Edinburgh recycling plant to undergo $500,000 upgrade to process more paper in wake of China waste ban

AN Edinburgh North plant will undergo a $500,000 upgrade so it can process more paper in the wake of a Chinese Government ban on imported recycling products.

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AN Edinburgh North plant will undergo a $500,000 upgrade so it can process more paper in the wake of a Chinese Government ban on imported recycling products.

The Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority (NAWMA) services Playford, Salisbury and Gawler council districts.

The company signed a deal late last month with a mill in New South Wales to convert used paper into newspapers.

The plant’s sorting line will be modified at a cost of about $500,000. NAWMA chief executive Adam Faulkner called the deal “exciting”.

He said it was a “huge opportunity” after the Chinese Government declared a ban on imported paper and plastics in January.

“What it means basically is that residents who recycle paper in their yellow-top bins from our three northern council areas, that paper will be turned back into newspapers,” he said.

“Keeping business onshore is the most important bit and supporting local manufacturing at the paper mill.”

Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority CEO Adam Faulkner at their facility in Edinburgh.

Mr Faulkner has also vowed to save northern residents from a possible rate hike associated with an increase in waste removal costs by absorbing any extra costs until the recycled paper deal takes affect on September 1.

Since China closed its borders to most recycled waste — which equates to about 30 million metric tonnes of garbage each year — commodity prices have dipped dramatically.

In some cases the price fetched for recycled materials has dropped by up to 90 per cent. That means councils around the nation are now considering extra rate rises from July as a result of sharp increases in collection costs.

“We saw this China shift happening around August last year and we moved early,” Mr Faulkner said.

“The fact we own and run our own facility on behalf of the councils gives us that slight competitive advantage where we can direct these materials to where they need to go.”

But Mr Faulkner said there was still a “rocky road to go” and backed calls from the Local Government Association for the State Government to help relieve pressure by dipping into its $100m Green Industry Fund.

“We just need to ride this out. That’s why we’re calling on SA Environment Minister David Spiers to release some of that money into local government.”

State and territory environment ministers met a fortnight ago amid growing concern about the consequences of the so-called “China Sword” ban.

Mr Speirs said after that meeting he was working on a relief package to help councils and the waste industry. There would be “firm detail” on the State Government’s support package within weeks, he said.

Every month about 240,000 yellow-top recycling bins are collected by NAWMA.

Since August, the local waste authority has unearthed new markets for rubbish disposal in South-East Asia, while glass, metals and some plastics are sent to domestic markets.

Two full-time jobs will be created at NAWMA’s Edinburgh North recycling plant, and more may become available if other South Australian councils ask NAWMA to handle waste collection.