Winners of NSW Compost Leadership Awards announced

The winners of the 2009 NSW Compost Leadership Awards were announced at the NSW Compost Ball in Orange. The major award, 'Leadership in the Recycled Organics Industry', was won by SITA Environmental Solutions for its new SAWT facility in Kemps Creek, NSW.

The SAWT facility is the largest source separated and mixed stream treatment and composting plant in Australia and has the capacity to process 134,000 tonnes of waste annually, and diverting up to 78% from landfill. The greenhouse emissions avoided by recycling organic and other waste at the new plant — rather than letting it decompose in a landfill — is 75,000 tonnes.

The composting process uses proven technology and offers holistic solutions for councils. The SAWT facility is made up of two processes within one building, converting food and garden organic materials contained in the mixed bin (Liverpool City Council), and the food and garden organics from the source-separated organics bin (Penrith City Council) into compost and mulch products, as well as recovering valuable resources such as aluminium, steel, plastic and glass.

Having just entered the commissioning phase, the facility is not yet fully operational but it is accepting and processing more than 100 tonnes of household waste every day.

In May, the Victorian Compost Leadership Awards were announced during International Compost Awareness Week. Simon Lee, SITA Victoria's Post Collection National Business Development Manager, was awarded the Overall Leadership Award by an Individual in the Compost Industry.

These awards are designed to recognise companies, individuals and councils that have made a contribution to improving this industry.

SITA’s services include domestic, commercial and industrial waste collection; waste assessments; resource recovery and recycling options; processing of organic materials into compost; renewable energy facilities; hygiene services; waste treatment; and product destruction.