Sending waste to landfill is the least favourable method of disposal, as any value from the materials is permanently unrecoverable.
Energy recovery allows the energy within materials to be captured and converted to electricity. Bottom ash produced during this process may also be recycled.
The East Rockingham plant is located at 26 Office Road on the northern end of the Rockingham Industry Zone (RIZ).
The energy recovery facilities will receive residual waste from contracted local governments, and waste from commercial businesses.
Residual waste is the remaining waste once all possible means to recover resources, including through garden organics, co-mingled recycling and Containers for Change, are exhausted.
Hazardous waste including batteries, gas bottles, tyres, medical waste, e-waste and foam, vinyl and large metal objects are not accepted. These items can be dangerous or affect the quality of the facility outputs.
The move to energy recovery processing will not change what goes in general waste bins, however it is important to remember this bin is the last option.
Waste avoidance and waste sorting remains an essential step to avoid and recover materials for reuse and recycling[MC1] . Use your kerbside recycling bin, green organics bin, Containers for Change, and drop-off locations for items like e-waste and hazardous waste.
With a bit of waste sorting at home, general waste bins could be almost empty each week. Check the how to use your bin page for a list of what can go in your general waste (red lidded) bin.
As a customer of HZI, the City has an agreed disposal price which means costs are fixed to the CPI of each year.
Material recovery from the process includes Incinerator Bottom Ash (IBA) which can be used to create a manufactured IBA aggregate (IBAA). IBAA can be used in making building blocks and road sub-base.
Additionally, non-ferrous and ferrous metals will be recycled. Ferrous metals will be recycled using local scrap metal recycling companies and non-ferrous metals will be recovered and separated to maximise their value. Fly ash (5-20% of the total ash) from the plant is sent to an approved Class 1V landfill site for disposal.
The facility adheres to strict air quality standards set by the Environmental Protection Authority (Western Australia) in accordance with the EU Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75E). This includes continuous emissions monitoring.