Executive Summary

The Southern Metropolitan Regional Council (SMRC) is a community enterprise representing

seven local Councils in South of Perth, Western Australia. The purpose of the SMRC is to plan,

coordinate and implement the removal, processing, treatment and disposal of waste in the

regional council, to influence Local, State and Federal Governments in the development of

regional waste management policies and legislation and to prepare, facilitate and implement

programmes, measures and strategies for the reduction of greenhouse gasses. SMRC also

focuses on utilising the advantages of economies of scale to achieve best value for the region,

increase their consultation and education role in order to maximise the use of their service,

reduce costs and find out what the community knows about waste management. To

undertake research role to build knowledge and expertise; engaging consultancy or

contracting services on behalf of the region with the goal of reducing or stabilising costs and

adding value for their member organisations.

Since the $100,000,000 Regional Resource Recovery Centre (RRRC) which based at Canning

Vale began full operations in July 2005 has three separate plants which produce organic

compost from household waste, recyclables for export and mulch from green waste: The

Waste Composting Facility (WCF) which processes over 80,000 tonnes of household waste

each year to convert into rich and mature compost using green-topped bins. This compost is

used to put nutrients back into the soil for improving crops, pastures, parks, verges and

gardens. The Green Waste Processing Facility (GWPF) recovered 100% of the green waste, no

residual waste go to landfill. Each year the Green Waste Processing Facility prevents over

33,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (TCO2-e) from entering the atmosphere. The

Material Recovery Facility (MRF) uses state-of-the-art systems and equipment to recover

recyclables which include plastics, glass, paper, cardboard, aluminium and steel products

from the yellow-topped bin. In addition, the SMRC also provides residents with a disposal

service for green waste. Once collected, it will be taken to the RRRC for recovery and

processing.

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Through the RRRC and Climate Wise, the SMRC has prevented a total of 148,591 tonnes of

carbon dioxide equivalents (TCO2-e) from entering the atmosphere, for the period July 2007

to May 2008. The net total for the 3 RRRC facilities is 146, 207 TCO 2-e abated, which account

to the greenhouse gases generated by operating the RRRC's Education and Administration

Centre. Of the total amount, 61,210 TCO2-e was abated from the Greenhouse Friendly™

Approved Waste Composting Facility. Overall, RRRC had diverted 399,000 tonnes of domestic

waste from landfill, processed 143,000 tonnes of waste, recovered 304,000 tonnes of

products for sale and also abated more than 626,000 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent

(C02e) in fighting against climate change.

As of year ended 2009, SMRC made a net revenue of $24,932,429 with a retained deficit of

$16,830,894. This is resulted by the global financial crisis affecting export sales, a major fire

destroying MRF and the GWPF’s three-month closure due to odour issues that affecting

nearby residents’ health and operational process upgrades. The MRF had been the most

advanced in Western Australia and was a significant piece of the WA’s waste processing

infrastructure. With the assistance of the State Government and the Waste Authority, the

SMRC has acquired a new compost turner for the RRRC’s waste composting facility. The new

mobile plant is already improving compost quality and helping to reduce odours at the RRRC.

A new product line was established in development with Pioneer Road Services glass crushing

plant for the recycling of traditionally non-recyclable glass for reuse in Asphalt. An innovative

engineering solution was also developed to combat the tyre slippage issues on the digesters.

Another key innovation was the restructuring of the Waste Composting Facility maturation

floor management system, with the introduction of the new compost turner. This was

recognised by the Department of the Environment and Conservations (DEC) as resulting in a

significant reduction in anaerobic odour generated by the facility.

Generally a difficult year for SMRC especially with the fire and odour incidents, but this

allowed our newly created Organisational Risk Register to be put to the test. With proper

contingency plans in place, we are certain to be able to succeed over adversity.

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References

Annual Report 2009 (2010). Retrieved September 29, 2010, from

http://www.smrc.com.au/files/SMRC%202009%20AR%20Final_290110.pdf

Strategic Waste Management Plan (2008). Retrieved September 29, 2010, from

http://www.smrc.com.au/files/08%20Dec%2001%20SWMP%20Final.pdf

SMRC Strategic Plan 2007-2012 (2008). Retrieved September 29, 2010, from

http://www.smrc.com.au/files/08%20Sep%209%20-%20Strategic%20Plan%202007%20-

%202012%20Final.pdf

Department of Health (DOH), July 2009, Retrieved September 29, 2010, from

http://www.public.health.wa.gov.au/cproot/2375/2/RRRC_Tox_Report.pdf

Australia. SMRC: Southern Metropolitan Regional Council. 2010. SMRC: Climate

Wise – Responding to Climate Change. http://www.smrc.com.au/go/what-we-do/climate-

change

Australia. SMRC: Southern Metropolitan Regional Council. 2010. SMRC Latest News:

RRRC Odour Management Continues To Improve

http://www.smrc.com.au/index.cfm?objectID=A27B3C04-1372-5CE6-

2415CEB088841D4A&rNav=7725FE4A-C29E-198E-8E7A04A20EE88249