About the Resource Recovery Facility

In partnership with its six member councils, EMRC has been working since 2000 to develop a suitable resource recovery solution that will serve Perth's Eastern Region into the future. This is known as the Resource Recovery Project.

As part of strategic project planning which commenced in 2001, EMRC has undertaken extensive research on the various technology options, household waste collection systems (one, two and three bins systems) and the different site options for the facility. EMRC has also engaged with the community using a variety of methods including attitudinal surveys, focus groups and workshops.

For further information on past research and community engagement work undertaken for the Resource Recovery Project, please use the links below:

Resource Recovery Project - Community engagement
Resource Recovery Project - Research

EMRC's six member councils have been briefed throughout the project on the progress of the project team in analysing technology options, contract ownership models and costs of each option in order to make a number of decisions regarding the Resource Recovery Facility. These decisions include: 

• What sort of facility is best for our region?
• Where is the best place in our region to site the facility?
• What is the best waste collection system that compliments the waste treatment technology?
• What is the best ownership model for EMRC and its six member councils?

Recommendations on some of these questions were made in 2010 following the Expressions of Interest phase of the project.

In May 2009, EMRC advertised for Expressions of Interest (EOI) from interested parties for the establishment of a Resource Recovery Facility to process waste from the EMRC's six member councils. The purpose of the EOI process was to gather information about the capacity and capability of respondents; the technologies that they offered; and was used to make some decisions on key planning decisions referred to above. It is the first part of a two stage process, the second stage being a call for tenders.

The EOI phase of the Resource Recovery Facility was completed in July 2009. Seven of the nine submissions received were assessed as 'acceptable tenderers' under the Local Government Regulations by the Tender Evaluation Committee. 

In July 2011, Council noted advice from SITA Environmental Solutions and WSN Environmental Solutions of their intention to withdraw from the tender process for the Resource Recovery Facility. The list of acceptable tenderers has now been amended.

The acceptable tenderers are:

• Energos AS;
• Evergreen Energy Corporation Pty Ltd;
• Amec Minproc Limited;
• Phoenix Energy Australia Pty Ltd (formerly Moltoni Energy Pty Ltd); and
• Transpacific Cleanaway Limited

These five respondents to the EOI will be invited to submit a tender at a later stage in the project (2012) once the environmental approvals process is complete. Please click on the link below to read the EOI documentation.

At the 20 May 2010 Council meeting, EMRC made a number of decisions regarding the planned Resource Recovery Facility (RRF). These decisions included: 

1. Red Hill Waste Management Facility is the preferred site for the RRF.

2. The Design & Construct contract ownership model is preferred to a Build Own Operate contract model, at this stage of the project.

3. The RRF technology options include anaerobic digestion, gasification, pyrolysis and combustion. Plasma technology will only be considered if it is an integral part of one of these technologies.

4. A third bin for household organic waste collection be considered in conjunction with anaerobic digestion technology, otherwise a two bin system is recommended for the thermal technology options.

5. Council proceeds with the environmental and planning approvals task for the Resource Recovery Project based on the preferred site and technology options.

With these recommendations, the Resource Recovery Facility was referred to the Environmental Protection Authority. 

Following the referral of the proposed project to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) in June 2010, there were three appeals lodged on the EPA's level of assessment. The Appeals Convenor advised EMRC in November 2010 that the Minister for Environment has determined the appeals lodged against the level of assessment set by the EPA and has allowed the appeals in part. The appeals documents may be downloaded (see below). The Public Environmental Review (PER) level of assessment set by the EPA was found to be appropriate, and the public review period was extended to eight weeks. 

The PER was released for a public comment period (23 July 2012 to 17 September 2012). For further information, please visit the Public Environmental Review page.

On the basis of information received during and after the Expressions of Interest phase (the first stage of the tender process), preparations for the environmental impact assessment and community engagement feedback, EMRC Council resolved in August 2011 to reduce the technology options for the Resource Recovery Facility at Red Hill to anaerobic digestion and gasification, eliminating pyrolysis and combustion as possible options.

This will also facilitate the environmental impact assessment process and community feedback process.

A final decision on the technology to be used will be made after the tender process in late 2013.
 

With the preferred site chosen, community engagement activities are focusing on communities surrounding the Red Hill Waste Management Facility. Key among these has been the formation of the Community Task Force (CTF), which works on behalf of and in consultation with the broader community within Perth's Eastern Region.

The CTF has been formed to develop a Community Partnership Agreement (CPA) in relation to the development and performance of the proposed Resource Recovery Facility. The CPA is intended to provide indicators through which EMRC and the Resource Recovery Facility operator can benchmark their performance on agreed social, environmental and economic outcomes and report these back to the community. The CTF developed a draft CPA in early 2011 and sought regional community comment on the draft for seven weeks during April and May. The resulting feedback from community has now been considered and the CPA has been adjusted where the CTF thought this was necessary. See the latest update page (September 2011) for more information.

In parallel with development of the CPA, the CTF have also been involved in providing comment on the draft tender evaluation criteria provided by the project team. These criteria were included in the community forum programme held on 18 September 2010 which generated significant comment and the CTF have used this feedback as guidance in commenting on the draft criteria. The CTF will recommend changes to the draft tender evaluation criteria for consideration by the project team in the development of the tender document.

For further details on community engagement activities, please go to the Community Engagement page.

 

To find further information on the Resource Recovery Project, please click on these links:

Resource Recovery Project - introduction
Resource Recovery Project - benefits
Resource Recovery Project - timeline
Technology options
Community engagement
Research
Resources

Please click here for the latest update on the Resource Recovery Project.
 

For project inquiries contact:
Stephen Fitzpatrick - Manager, Project Development
Phone: (08) 9424 2222
Email: resourcerecovery@emrc.org.au