Bevan Dooley, CEO of Integrated Green Energy, shares an initiative that turns waste plastic comprising unrecyclable, mixed polymer plastics into liquid diesel and petrol. The novel in-house technology, which has been employed for the last three years, cracks and fractionates the otherwise ‘uneconomic’ plastics into finished liquid fuels straight off the process.
An aggregator works as the middleman in this process, targeting businesses that have significant volumes of unrecyclable plastics, like food manufacturers, and businesses like Target or K-mart which toss out plastic items like clothes hangers which otherwise would end up in a landfill.
Dooley says: “We collect these plastic products that are unfit for normal recycling, and by picking it up for free or for a nominal fee, these businesses save on landfill fees and waste disposal products. About 200 metric tonnes of such plastics are collected per day and out of that, we produce about 160 metric tonnes of finished liquid fuels. These are sold to wholesalers which end up with large fleet users.”
Dooley commented on how with the right technology, businesses built around sustainability can be profitable. He says: “Given the right technology, there are many factories and businesses that can convert their waste into energy. The key is to apply the right technology.”
There are, however, obstacles to green energy initiatives such as this. “While I couldn’t be happier with how our end-users and clients have received our business, there are general perceptions from the government which isn’t helping sustainable energy businesses like ours. Detrimental policy changes over the last few years has seen the biodiesel industry decimated and brakes have been put on by the government in other initiatives too. This has a knock-on effect with the industry hesitant to take on sustainable energy initiatives.”
This guest post was brought to you by the Australasian Waste and Recycling Expo. To find out more about Integrated Waste Energy visit AWRE12-13th August at the Melbourne Exhibition Convention Centre, register free at awre.com.au
