes
The short term outcomes are stronger collaborative ties between Australian
and Shanghai practitioners in medical waste management; development of a
pilot Medical Waste Management Strategy for Shanghai; a demonstration
program in a Shanghai hospital; and fast track implementation of a short term
waste disposal option to improve on current practices.
Medium term outcomes will include an enhanced system for managing
medical waste in Shanghai; improved disease/infection control and enhanced
environmental management; identification of operational areas where
Australian technology and capability can be introduced into Shanghai; and
establishment of a model for a wider scale hazardous waste management
strategy. In addition, if an appropriate destructive disposal system were to be
implemented - ie incineration or controlled landfill - then pharmaceutical
manufacturers could use the facility for secure and controlled disposal of
waste pharmaceuticals.
Timeframes
AUSTEMEX could commence networking with relevant Australian players
immediately to determine the level of interest and likely commitment. The
Phase 1 - Assessment, could be initiated within three months and the Phase 2 Model Outline, completed within two months after that.
The return visit for Phase 3 - Interactive Development, may take a few months
to organise and secure appropriate timing, and the Phase 4 - Implementation
Plan, could follow immediately after. In all, an eight to twelve month elapsed
time should see the program completed, a pilot ready to implement and
demonstrate in a Shanghai hospital, and initial opportunities emerging.
Financing Options
The program funding needs to be addressed in total from the outset, as it is
likely that a number of sources could be utilised. Initially, ECAP finds could
set off Phase 1 and Phase 2, while DIST exchange program funds could assist
in Phase 3. The Phase 4 and the actual implementation could be supported
through AusAID. Throughout the program industry contributions can be
expected to exceed 50%, given the commercial potential of the outcomes.
Distributed Manufacturing Technologies to Utilise Recycled Materials
Summary of Collaboration
This proposal outlines the establishment of a surrogate networking centre in
Australia, on behalf of Chinese small business entrepreneurs who do not have
equivalent access to world markets and knowledge banks, to those accessible
to some Australian players. This Australian centre will source knowledge,
products, process technologies and small venture capital from Australia and
elsewhere, and channel that information into China for new start up
businesses. The commercial focus will be value added manufacturing using
recovered resources as feed stocks, aimed at the opportunities that arise as a
result of the market dynamics in China for recycled resources.
Background
Wastes disposed of in Shanghai are, to a significant degree, segregated prior
to disposal - possibly even more so than in many developed countries. This is
particularly the case in the cities visited, and from observations in rural
areas. The reasons for this segregation lie in the degree of scavenging, a
natural tendency to reuse and recycle, and the fact that when municipal
authorities manage wastes, they focus on, and handle, urban waste separately
from industrial/commercial, hazardous and construction/demolition wastes.
Reuse and recycling commence very early in the waste generation chain and
occur in both formal and informal systems. In the private sector there is a
strong commercial imperative, significant entrepreneurship and substantial
markets which demand goods at competitive prices.
The key driving factors can be summarised as follows:there is a significant schism in the urban society, which is rapidly increasing,
with a large mass of unskilled, underemployed and poorly resourced people,
and a rapidly expanding affluent, employed and well resourced group of
people riding on the economic surge of the country. The less affluent group
provide a major low cost services pool to the affluent group, hence collect
and/or scavenge materials which can be recycled; this group also provides a
low cost labour pool for manufacturing operations and a major market for
many low-cost commodities traded into reuse applications;
historically, reuse of resources has been a common aspect of culture in China,
so there is no natural or psychological resistance to the use of recycled goods
or high quality products made from recovered resources;
there is a strong profit motive in the private sector which drives many small
businesses. Entrepreneurship is very high and innovation is very
common; whether out of necessity or natural, these attributes motivate many
traders;
there is a growing awareness that natural resource depletion is a major
problem, and hence resource conservation must form part of the long term
strategy for China;
the markets for products are significant in cities and regional centres, and
niche operators can survive in major competitive markets;
small family businesses are very common in China and the government is
supportive of regional and distributed businesses which have the capacity to
create jobs at a local level, especially as State Owned Enterprises are
restructuring and thousands of former employees are now unemployed.
These driving forces combine to create market economics where recovered
resources are available at a relatively low cost, the cost for value added
manufacturing is low and there are substantial markets for the transformed
products.
Outline of Collaboration
The underlying aim of the collaboration is to increase the transfer of
innovation to small Chinese entrepreneurs through:transfer of manufacturing technologies which can be used to convert recycled
resources into value added manufactured goods;
transfer of product knowledge which can test new markets for goods made
from recyclables and stimulate new manufacturing opportunities;
supply of small levels of venture capital to support new start up businesses
manufacturing products from recycled resources.
To achieve these aims, a contact group in Australia, will need to be
established, which acts as a surrogate networker for Chinese
parties. Australians have demonstrated skills in networking and scouring
local and international markets for innovative technologies, products,
opportunities etc, which could be applied in appropriately structured
markets. The current flow of information into China is restricted, for a variety
of reasons, with the result that Chinese entrepreneurs are starved of
knowledge of opportunities. By providing the networking and the information
conduitcondiut, Australia can stimulate a significant growth in small
distributed businesses in manufacture using recycled materials.
The core tasks to be undertaken in establishing these collaborative activities
include:-
identification of a suitable Australian enterprise which has the networks to
source and communicate ideas from Australia and overseas, which has the
vision to appreciate how these ideas night operate within China's economic
market forces;
identification of a suitable China contact through whom ideas and concepts
can be channelled and a contact who has the resources and drive to stimulate
the new business opportunities in China;
establish communication links and relationships upon which the trade in
know-how and technology can confidentially be conducted;
develop access to sources of small venture capital that can be used for start-up
finance.
Some of the elements outlined above already exist; what remains to be done
is to focus the thinking of those elements towards the new opportunity and
establish the missing elements.
Key Parties
This is typically a small business activity and would normally not involve
large enterprises. However, the self interest innovation of Tetra Pak China
clearly demonstrates how, when appropriately targeted opportunities are
available, large corporations can play a pivotal role - in the case of Tetra Pak,
the desire to see manufacturing reject and recovered products put to good
commercial use. These larger enterprises would become involved on a project
by project - product by product basis and the key player will need to be
capable of identifying these larger groups and engaging them in the
development of the business opportunities.
Suppliers of innovative technologies, process concepts and product ideas will
be vital. Usually these are small (often one person) enterprises full of ideas
but short of resources and capacity to get their ideas into markets. The central
facilitator will be responsible for networking with these suppliers, again on a
project by project basis.
Venture capital partners could be sourced from Australia, Hong Kong and
even China. The larger enterprises, mentioned above could also provide
finance. The composite can manufacturing company visited was financed via
a silent partner out of Hong Kong; while the Chiptec facility was financed
directly by Tetra Pak China, it will be small private manufacturers who take
the process forward into mainstream production.
The two key parties will be the Australian network group and the China
dissemination group. There are a few known Australian based groups who
could play the first role, but research will be required for the Chinese half of
the team.
Outcomes
The outcomes will be multiple and have impacts in several places. In China,
new businesses will be created serving existing markets, creating new jobs,
using appropriate and environmentally efficient technologies, and creating
greater demand for recovered resources. It is expected that the majority of
these opportunities will result in small businesses, which are not tied to city
based operations. Through appropriate involvement of related large
enterprises in some of these ventures, it is possible that a greater degree of
product stewardship could be established in China.
In Australia it is anticipated that the linkages will provide routes to markets
for locally developed ideas and technologies. In many instances local market
dynamics mitigate against some of these innovations getting to market, and
the proponents are inadequately resourced and/or unaware of external
opportunities, to seek alternative markets. This conduit into China may
provide one such alternative.
Timeframes
The project development can start immediately, especially some of the
research in China for suitable linkages. The gestation of the network links and
relationship building will be gradual, and will depend very much on the early
success of one or two initial initiatives.
Financing Options
This is primarily a self financing activity once the networks are established
and information is flowing. To assist in the initiation phase it may be
appropriate to link in the AusIndustry's Business Networks Program.
Integrated Landfill and Horticulture Opportunities
Summary of Collaboration
This proposal outlines a collaborative endeavour for technology exchange,
joint demonstration of proven research and development of a total system for
landfill regeneration which will have equal applicability in China and
Australia. The program is based on existing operations at Laogang Landfill in
Shanghai Province, technologies developed in Australia, and experience fro
US based experiments. Through this program it is anticipated that the current
operations at Laogang will extend significantly, the need for a new landfill for
Shanghai will postponed for many years, and the environmental performance
of the landfill will repeatedly upgraded on a cyclical basis to remain at world's
best practice. In some respects the current operations at Laogang are in
advance of operations in Australia, and it is anticipated that the knowledge
gained from this collaboration could be applied in Australia after development
and demonstration in China.
Background
Shanghai Environmental Sanitation Administration Bureau (SESAB) is
responsible for the management of some 8,900 tpd of urban waste, involving
collection, transport and landfill disposal. SESAB is managing up to ten inner
city transfer stations, barges to transport the waste and three land based
disposal sites. The three sites are:San Lin - a surface buffer storage facility used during the 1980s and early
1990s. No longer receiving main stream urban waste, this site is being
progressively rehabilitated;
Jiangzhen - a landfill on the outskirts of the Pudong district which currently
could be receiving between 15 and 20% of the Shanghai urban waste. This
facility is located close to the new Pudong International Airport which is due
to open in the late 1990s. As a result, Jiangzhen will be closed before the next
three years are out;
Laogang - a major landfill south east of Shanghai on the coast of the East
China Sea. This facility is being constructed as part of a land reclamation
process and will take virtually all of the urban waste generated in Shanghai by
the year 2000.
The operations at Laogang they provide the focus for the project being
outlined in this proposal. The managers of Laogang Landfill are currently
combining landfill management with commercial horticulture, which will
form a basis for this proposal. However with the rate at which Laogang is
being filled there will be increasing pressures on the site to expand, or for a
new facility to be built in the medium term, unless moves can be taken to
extend the life of the facility.
In addition, it is considered that the horticulture activities at the site, whilst
already providing a useful application for the filled cells and an income for the
site, could be upgraded into higher value crops and could better utilise some
of the resources that the site can deliver.
Outline of Collaboration
The proposed collaboration draws on a number of areas of innovation to
develop for SESAB a methodology for operating Laogang that will delay the
completion of the site, delay the need for new replacement capital, provide an
ongoing income from horticulture activities and allow for the environmental
performance of the site to be continually improved and consistent with world
best practice.
It is proposed that operations at the Laogang site could evolve into the
following cyclical pattern:old cells are excavated to recover the void space;
excavated material is screened to produce three fractions, namely
biodegraded organics, combustible inorganics, non-combustible residuals;
excavated cells are prepared for refilling with new waste, allowing for the use
of artificial lining of old cells, reduction in bund wall dimensions, upgrading
of leachate and gas collection systems;
non-combustible residuals are returned to the prepared cell and new waste
filling commences;
biodegraded organics from old cells are combined with fresh excavation silts
and bund wall trimming to make a rich and fertile growing medium for use as
final cover and the basis for the horticulture program;
completed cells are managed as in-situ bioreactors with upgraded leachate
drainage and collection plus leachate recycling to achieve faster and more
complete biodegradation of cell organics and higher gas yields;
horticulture activities are conducted in greenhouses constructed on completed
cells;
a waste to energy plant on the site is used to combust the methane produced
from the bioreactor cells plus the combustible inorganic fraction recovered
from the excavation of old cells;
the waste to energy plant would produce electricity, for local use or sale into
the grid, waste heat for use in greenhouses to maintain constant elevated
temperatures for year round growth of high value added crops, and carbon
dioxide exhaust gases which will be scrubbed and used in greenhouses to
produce a carbon dioxide rich atmosphere in which plant growth rates can be
accelerated, crop cycle times reduced and horticulture products brought to
market at predictable times and independent of season.
This approach to operation of the landfill draws on innovations from several
sources. In the first instance the work already underway at Laogang in using
completed cells for commercial horticulture; secondly, trials in the USA in
landfill mining for void space recovery; research in Australia with bioreactor
landfilling for faster and more complete degradation of organics using
leachate recycling; and finally, horticulture work in Australia involving
accelerating plant growth rates by using elevated carbon dioxide
concentrations in greenhouses for more complete photosynthesis.
The collaboration would involve transfer of technology, joint development of
proven research work and the implementation of a total system of landfill
recycling.
Key Parties
The managers at the Laogang Landfill site and SESAB will be the key
participants as the collaboration is aimed at building on the innovative work
they have already put in place at the site. From Australia, in-situ bioreactor
technology is being developed through the CRC for Waste Management and
Pollution Control (CRC). The CRC's operating partners, Brambles and Waste
Service NSW, bring extensive landfill operations capacity and the transfer of
experience from US based landfill mining. The horticulture work with carbon
dioxide enriched atmospheres has been demonstrated and researched at the
University of Western Sydney and this experience could be delivered through
the CRC for Waste Management and Pollution Control, of which the
University of Western Sydney is a member.
The waste to energy combustion technology is not country specific, and this
could be brought into the project collaboratively by the Chinese and
Australian participants on an as needs basis.
Outcomes
The key outcomes will relate to the operation, life and economics of Laogang
Landfill, both in the short and the long term. Typically these will include:extended life for the existing site;
progressive upgrading of environmental management of cells as they are
mined and re-established for filling, using appropriate technology current for
the time;
reduced total leachate management as leachate is recycled though bioreactor
cells and retained in the waste;
delayed need for major new capital to extend or replace Laogang;
income derived from energy;
increased income from horticulture activities;
transfer of state of the art knowledge and technology to SESAB on landfill
management system;
overall improved environmental performance at the site, reduced greenhouse
effect, green energy and good Agenda 21 initiatives.
Timeframes
The knowledge and technology for this collaboration already exist and has
been demonstrated. The main task will be defining the project in detail then
assembling the team and setting in place the collaboration plan. The logical
leader of the team would be the CRC for Waste Management and Pollution
Control.
Financing Options
There will be significant savings and revenues generated at Laogang, and
these will need to be accounted for when assessing the contributions for
SESAB. From Australia, DIST, AusAID and Environment Australia will
have interest in the project.