Processors
Processors are responsible for verifying the weight and material received from Refund Points and processing the material into a form where it can be sold to recyclers.
The scheme has engaged processors in almost every region of Western Australia:
- Perth Metro — Remondis.
- Broome — Cleanaway.
- Karratha — Cleanaway.
- Geraldton — Cleanaway.
- Bunbury — Cleanaway.
- Albany — Cleanaway.
- Kalgoorlie — Cleanaway.
- Fitzroy Crossing — Marra Worra Worra.
Non-glass material is baled by processors into bales of up to 500kg to be sold to recyclers — either in their own right or via brokers — who use it to reproduce plastic and aluminium products.
Glass is generally beneficiated (broken and colour sorted) to be used in bottle-to-bottle recycling via Orora’s bottling facility in South Australia. In regional areas, glass may be crushed for use in road base or concrete aggregate if there are available local markets.
As Refund Point and Aggregation Point Operators, it is important to let your Contract Manager and logistics provider know if any material received at the Refund Point is contaminated or contains questionable material as this will cause issues for processors.
Recyclers
Recyclers are required to sign an agreement, which stipulates that all material sold through the CDS scheme will be recycled.
Processors list all material on an online auction portal at regular intervals. Recyclers bid for these materials, ensuring that the scheme collects a fair market value for all material produced.
There are several different recyclers that bid for different material with many different end-uses. This includes bottle-to-bottle recycling, remanufacturing plastic products, and road base and concrete aggregate production.
Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs)
Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) are generally operated by waste companies on behalf of local government. They sort the various material put into kerbside recycling bins for recycling. These can include eligible containers as well as cardboard, paper, and plastic packaging.
MRFs enter the scheme in a separate legal agreement for the eligible containers they receive from kerbside collections and other commercial arrangements they may have with businesses such as food service venues.
These eligible containers are dealt with under a separate component of the scheme and as such, under no circumstances are Refund Point Operators allowed to receive or pay refunds on containers that have been collected, recovered, or processed through an MRF.
If you have any concerns regarding this, please contact your Regional Manager.