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| ASX: CWY | |
| Industry | Waste management |
| Founded | 1979 |
| Founder | Brambles |
| Headquarters | , Australia |
Key people | Mark Chellew (Chairman) |
| Revenue | $2.4 billion (2021) |
| $535 million (2021) | |
| $153 million (2021) | |
Number of employees | 6,300 (2021) |
| Website | www.cleanaway.com.au |
Cleanaway Waste Management Limited is an Australian waste management company. Founded in 1979 by Brambles, it has extensive operations in Australia and the United Kingdom.
Brambles entered the waste management and disposal industry in 1970 when it purchased the Australian waste collection and disposal services of the Purle Group. [1] [2] In 1979, it began trading as Cleanaway. [3]
Cleanaway expanded into Europe in the 1990s, purchasing businesses in the Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. [4] [5] [6] [7] By 2003 the UK operation employed over 8,000 people. [8] The German business was sold in 2005. [9] Veolia acquired Cleanaway UK in 2006. [10]
In June 2006, Brambles sold Cleanaway to KKR, who then sold it to Transpacific Industries in May 2007. [11] [12] [13] Transpacific Industries was formed in 1987, expanding through organic and strategic growth. [14] The combined entity would continue to trade separately as Transpacific Industries and Cleanaway for ten years. In September 2013 the Commercial Vehicles Group that sold Dennis Eagle, MAN and Western Star Trucks was sold to the Penske Automotive Group. [15] [16]
In late 2015 the company rebranded to Cleanaway Waste Management, dropping the Transpacific name. [17] In May 2018, Cleanaway acquired Tox Free Solutions, including its subsidiary Daniels Health. [18] [19] [20]
In 2019, Cleanaway acquired a number of the SKM Recycling Group's assets for $66 million, [21] restoring and reopening the facilities completely by February 2020. [22] The acquisition included two materials recovery facilities and two transfer stations in Victoria, and a material recovery facility in Tasmania. [23] The site in Laverton North includes a plastic sorting facility which separates plastics from material recovery facilities into clean, individual polymer grades for sale or input into a pelletising facility. [23] SKM was in substantial debt after the Victorian Environment Protection Authority placed limitations on its waste intake in response to a series of fires involving recycling stockpiles, leading to SKM ceasing waste collections from more than 30 councils with recycling diverted to landfill. [24] The acquisition of Statewide Recycling in late 2019 [25] expanded Cleanaway's regional Victoria business, including a transfer station in Warrnambool.[ citation needed ]
In April 2021, Cleanaway agreed terms to purchase the Sydney operations of Suez Environnement, after Suez and Veolia reached a merger agreement. [26]
As at June 2021, it employed over 6,300 people and operate 5,300 trucks from more than 250 branches, as well as a range of static facilities. [27] It is the largest waste management business in Australia. [24]
On 15 May 2000 an accident at Cleanaway UK's Ellesmere Port toxic waste incinerator killed an employee and seriously injured another. The plant had been shut down to allow replacement of steel structures, and the men were on a scaffolding platform when over a tonne of concrete fell on them. Following a Crown Court trial Cleanaway was convicted of health and safety failings, and fined £200,000 plus £135,000 in costs. [28]
Cleanaway's UK subsidiary was the first company ordered to pay compensation to a worker under the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003, after a gay manager quit following persistent harassment from his seniors because of his sexuality. [29] The case received widespread media attention, with the victim commenting that prior to the case he had tried to keep his sexuality a private matter. [8] The Guardian described it as a landmark judgement, while a Stonewall spokesperson said the ruling showed such abuse "was no longer going to be tolerated" and compared the remarks directed at the victim to "jokes about 'Pakis'" from previous decades. [30]
In April 2017 Cleanaway was issued a fine of $650,000 for a fire at a chemical waste processing facility in which a worker was seriously burned. The sentencing judge accused Cleanaway of initiating a trial process despite giving workers limited information about the trial and the new chemical involved. This was the largest fine ever handed out at a Comcare-initiated prosecution. [31]
In August 2014, a Cleanaway sewage tanker truck collided with many cars at the lower part of the South Eastern Freeway, killing two people. [32] Following the accident the company pulled 2,800 trucks from service for inspections, disrupting waste collections for days. [33] The sewage truck ran away after the driver, a new employee who had never driven a manual truck before and had never driven any vehicle on this segment of road, lost control after passing the arrestor beds. Driver Darren Hicks was seriously injured and testified against Cleanaway at a criminal trial after being granted immunity. [34] The prosecution, brought by Comcare, also heard that the brakes on the vehicle were defective and in 2021 Cleanaway were convicted of eight charges under health and safety legislation. [35]
In May 2020 vivasol leaked from a Cleanaway facility in Queanbeyan and entered the Molonglo River, with a further discharge occurring the following month. The New South Wales Environment Protection Authority in March 2021 charged Cleanaway with two water pollution offences and with allegedly taking five hours to notify them of the first incident. As a result of the leak the EPA mobilised 50 inspectors to simultaneously perform unannounced inspections of 27 Cleanaway locations. Three were fined a total of $31,500 for inadequate recordkeeping and waste storage, including two that had previously received fines for improper waste storage. [36] The EPA also described finding "consistent areas of concern" and criticised Cleanaway's "management of its operations" following the inspections. [37]
In addition to General waste disposal, Recycling, Healthcare and clinical waste collections and disposal etc.[ citation needed ] Cleanaway also manages several landfills, waste transfer stations and material recovery facilities throughout Australia, turning some received waste into energy and other materials. [38]
Cleanaway has proposed an energy-from-waste facility in Western Sydney. The facility would take residual waste from Western Sydney kerbside general waste collections and convert to energy. [39] In April 2021, Cleanaway launched Greenius, a free online learning resource for residents. [40]
In 2007, Cleanaway formed a joint venture with Veolia and purchased EarthPower, an organic food waste processing facility. The facility uses anaerobic digestion technology to convert food waste into combustible gas similar to natural gas to produce green electricity. [41]
The TOMRA Cleanaway partnership was appointed to be the Network Operator for the New South Wales container deposit scheme (also known as Return and Earn). TOMRA provides the Reverse Vending Machines, and Cleanaway collects and processes the containers from the machines and collection points around New South Wales. As of 25 February 2021, 5 billion containers [42] have been returned since the start of the scheme. This same partnership was also chosen as the network operator for western Victoria and western Melbourne for Victoria's container deposit scheme in April 2023. [43]
On 19 February 2020, Asahi Breweries, Cleanaway and Pact Group Holdings announced a joint venture to develop a plastic pelletising facility. [44] This facility is expected to process up to 28,000 tonnes of plastic bottles and other plastic packaging. The facility will trade as Circular Plastics Australia (PET). [45]
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the properties it had in its original state. It is an alternative to "conventional" waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. It can also prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy use, air pollution and water pollution.
Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment, and disposal of waste, together with monitoring and regulation of the waste management process and waste-related laws, technologies, and economic mechanisms.
A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, trash dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, refuse was simply left in piles or thrown into pits; in archeology this is known as a midden.
A waste collector, also known as a garbage man, garbage collector, trashman, binman or dustman, is a person employed by a public or private enterprise to collect and dispose of municipal solid waste (refuse) and recyclables from residential, commercial, industrial or other collection sites for further processing and waste disposal. Specialised waste collection vehicles featuring an array of automated functions are often deployed to assist waste collectors in reducing collection and transport time and for protection from exposure. Waste and recycling pickup work is physically demanding and usually exposes workers to an occupational hazard.
A reverse vending machine (RVM) is a machine that allows a person to insert a used or empty glass bottle, plastic bottle, or aluminum can in exchange for a reward. After inserting the recyclable item, it is then compacted, sorted, and analyzed according to the number of ounces, materials, and brand using the universal product code on the bottle or can. Once the item has been scanned and approved, it is then crushed and sorted into the proper storage space for the classified material. Upon processing the item, the machine rewards people with incentives, such as cash or coupons.
Plastic recycling is the processing of plastic waste into other products. Recycling can reduce dependence on landfill, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling rates lag those of other recoverable materials, such as aluminium, glass and paper. From the start of production through to 2015, the world produced some 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic waste, only 9% of which has been recycled, and only ~1% has been recycled more than once. Of the remaining waste, 12% was incinerated and 79% either sent to landfill or lost into the environment as pollution.
Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, as in a garbage disposal; the two are sometimes collected separately. In the European Union, the semantic definition is 'mixed municipal waste,' given waste code 20 03 01 in the European Waste Catalog. Although the waste may originate from a number of sources that has nothing to do with a municipality, the traditional role of municipalities in collecting and managing these kinds of waste have produced the particular etymology 'municipal.'
The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) is a publicly available database containing information on toxic chemical releases and other waste management activities in the United States.
Waste sorting is the process by which waste is separated into different elements. Waste sorting can occur manually at the household and collected through curbside collection schemes, or automatically separated in materials recovery facilities or mechanical biological treatment systems. Hand sorting was the first method used in the history of waste sorting. Waste can also be sorted in a civic amenity site.
There is no national law in the United States that mandates recycling. State and local governments often introduce their own recycling requirements. In 2014, the recycling/composting rate for municipal solid waste in the U.S. was 34.6%. A number of U.S. states, including California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont have passed laws that establish deposits or refund values on beverage containers while other jurisdictions rely on recycling goals or landfill bans of recyclable materials.
The Sheffield Energy Recovery Facility, also known as the Energy from Waste Plant, is a modern incinerator which treats Sheffield's household waste. It is notable as it not only provides electricity from the combustion of waste but also supplies heat to a local district heating scheme, making it one of the most advanced, energy efficient incineration plants in the UK. In 2004, the district heating network prevented 15,108 tonnes of CO2 from being released from buildings across the city, compared to energy derived from fossil fuels. The incinerator is a 'static asset' owned by Sheffield City Council and operated by Veolia Environmental Services under a 35 year integrated waste management contract (IWMC)/PFI contract.
Republic Services, Inc. is a North American waste disposal company whose services include non-hazardous solid waste collection, waste transfer, waste disposal, recycling, and energy services. It is the second largest provider of waste disposal in the United States after Waste Management.
Waste management in Japan today emphasizes not just the efficient and sanitary collection of waste, but also reduction in waste produced and recycling of waste when possible. This has been influenced by its history, particularly periods of significant economic expansion, as well as its geography as a mountainous country with limited space for landfills. Important forms of waste disposal include incineration, recycling and, to a smaller extent, landfills and land reclamation. Although Japan has made progress since the 1990s in reducing waste produced and encouraging recycling, there is still further progress to be made in reducing reliance on incinerators and the garbage sent to landfills. Challenges also exist in the processing of electronic waste and debris left after natural disasters.
Waste are unwanted or unusable materials. Waste is any substance discarded after primary use, or is worthless, defective and of no use. A by-product, by contrast is a joint product of relatively minor economic value. A waste product may become a by-product, joint product or resource through an invention that raises a waste product's value above zero.
Solid waste policy in the United States is aimed at developing and implementing proper mechanisms to effectively manage solid waste. For solid waste policy to be effective, inputs should come from stakeholders, including citizens, businesses, community-based organizations, non-governmental organizations, government agencies, universities, and other research organizations. These inputs form the basis of policy frameworks that influence solid waste management decisions. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates household, industrial, manufacturing, and commercial solid and hazardous wastes under the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Effective solid waste management is a cooperative effort involving federal, state, regional, and local entities. Thus, the RCRA's Solid Waste program section D encourages the environmental departments of each state to develop comprehensive plans to manage nonhazardous industrial and municipal solid waste.
The Solid Waste Disposal Act (SWDA) is an act passed by the United States Congress in 1965. The United States Environmental Protection Agency described the Act as "the first federal effort to improve waste disposal technology". After the Second Industrial Revolution, expanding industrial and commercial activity across the nation, accompanied by increasing consumer demand for goods and services, led to an increase in solid waste generation by all sectors of the economy. The act established a framework for states to better control solid waste disposal and set minimum safety requirements for landfills. In 1976 Congress determined that the provisions of SWDA were insufficient to properly manage the nation's waste and enacted the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Congress passed additional major amendments to SWDA in the Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 (HSWA).
Recycling in Australia is a widespread, and comprehensive part of waste management in Australia, with 60% of all waste collected being recycled. Recycling is collected from households, commercial businesses, industries and construction. Despite its prominence, household recycling makes up only a small part (13%) of Australia's total recycling. It generally occurs through kerbside recycling collections such as the commingled recycling bin and food/garden organics recycling bin, drop-off and take-back programs, and various other schemes. Collection and management of household recycling typically falls to local councils, with private contractors collecting commercial, industrial and construction recycling. In addition to local council regulations, legislation and overarching policies are implemented and managed by the state and federal governments.
Packaging waste, the part of the waste that consists of packaging and packaging material, is a major part of the total global waste, and the major part of the packaging waste consists of single-use plastic food packaging, a hallmark of throwaway culture. Notable examples for which the need for regulation was recognized early, are "containers of liquids for human consumption", i.e. plastic bottles and the like. In Europe, the Germans top the list of packaging waste producers with more than 220 kilos of packaging per capita.
Waste management in Australia started to be implemented as a modern system by the second half of the 19th century, with its progresses driven by technological and sanitary advances. It is currently regulated at both federal and state level. The Commonwealth's Department of the Environment and Energy is responsible for the national legislative framework.
The RedCycle or REDcycle program was an Australian soft plastic recycling program started in 2010 by RG Programs and Services and suspended in 2022.
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