Keeping the Australian Open clean and sustainable

Quayclean’s Australian Open workforce of 1200 cleaners will work 24/7 throughout the 15-day tennis tournament, with 900,000 fans expected to attend the event across the Melbourne & Olympic Park (M&OP) precinct.

Quayclean is working with Tennis Australia and M&OP to make the tournament a memorable and sustainable event. Over 750 of its team members will be rostered every day of the tournament, covering three separate shifts over a 24-hour period.

Last year, Quayclean managed and removed more than 38 tonnes of mixed recycling, 24 tonnes of kitchen organics, 37 tonnes of cardboard and over 33 tonnes of crushed glass. Similar waste volumes are anticipated this year.

The company’s team of 25 Trash Talkers, who assist fans to separate waste into the appropriate designated bins, are back in force to help and educate spectators.

The Green My Plate service, where reusable plates and bowls are collected and hygienically washed and cleaned, is also available again.

Quayclean has established a team that will operate back of house to sort waste from five recycling hubs into six separate waste areas — food waste, co-mingle waste, reuasable waste, soft plastics, polystyrene and landfill.

The team will also separate bottles and cans from the co-mingle waste, with the Victorian Government introducing the Container Deposit Scheme last November.

Mark Piwkowski, Quayclean CEO, said, “There have been months of planning with Tennis Australia and M&OP and other site stakeholders to ensure this year’s Open sets new environmental and sustainability benchmarks.

“Our goal is to supercharge the Open’s waste management and sustainability systems and divert the high majority of waste away from landfill, which will represent financial and social benefits for the tournament organisers.”