Excellent landfill and transfer stations in Australia recognised

The Waste Management Association of Australia (WMAA) has announced the winners of its 2009 National Landfill and Transfer Stations Excellence Awards.

WMAA, Australia’s peak body for waste management professionals, established the Excellence Awards in 2007 to recognise the highest standards in landfill and transfer stations across the country.

The winners of the 2009 awards are:

National Landfill Award 2009:

• Winner: Hanson Landfill Services’ Wollert Landfill (Vic)
• Joint Silver Award winners: BWIA Landfill and Renewable Energy Facility (Qld) and Bundaberg Regional Council Cedar’s Road Landfill (Qld).

WMAA CEO Val Southam said: “These awards have highlighted that landfills can meet the challenges of climate change by improvements in operations such as gas capture and energy recovery, while transfer stations work in partnership with landfills to enhance resource recovery.” Southam also said, “Approximately half of Australia’s 43 million tons of solid waste goes to landfill for disposal with the other half being recycled, so landfills provide a vital service to the community.”

Best Large Transfer Station 2009:

• Winner: Transpacific’s Resource Recovery and Waste Transfer Facility (Wingfield, SA)
• Runner up: Integrated Waste Services’ Resource Recovery and Transfer Station (Wingfield, SA)

Best Small Transfer Station 2009:

• Winner: Wodonga Council’s Transfer Station and Resource Recovery Centre (Vic)
• Runner up: Kangaroo Island Council’s Resource Recovery Centre (SA)

Sam Bateman, Divisional Manager for Hanson Landfill Services, the Landfill Award winner, said: “We are thrilled to be the winners of the major award and in fact I am confident that a carbon footprint study of the Wollert Landfill, which is currently nearing completion, will show that Wollert has made a positive contribution to reduce the impact of human activities on climate change.”

Sponsors of the awards are Golder Associates (Landfill), Meinhardt Infrastructure & Environment (Transfer Stations) and Wastech Engineering (Transfer Stations).