June 2008 Cover Story

The ten year contract with Gosford and Wyong Councils is the largest ever mobilised in NSW, including collection of general waste and garden vegetation, collection and processing of recyclables, and the servicing of beach bins, litter bins and special events. The new contract also includes the provision multiple bulk kerbside collections for each household.

As an indicator of the size of this contract, there are more than 275,000 domestic bins emptied each week throughout the region.
Thiess Services has engaged many local businesses to help with the start-up and ongoing needs of the job, including RH Taylor, Print National, Treehouse Creative, Coastal Transport Services and Sulo.

The new site at Somersby covers 3.7 hectares, and includes a 25 tonnes-per-hour Materials Recovery Facility for the processing of recyclables. The facility is the first of its kind in Australia to use new infrared technology for the auto-sorting of paper, glass and plastics. This results in more advanced separation of materials, meaning less waste goes to landfill.

The site has several environmentally sensitive features, such as a 300,000 litre water retention system for truck washing and toilet flushing, sensors for office lighting, and fit-for-purpose motors to reduce wasted energy. The trucks also feature ultra low sulphur diesel engines, onboard weighing, and ‘Fleet Systems’ technology which combines GPS tracking with remote telemetry to provide feedback to base about the truck and its operation (handy for maintenance) and even bin conditions. If a bin is contaminated, overfull or inaccessible, the driver pushes a button and notes the address, providing the operations staff with a list for follow up.

Safety for employees and the public is paramount, with reversing cameras, hand brake alarms, front under run protection and warning lighting on all collection vehicles.

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