Waste management firm Concord Blue entertains Greater Geelong waste-to-energy desire

GEELONG Council has discussed a possible solution to the region’s waste-to-energy desires with an international waste management company.

Geelong council is looking into its waste-to-energy desires.

GEELONG Council has discussed a possible solution to the region’s waste-to-energy desires with an international waste management company.

Representatives from Concord Blue met the council and other stakeholders yesterday, to present information on their closed-loop technology already in use in India, Japan, Germany and the US.

The company boasts its closed-loop technology produces sustainable energy with “virtually no pollutants”.

Australian chief executive Jennifer McQueen said the machinery had never been seen in Australia.

“Geelong is one of the cities that we have been alerted to by government agencies that we should be talking to,” Ms McQueen said before the meeting yesterday.

“And Geelong council invited us here to brief a select group of people on who we are, what we have and how we feel it can fit in with Geelong.”

Ms McQueen said the non-incineration system could be delivered on different scales to meet the needs of different sized users, including local councils.

“The other most important thing is, because it’s not an incineration system, it is completely clean and environmentally friendly — there is no chimney and there are no dioxins or furans produced, and no toxic chemicals,” she said.

“That’s what makes the system different. It’s a completely sealed system that can take just about anything — including asbestos products — and will not damage the environment in any way.

“Australia is behind the rest of the world in terms of understanding this technology. The rest of the world had been in this for a number of years before we even started to get serious about looking at it, and unfortunately what it means is we have a tendency to have a vision of what we would like to do without understanding what’s possible and what technologies are available.”

City of Greater Geelong confirmed council officers had met Concord Blue and other waste-to-energy providers in recent months.

Concord Blue’s briefing comes after council recently voiced a desire to explore a possible major waste-to-energy project for the region.

Last month Mayor Bruce Harwood confirmed the council had been in early talks with the City of Wyndham about a possible team-up to establish a hi-tech waste-to-energy plant. He also confirmed multiple companies were speaking with council regarding waste-to-energy technologies.

Cr Harwood and investment and attraction acting director Tim Ellis visited waste-to-energy sites while they were in Dundee, Scotland and Turin, Italy last month, as part of council waste investigations.

Originally published as Waste management firm Concord Blue entertains Greater Geelong waste-to-energy desire