A New Way of Collecting Waste - the Maroochydore Automatic Waste Collection System

Abstract

The Sunshine Coast Council (SCC) has embarked upon an ambitious program to develop a contemporary 21st century new CBD in the heart of Maroochydore. The SunCentral project is being designed and delivered for Council through a company wholly owned by Council. Council’s aspirations are for a CBD that represents the best in urban design and living and creates a commercial and economic hub to serve the entire Coast. The vision also encapsulates creating a truly smart city that includes capacity for current and future technologies to enhance visitor and local residents and businesses opportunities. One of the most significant projects that is being delivered in SunCentral is the Automatic Waste Collection System (AWCS) which is a large scale industrial waste management system. An AWCS consists of three main components – inlets for receiving waste, pipe systems to connect up the inlets and a collection centre to which the waste is transported, compacted, stored and removed from site. The system operates through large vacuum pumps with sensors that monitor waste levels in each inlet and automatically open control valves when inlets are full to suck out the collected waste to the collection centre. Three different waste fractions will be catered for by the AWCS (organics, recyclables and general waste) with waste inlets and connections being rolled out to every single building and into highly used public spaces and park areas. This will negate the need for conventional large truck based waste collection services through the CBD area, replacing this with a quiet and efficient waste collection system. Before embarking upon this project, Council staff and SunCentral staff undertook a detailed feasibility study culminating in a business case that outlined the capital and operational costs and the risks and benefits of such a project. This project is the first of its kind in Australia, and has already created considerable interest through the wider community and nationally. This presentation will outline the system details, the business case elements and the benefits that such a system will bring to our new CBD.