Lithgow is moving towards a sustainable future with the official opening of Ecoloop's Aluminium Composite Panel (ACP) recycling facility on Wednesday, December 1.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Operational since January 2021, the $1.6 million investment from Fairview, is a recycling solution for recladding waste and is located on Donald Street.
Fairview is the only Australian manufacturer and supplier of cladding products to offer a recycling option to tackle end of life waste, instead of sending it to landfill.
Fairview and Ecoloop managing director Andrew Gillies said there were plans just one year ago to turn a piece of land from a panel beating workshop into a facility for the future.
"There's been a lot of time and effort put into this. We purchased this land and put these pieces of equipment in and did some modifications and now it's operational and we're receiving and processing cladding for rectification projects from across Australia," he said.
Since becoming operational the ACP facility has processed approximately 110 tonnes of aluminium cladding, Mr Gillies said.
"The cladding recycled includes the metal screws, silicon, foam backing rod, aluminium panels and stiffeners so that all goes into the machine and comes out separated into pellets, ready to turn into something else.
"It's waste turned into energy, no product goes to landfill," he said.
Mr Gillies said the pellets can be used to create window frames, seats, grates and more.
The ACP also has the capacity to process up to 500 panels per day and processing different types of metal including copper and natural zinc, to achieve 100 per cent component diversion from landfill.
"It all gets introduced back into the economy to make new products, we're very proud of what we have achieved through Ecoloop and we welcome others in the industry to continue that journey," he said.
Deputy Premier and minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole joined Ecoloop in opening the facility and said he was delighted to see the initiative come to life.
"Ecoloop is making use of waste and turning it back into energy, we all know that landfill is growing too quickly and what we've got here is a vision to combat that," he said.
"We don't have to dig up the ground to look for these resources because we are making use of the resources that are already out there," he said.
The Ecoloop initiative is part of Fairview's ongoing product stewardship strategy, while also demonstrating the business' commitment to regional employment opportunities, with five new jobs created thus far.
Mr Toole said Fairview was a leader in the community and he was excited for employment opportunities and new skills being developed in Lithgow.
"It shows an ongoing commitment by the company to the Lithgow district and with this this comes new jobs which is fantastic," he said.
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: