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Environment industries archive
Key departmental publications, e.g. annual reports, budget papers and program guidelines are available in our online archive.
Much of the material listed on these archived web pages has been superseded, or served a particular purpose at a particular time. It may contain references to activities or policies that have no current application. Many archived documents may link to web pages that have moved or no longer exist, or may refer to other documents that are no longer available.
Compaq Australia turns all compostable waste from its Rhodes site into high quality, mature compost. Since the composting system started in 1994, over 500 tonnes of garden and catering waste has been diverted from landfill with significant savings in waste disposal costs.
Compaq is a global enterprise technology and solutions company. It is the world's largest supplier of computing systems, servers and storage solutions and the second largest technology solutions company. Formerly DIGITAL, Compaq's Australian headquarters are at Rhodes, NSW. Compaq's Australasian Technology Centre was set up in 1997, making Australia one of the first Compaq subsidiaries to manufacture custom-configured computers. Today it satisfies all demand in the South Pacific area for both commercial and consumer desktop PCs as well as a range of server products.
Compaq is committed to sound environmental management and improving the quality of life in the community. The cornerstone of Compaq's environmental leadership is found in its Environmental Policy. Formalised by its senior management team in 1989, the policy solidifies the underlying philosophy that has been integrated into Compaq's business strategy and environmental, health and safety management systems. The Environmental policy is dynamic and has been updated twice to reflect changing international environmental priorities and concerns.
In 1998 Compaq received the Peak Environment Award from Keep Australia Beautiful and Environment Australia for its comprehensive environmental policy and practices.
Compaq has been composting organic waste from the Rhodes site since 1994 using a conventional system. In November 2000 it was the first company in Australia to change its composting technology to the revolutionary Vertical Composting Unit system. Both approaches are described in this case study
Compaq's activities at its Rhodes site are diverse. Besides its manufacturing and office activities, it has catering and other support activities and extensive gardens. All of these generate significant quantities of waste besides other environmental impacts
In 1993, Ms Eedra Zey, then a DIGITAL computer service engineer , attended an Earth Works course conducted by the NSW Environmental Protection Agency. One of the course's trainers, Mr Peter Rutherford, at that time was pioneering a new on-site composting solution specifically for industry and corporations. It was from this course that the idea for an ambitious project, 'The Waste Minimisation Plan', was born. Its aim was to promote a sustainable environment and reduce costs by reducing the volume and toxicity of waste.
By establishing a core team of enthusiastic and motivated people from within the company, Eedra was able to gain broader support for the Plan. To create a strong team spirit the team dubbed themselves the Wastebusters. Coming from every area within the company the Wastebusters work to implement effective waste reduction programs.
Eedra first carried out a waste audit, physically going through the rubbish and identifying waste that could be composted, recycled or avoided in the first place. It was evident that the amount of compostable material represented a major justification for initiating an on-site composting system. The audit identified that the Rhodes facility generated around 200 litres of organic waste a day from the canteen and tea rooms and an additional 200 litres from the gardens.
The decision to implement composting was based on a number of considerations
Four months after attending the Earth Works course, Eedra presented the Waste Minimisation Program as an employee initiative to senior corporate managers. Supporting her presentation were the results of the initial audit and a graphic representation by means of stacks of waste on a boardroom table. Subsequently, full management support was given to the program. In March 1994 Eedra conducted the first one day course for Wastebusters team members. It dealt with issues such as waste reduction, effective team forming, communicating, composting and integrating the program into standard practice. This helped in gaining interest than more just discussing waste.
Critical success factors in the composting program included having a 'champion' within the company, handling objections, preparing answers and establishing a cooperative approach between all parties. It was especially important to identify the participants, gain their support and identify their responsibilities.
The construction of the compost site called for holding bays for storing mulch, storing grass for adding to the compost as well as storing the finished compost. The three bays each measure 2.4 by 2 metres with walls 1.3 metres high, demonstrating the importance of having sufficient space. A concrete slab was laid for the bays only. The large plastic RELN brand composting bins were located on bare earth to allow seepage of leachate, a by-product of composting. Since the composting system was aerobic it needed to have the contents of each bin turned on a regular basis, and this was done by a bob-cat. The timber walls of the bins therefore needed to be strong enough to absorb the impact of the bob-cat. Support for the walls was provided by steel sections concreted into the ground. Leading to the composting site is a concrete driveway providing all weather access to the tractor and front-end loader.
For the gardeners a total of approximately 30 minutes a day is devoted to tasks such as adding material to the compost bins and monitoring the quality of the compost by smell and temperature.
With a large expanse of gardens, a 9 hp mulcher was purchased at the start of the project. This was used by the gardeners to mulch tree cuttings and branches up to 16mm in diameter. The mulch contributes to a rapid breakdown process in the compost by providing aeration. For larger branches an industrial unit is brought onto site as needed.
Additional equipment needed was: Separate bins for the kitchen and staff tea rooms, small worm farms, a temperature probe, and access to a front-end loader (bob-cat) to turn the compost. Also needed were garden tools such as shovels and rakes and commercial compost activator and agricultural lime.
Worms are critical to the health and vitality of soil and in forming compost. although the majority of decomposition is by heat Red and Tiger worms play an important role. Once the temperature of the composting bin has dropped to one of their liking around 30 degrees Centigrade the worms digest remaining food in the compost heap. What they eat at one end comes out the other with ten times the amount of nutrients. To assist in the decomposition in the RELN bins, thousands of worms were added.
The sources of compostable materials had been identified as the cafeteria, tea rooms and gardens. In each location, different coloured bins were installed, one each for organics, glass, aluminium cans, mixed paper and non-recyclables. This enabled all employees to make a positive contribution to the project. Staff were encourage to participate and Eedra worked with the cleaners to ensure that separated waste remained so. The on-site cafeteria generates both preparation and post-consumer waste and so distinctly coloured 45 litre bins were used for food waste and other compostables such as food-soiled paper and coffee grounds. Separate bins were also provided in the cafeteria and sandwich bar areas
The composting project has benefited the company in three distinct areas: cost reductions, employee involvement and public accolades. While the last two areas have been difficult to assess at a financial level, reductions in waste disposal costs have been easier to calculate.
Since the on-site composting project began in September 1994, approximately 413 tonnes of food and garden waste had, by May 1998, been diverted from landfill and turned into high quality mature compost. At the end of 2000 the estimated total was over 500 tonnes.
The project has been driven by company commitment to environmental improvement as well as business benefits.
No significant barriers were encountered.
In November 2000, Compaq changed the composting technology at the Rhodes Site to a Vertical Composting Unit (VCU), and was the first company in Australia to use this technology. The VCU ( see http://www.vcutechnology.com) is a revolutionary organic waste processor which is, in essence, an enclosed steel chamber in which organic waste decomposes over a two week period to become a pathogen-free compost. It can handle wood, paper, green waste, bio-solids, food waste, meat waste, sludges, grease oil and fat.. The process is continuously and gravity fed. Waste is loaded at the top and emerges at the bottom as compost. Depending on the volume and type of waste and the properties of the end-product, waste can be processes more quickly or more slowly. The unit at the Rhodes Site each day processes 100-200 kilos of waste and produces 0.5 m³ of compost.
Advantages of the VCU technology over conventional composting or organic process systems include: