BRHC manages waste for the City of Bunbury and the Shire of Harvey in the south west region of Western Australia. The primary purpose of BRHC is waste recovery and disposal rather than waste collection which is the responsibility of the individual councils in the area.

BHRC owns and manages the Stanley Road Waste Management Facility which encompasses a waste transfer station, green waste recycling and a Class II landfill site. We interviewed Tony Battersby, CEO of the waste management facility.

As of July 2018, the waste management facility has started a bulk commercial collections project.

“The process involves sorting through waste to divert anything that does not belong in landfill such as steel, wood, tyres, asbestos and oil. We have three attachments for the excavator for three different applications. The Star 110 - 230V scrap handling magnet with GEID 12 EL-ZM hydraulic DC generator is used to recover metal, a Daemo DRP235 concrete pulveriser is used to break up bulky concrete and an EI Engineering grapple is used to sort material into different piles and to feed the shredder. The shredder is also equipped with a magnet to pick up any remaining metal”.

“Our aim is always to keep waste at a minimum by keeping as much material as possible out of landfill. We aim to keep an innovative approach to stay ahead of the industry changes rather than ‘get told what to do’ as a result of a reactive approach”.  

“We have a range of equipment on-site here including a shredder, landfill compactors, dozers and a loader. The Hidromek HMK200W is our first excavator and that was purchased for our new project”.

“We have previously hired other major excavator brands and we find the Hidromeks completely on par with those brands. In addition to the wheeled material handling excavator we have also had a tracked HMK220LC on hire for some time. Both machines have excellent performance. The main difference is the wheeled vs. tracked set-up”.

“When we purchase a machine the price probably weighs in 50% towards the purchase decision. A given factor is whether the specs are in line with what is needed. The third thing that is very important to us is feedback from other contractors who own these machines, not just feedback from management in terms of dollars and numbers but feedback from operators who use the machines. We took our time to do the research properly and spoke to contractors on the eastern seaboard. We wanted a broad overview and not feedback from anyone favouring a brand. The feedback from other companies was very positive and the machine we purchased has definitely lived up to the expectations we had. The build quality is excellent, fuel consumption is great and it is very compatible with the different attachments we opted for”.

“The operators have previously operated other machine brands and they’re saying that the Hidromek is very comfortable and smooth to operate. One of the key features is the visibility from the cab where the elevation gives the operator a great view of the hopper”.

“We purchased the machine from Onetrak and our relationship with them has been very positive. We have had numerous follow-up visits where they have checked in to ensure everything is running smoothly. The post-delivery support has been very good both from Hendrik Visser [Regional Manager] and their service team”.

“Onetrak organised to get some photos and videos of our new machine and we will use that as part of our education tool where we visit schools and organisations to talk about our operations and what we do to keep landfill at an absolute minimum. We always encourage people to learn more about the waste and the positive outcomes of our waste management initiatives”.