Organic Resource Technology has started building its first commercial-scale municipal waste processing facility.
The $5 million plant will be based in Shenton Park and have an initial treatment capacity of 17,000 tonnes a year (tpa) of municipal solid waste. It is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
If the first stage is successful, ORT can proceed to build a full-scale 55,000tpa facility during 2005 and finalise a 20-year commercial contract with the Western Metropolitan Regional Council.
The WMRC represents the municipalities of Subiaco, Cottesloe, Peppermint Grove, Mosman Park and Claremont.
ORT’s facility uses the company’s Dicom process, a hybrid biological system that combines aerobic composting and anaerobic digestion at the process level, allowing the production of green energy and compost.
The company’s managing director Richard Rudas said: “This represents a major shift in the way the industry operates.”
Meanwhile, Global Renewables, 50 per cent owned by listed Perth company GRD, has been short-listed to bid for a major waste treatment project in the UK.
The UK project, for the Lancashire Authority, would process up to 600,000tpa.
Managing director John White said Global Renewables would need to build three of its UR-3R waste treatment plants if it was awarded the UK project.
Global Renewables’ first UR-3R plant is currently being built in Sydney with a capacity to process 175,000tpa.
The company is continuing to pursue two new opportunities in Australia.
It has been short-listed by the Mindarie Regional Council (which services the City of Perth and most of Perth’s northern councils) to build and operate a waste treatment plant at the Neerabup industrial estate near Wanneroo.
Mindarie is seeking to finalise land acquisition and environmental approvals before calling for tenders for the plant, which initially would process 100,000 tonnes of waste.
Global Renewables has already submitted a final tender to the Western Region waste management group in Melbourne and Mr White said he was awaiting the announcement of a preferred tenderer.
