Comprehensive approach. Cleaner outcomes.
The BMI Ipswich Recycling Park project is being developed on land formally occupied by the Rhonda Colliery which began mining operations in 1900, ceasing operations in 1996. From that time Austral Bricks extracted clay from the site for brickmaking purposes until it was purchased by BMI in 2013. As a result of the 113 years of extractive operations the land has been significantly impacted and contains a water filled void, steep and unstable cliffs and hot materials from the storage of mining overburden.
BMI, with a proven track record in mining void rehabilitation, has taken on the obligations associated with this historical mining with the commencement of rehabilitation works preceding the operation of the site for BMI’s Ipswich Recycling Park operations.
The Ipswich Recycling Park will incorporate a state-of-the-art recycling and landfill facility and is the culmination of the company's 32-year history in resource recovery. Since 2002, BMI has been the only operator in SEQ to achieve a landfill approval due to its commitment to maintaining high standards in Landfill design, construction and operation whilst meeting increasing requirements set by regulatory authorities including Ipswich City Council.
With the successful operation of 6 sites around SEQ, the Ipswich Recycling Park is set to open in 2026. The facility will incorporate the latest technological innovations for waste processing which will be integrated into the construction and operations from the outset. Most importantly, the facility will be constructed with sustainability and community considerations embedded in the blueprints — and an ongoing BMI commitment to support positive ecological and social outcomes.
In line with this commitment, community consultation was initiated by BMI in 2017. From this well-rounded input, BMI was able to integrate viable recommendations at the planning and application stages meaning a proactive and collaborative approach facilitated grassroots project development and transparency. We’ve also enlisted the best industry consultants in their respective fields to advise us on the best way forward to meet our commitment to the Ipswich community.
Key Value Icons
When the situation arose to repurpose a disused mine site into a modern resource recovery park, the BMI team knew it was an opportunity to further invest in the sustainable waste management movement while continually transitioning to the circular economy. Drawing from past successes and through progressive thinking, we will now build the Ipswich Recycling Park with a clear vision to reclaim, recycle and reuse waste through safer, lower-impact and more eco-friendly pathways. This comprehensive approach aligns with BMI’s goal to be a flagship example of sustainable and integrated development within the Ipswich City community.
Considering the region’s economic, infrastructure and social projections, the Austin Street site will include a mixed construction and demolition recycling plant with further processing of concrete and masonry products, recycling of recovered timberand the recovery and repurposing of soils. From this holistic approach, only a small fraction (less than 20%) of the waste processed will require disposal in the landfill.
The recycling methodology will see the use of magnets, screens, crushers, shredders density separators, optical sorting systems as well as some old-fashioned elbow grease to extract valuable resources from the waste stream. When fully operational the site will employ some 65 staff. The resource recovery zone in the industry-leading plant will crush old concrete into useable aggregate, shred timber and fines into fresh mulch, sand and soil and amalgamate metals for recycling.
The height of the facility has been kept to a minimum to minimise the visual impact on local residents. Buffers to sensitive areas were also expanded and the final rehabilitated outcomes incorporate significantly more vegetation than is currently on site including specific koala food trees in an effort to create a greater environmental connectivity with the nearby Six Mile Creek.
Noise and vegetative bunding is incorporated into the site management measures to minimise the impacts of rehabilitation and recycling works on site. The landfill component of the operation incorporates industry-leading landfill containment systems, including certified geosynthetic lining and surface capping to minimise potential leachate (water) and gas offsets — more specialised containment and leachate recovery systems are also being integrated for added support. Furthermore, BMI will enter into an offtake agreement with landfill gas management contractors to capture landfill gas and convert it into green energy production. These activities will contribute to a substantial 32-times reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions for the site.
As part of the filling of the existing water filled void on site, we can assure stakeholders that we will not be completely emptying the void rather, we will establish a comfortable freeboard within the void and then only pump out as required and only if water quality conditions meet stringent water quality parameters in key areas of higher quality than is currently recorded in Six Mile Creek. Realtime compliance monitoring will shut down off site discharge should water quality parameters fall outside compliance limits for more than 15 seconds. Regular monitoring of both upstream and downstream conditions will investigate not only compliance but impact of the discharge on creek erosion, sediment contaminants and aquatic ecology.
The 15 Hectare resource recovery zone, incorporates a number of industrial buildings within which the recycling activities will take place, storage areas for finished products and offices and workshops to support the recycling operations which are designed to blend into the natural landscape. More significant buildings housing heavy machinery will also feature high-grade sound insulation for noise reduction and solar panel systems to help power a greener processing plant.
Meeting, and in some cases exceeding, waste management development and operational compliance, BMI Group’s due diligence was addressed under the following regulatory frameworks in association with expert consultant advice:
-ERA 60 Waste Disposal, as defined in the Environmental Protection Regulation 2008.
-Guideline – Landfill Siting, Design, Operation and Rehabilitation (Department Environment and Heritage Protection [DES], 2018).
-Technical Guideline Licensing, Wastewater Release to Queensland
Waters (DES, 2016).
-Planning Act 2016, Environmental Protection Act 1994, the Waste Reduction and Recycling Act 2011 and associated subordinate policies and regulations.
-State Code 22: Environmentally Relevant Activities. Relevant requirements under the Ipswich Planning Scheme.
-Temporary Local Planning Instrument (TLPI) No. 1 of 2020 (Waste Activity Regulation).
-Regionally Significant Business and Industry Areas Code (Part 6).
-Land Affected by Key Resource Area Commercial and Industry Code.
-National Environmental Protection Measure – Assessment of Site Contamination (ASC NEPM) including: Schedule B1 Investigation Levels for Soil and Groundwater (NEPC 1999 amended 2013a); Schedule B5 Guideline on Ecological Risk Assessment (NEPC 1999 amended 2013b); Schedule B6 Guideline on Risk Based Assessment of Groundwater Contamination (NEPC 1999 amended 2013c) (NEPC 1999 amended 2013e)
-Australian and New Zealand Guidelines for Fresh and Marine Water Quality (ANZECC/ARMCANZ 2000).
