The challenge
Assist organizations that have to meet the daily challenges dictated by their activities in their strategy for sustainable environmental management, rational use of resources and pollution prevention. As is the case with defence authorities in most countries, they are often major employers, large landowners and heavy consumers of natural resources.
Customer objectives
The Australian Department of Defence is working to reduce its environmental impact in terms of waste - more than 10,000 metric tons generated per year - on each of its 377 military sites. And, more specifically, is working to ensure the sustainable disposal of more than 40,000 used tyres every year (for a fleet of more than 6,000 light, medium and heavy vehicles).
Veolia's solution
Veolia's expertise in waste enables it to deploy the best recycling practices: waste management, resource recycling and recovery (paper, cardboard, glass, mixed plastics, aluminium and other metals), liquid and hazardous waste disposal, security-related document destruction, aviation fuel recycling and reuse. The Group also contributes to the initiative led by the Australian accreditation body, Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), for recycling used tyres.
Innovation
Veolia has joined the TSA program, which brings its expertise in safe and environmentally friendly recovery and treatment of end-of-life tyres. The TSA provides an industry framework authorized by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to effectively reduce the number of scrap tyres sent to landfill in Australia or inappropriately or illegally exported. This responds to the objectives of the Department of Defence's end-of-life tyre action plan (56 million passenger equivalent units per year in Australia) which applies to all disposals of vulcanised rubber from army vehicles and those leased by the Department across the country.
8,000
collection bins distributed to military sites and 11 additional collection vehicles in Veolia’s fleet
377
Defence department sites identified
40,000
average annual volume of used tyres that have to be disposed of sustainably
Customer benefits
Environmental performance
• Reduce the amount of material going to landfill
• Increase resource recovery and reduce the environmental impacts of disposing of end-of-life tyres
• Strictly comply with the requirements of the EPBC* law for all tyre sales (ground and aerospace)
* Australia's Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, which provides a legislative and regulatory framework for Commonwealth organizations to enable them to pursue ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance
Economic performance
The low national end-of-life tyre recycling rate (around 5%) is costly for the community and public authorities as tyres pollute natural landscapes and waterways and overburden landfill sites. By collecting and treating all the used tyre waste from the Defence Department, the cost of repairing the damage is reduced by the same amount.
Social performance
Veolia works closely with local communities - suppliers, job seekers, subcontractors, etc. - near military sites and waste treatment facilities with a view to creating jobs in the various regions concerned.
Contrat scope
Site : 377 sites identified
Equipment : bins + collection vehicles
Contract period
6 years (2014-2020) + 4 years extension
Sector of activity
Commercial
Expertise
Recovery of tyre waste in three main forms:
• energy recovery (in cement works)
• material recovery (aggregates for various uses)
• reuse (second-hand tyres)
Planet
Tyre Stewardship Australia (TSA), an industry-funded non-profit corporation, is responsible for implementing and driving the Tyre Product Stewardship Program. Every year, approximately 56 million units reach the end of their life in Australia. A large number of tyres are currently disposed of in landfills, stored, and exported, but only around 5% are recycled. The industry initiative aims to increase domestic tyre recycling, support new technologies, expand the market for tyre products and reduce the number of end-of-life tyres going to landfill.
People
The contract with the Department of Defence is a long-term boost to the Reconciliation Action Plan, which aims to achieve 2.5% employment for Australians by 2021. Conceived in 2014 by Veolia and the NGO Outback Academy Australia (OAA), the plan aims to reduce inequalities between indigenous and non-indigenous people by promoting initiatives to improve employment opportunities for and social inclusion of indigenous people.