North East Waste: Northern Rivers Circular Construction and Demolition Waste

North East Waste explored reuse and recovery interventions to divert construction and demolition waste from landfill in the Northern Rivers region.

In this case study:

• Background
• Key activities
• Collaborators
• Outcomes
• Capacity for change
• Innovation elements
• Lessons learned

Background

NE Waste was awarded $166,400 by the NSW EPA in round one of the Local Government Waste Solutions Fund for the project ‘Northern Rivers Circular C&D’. North East Waste (NE Waste) is a voluntary group of 7 councils, including Ballina Shire, Byron Shire, Clarence Valley, Kyogle, Lismore City, Richmond Valley and Tweed Shire, that are working together to manage waste. The region includes: 

• 5 landfill sites
• 2 recycling facilities
• 3 organics processing facilities
• 14 transfer stations.

Data collected in an earlier EPA funded pilot project and from consultation with NE Waste member councils and commercial waste service providers indicated that timber, gyprock and other builder's waste had no, or limited, recovery options in the region. The 2022 Northern Rivers floods exacerbated the C&D waste problem with the demolition and restoration of affected homes and buildings. These materials continued to be landfilled in four of NE Waste’s council areas.

This project aimed to investigate and develop systems in collaboration with service providers and councils to improve C&D resource recovery in the building sector.

Key activities

Project activities started July 2023 and ended in February 2025.

During the project, NE Waste: 

• facilitated the startup of a successful waste operators working group with member councils
• conducted commercial C&D waste audits at Ballina Council Waste Transfer Station
• tested onsite source separation processes at Ballina Resource Recovery Centre
• worked with Byron Council to establish a gyprock collection service with reduced gate fees.
• explored new processes to support for reuse of materials via tip shops
• collected feedback from local builders and tradespeople to better understand the barriers and opportunities to improve the separation, recovery and reuse of C&D waste materials; and
• collaborated with regional partners in the sharing of data and experiences, to inform circular economy and disaster waste management response projects.

Council waste operators working group established

A project steering committee was formed and a Council Waste Operators Group established with representatives from all member councils to focus on C&D waste. Quarterly meetings were held on-site at resource recovery centres and lead to ongoing conversations, improved networking, and capacity building in the management of C&D materials.

NE Waste gathered feedback from onsite staff via interviews and survey to identify opportunities and barriers to C&D separation.

C&D waste audit to identify recovery and reuse opportunities

NE Waste undertook an audit of the C&D builder’s pile at Ballina Resource Recovery Centre to quantify mixed C&D waste tonnages, assess composition and identify opportunities to increase recovery through improved systems and design. 

The NE Waste audit team completed a compositional waste audit of the builder pile, identifying and separating out all loads containing mixed C&D waste on what was considered to be an average day. 

The materials were then sorted into 11 main categories with further sub-categorisation by type, e.g. wood is comprised of treated timber, untreated timber, pallets, and measured by volume (m³). These activities established the highest volume types and subtypes.  A total of 52.13m³ of mixed C&D waste was collected, which represented approximately one day’s worth destined for landfill. Final weighing of the main categories via the weighbridge determined the overall weight of materials to be 5.8 tonnes.

Thirty commercial customers responded to a survey about barrier and behaviours for source separation. 

The audit found: 

• An estimated 18,660m³ of mixed C&D waste is being presented for disposal each year, with timber by far the largest category at 37% by volume followed by wall, floor or ceiling sheeting (21%).  Recoverable materials included cardboard, e-waste, EPS and metals.
• Commercial customers were generally not incentivised to separate C&D waste at source in return for a reduced gate fee. Tradespeople cited the time and effort involved and the fact that disposal costs are already included into the job, as the main barriers to source separation. Householders (non-commercial) are more interested in reduced gate fee as an incentive to separate than commercial customers
• Correctly determining the suitability of some C&D waste materials for reuse, resale via tip shop or for mulching via green waste pile, requires assessment by trained staff
• The layout of the current drop off areas at the waste transfer station within the resource recovery centre deters some users from separating on arrival
• Potentially recoverable (intact) materials in mixed loads are often damaged during the process of unloading or when mechanically aggregated with other waste.

Testing onsite interventions for C&D source separation

Following the audit, C&D recovery activities were initiated at the Ballina Resource Recovery Centre, including:

• 1 staff member to supervise full time
• radio communication between builder’s pile and weighbridge
• installation of a skip for easy separation of metal
• trailer for separation and transport of salvageable items
• excavator – 1 month trial to maximize recovery
• salvaged items charged at reduced gate fee.

Byron Resource Recovery Centre introduced gyprock recycling and separation of clean reusable timber, both for a reduced gate fee.

Supporting reuse of materials via tip shops

To support resale of salvageable materials, the following approaches were used: 

• installation of signage and additional short-term storage for salvageable and hazardous items
• new work procedures to assist staff to manage better recovery
• formal and on the job staff training: Staff training was implemented via inclusion into weekly toolbox talks and via 1 day workshop – Gatehouse Best Practice and Waste Levy training delivered by consultant
• New or recovered storage and display racking systems were sourced and installed at Tip Shop/Salvage Sheds at Ballina, Byron and Lismore Resource Recovery Centres to support increased capacity to store, display and sell more C&D materials salvaged from waste transfer station drop offs, particularly reusable timber including doors, window frames and flooring.
• tip shops promoted via NE Waste’s Reuse and Repair Trail.

Partnering with local builders for C&D waste minimisation initiatives

NE Waste engaged with local builders through surveys and industry events to understand motivations and barriers and potential incentives for source separation. 

It was determined that future behaviour change efforts would be enabled by first improving source separation opportunities for commercial customers at the waste facility.

NE Waste collaborated with local builders and tradespeople to create an educational video to engage with the broader building sector to support increased source separation.

Collaborators

Outcomes

Through this project, NE Waste has:

• improved understanding of the C&D waste stream by member councils and project collaborators and  improved understanding of the barriers, motivations and opportunities for source separation of C&D waste for builders
• increased reuse and recovery of C&D waste through improved service and facility design at waste management facilities
• diverted over 38 tonnes of gyprock from landfill for processing into gypsum for fertiliser manufacture
• increased recovery of salvageable materials through council tip shops, including 7.32 tonnes of reusable timber recovered for resale, plus fittings
• worked with local builders and tradespeople to create a source separation educational video resource which will be used to engage with the broader building sector
• shared data and experiences with regional partners (Southern Cross University and NSW Reconstruction Authority) to inform regional circular economy and disaster waste management response projects
• developed a business case for C&D waste and achieved commitment from member councils to seek funding for additional approaches to market development for offtake of recovered materials.

Capacity for change

Member councils were able to confidently embark on new services and approaches to recovering C&D waste as a result of the audit and trial data. The audit data enables better understanding of previously unknown regional feedstock levels.

The project strengthened partnerships and network connectivity around the recovery of C&D waste. NE Waste applied for a round two Local Government Waste Solutions Grant to undertake additional work to reduce C&D waste to landfill based on the outcomes from this round one project.

Innovation elements

Key innovations achieved:

• Circular Economy solutions for hard-to-recover C&D materials are now more broadly accepted as the remit of NE Waste member councils and supported by a business case for the first time.
• Collection of commercial C&D data enabled measurement and categorisation of the waste stream, leading to the introduction of trials of builder’s waste separation and recovery approaches at waste transfer sites.

Lessons learned

Building industries practices and attitudes did not support source separation

When the building industry did not respond as enthusiastically as expected to the initial focus of the project – source separation by tradespeople – NE Waste adapted the project to respond to the industry’s input. Rather than focusing on changing industry behaviour, the project pivoted to the establishment of improved facility systems and services that would support future behaviour change approaches to industry. Consulting early with key stakeholders helped to validate assumptions and understand motivations and barriers.

Source separation at waste management facilities required some site redesign

NE Waste overcame design challenges at waste management facilities by problem solving with councils and learning from best practice facilities in other regions, such as Albury and West Nowra. It was essential to allow time for appropriate research and to plan a staged approach to enable ongoing evaluation and recalibration of activities where necessary. Innovative projects benefit from identification of alternative paths to implementation.

Councils needed a business case to implement changes

Waste facility operators are reluctant to put separation systems in place if there is not market for the recovered product, as this creates a risk of stockpiling. Quantifying regional feedstocks and identifying recyclers can build a case for offering more recovery services at waste management facilities. Materials with established end markets could be readily implemented. 

NE Waste participated in ISJO’s Circular Lab for Wood Waste, another project funded by the Local Government Waste Solutions Fund, to better understand market dynamics and material flows in NSW.  Additional work is ongoing to understand regional markets for recovered C&D materials.