Toowoomba jobs: Pyrocal expanding to meet demand for technology processing waste

An innovative Toowoomba company using Australia-first technology to process our waste and rubbish is planning to aggressively expand to meet demand.

Pyrocal CEO Arun Pratap with material made at the research and development facility from car tyres mixed with green waste that aims to significantly reduce landfill weight and costs. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Imagine turning human waste, old tyres, household rubbish and even car parts into a material that not only cuts the amount of material going to landfill, but also can be used on farms and even building materials.

It might seem like a futuristic vision, but a Toowoomba company is turning it into a reality with a strategy that will employ hundreds by 2025 and inject millions into the economy.

Pyrocal, which has a testing facility near Wellcamp Airport, has developed an Australia-first continuous carbonisation technology (CCT) system that turns materials into a stable char that doesn’t emit greenhouse gases.

The company has already signed an agreement with the Logan City Council, which is incorporating the technology into the refurbishment of its wastewater treatment plant.

Company CEO Arun Pratap said not only could the system reduce the volume of waste going to landfill by up to 96 per cent, but the final product from human waste had uses for agricultural operations.

“We’ve completed those tests and we’ve been able to demonstrate a material benefit in the conversion of materials using our facility,” he said.

“The char is a reduction in volume, such that when it goes to landfill, it goes in a different and heavily reduced form.

“We’re also using our CCT process to create a char that can be used as a conditioner, so it can be used in the agricultural sector.”

CEO of Pyrocal, Arun Pratap in front of Pyrocal demonstration site in Wellcamp. Picture: Nev Madsen

But human waste wasn’t the end of it, with extensive testing showing the technology could process old tyres, car parts and even general household rubbish and create a stable char ideal for landfill.

Mr Pratap said Pyrocal was now working with researchers to determine its application in the construction sector.

“We’ve been doing a series of tests on how to deal with their municipal solid waste and found it can reduce 96 per cent of waste volume that goes to landfill,” he said.

“It will improve the cost in transport, less truck movements, so there are a lot of social, economic and environmental benefits.

“The next part of our development for our company, which we’re doing with institutions like the University of Southern Queensland, is taking that char and exploring its uses as a part of a composite material — so it could be part of a construction material.

“Instead of digging a hole and burying waste there, it goes through our process and is used for another purpose.”

Pyrocal material made from pecan nut shell waste residue that will be used as a soil conditioner as well as other agricultural industry applications. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Mr Pratap said Pyrocal was in talks with more than a dozen local governments in Australia and wastewater companies in the United Kingdom, with many hoping to curb serious problems with waste management.

“There are local authorities right across Australia that are keen to pursue our technology in their businesses,” he said.

“It’s very much a test case for everyone involved, so we’re getting a lot of interest.

“Everybody is talking about reduced carbon dioxide emissions and by using our technology, you’re qualifying for carbon credits.”

With interest in the business at an highest, Mr Pratap said Pyrocal now needed to drastically upscale its operations to meet demand.

This is good news for residents, with locals to form the majority of the 250 positions needed.

“We’re recruiting like there’s no tomorrow and we want to stay local and remain a Toowoomba-based business,” Mr Pratap said.

“Everybody is looking for staff and we are too — welders, fabricators, engineers.

“I think the next 12 months is going to be an accelerated process.

“We’ve got a business proposal to have multiple facilities in Toowoomba, treating different waste streams and creating different products.”

Mr Pratap, a former general manager at the Toowoomba Regional Council, noted the TRC was not one of the local governments which had expressed interest.

For more information about the technology and how to contact the company, head to the website.