Recycling lessons for Donvale Hill

28 Jan 2014

A number of club members from the Probus Club of Donvale Hill joined residents on a bus at Manningham Civic Centre for the trip to the Landfill Recycling Plant at Hallam Road, Hampton Park operated by SITA Australia, a joint-venture by French and Singaporean companies.

The tour began with a visit to the Education Centre where all were briefed on the layout of the plant and its function.

All present learnt that much of the material received at the plant is transformed into such things as road making products. MEmbers also learnt how the pits that hold the residual material are constructed to prevent undue contamination of ground water, and how the methane gas produced by the waste is captured and used to generate electricity, thus preventing the release into the atmosphere of greenhouse gas that is far more damaging than carbon dioxide.

Following the information session and some refreshment all boarded the bus once again for a tour of the facility. Sadly the inclement weather prevented the full tour as there was a risk of being bogged in the wet ground, but everyone was able to peer through the rain-soaked windows at a landscape that was, despite being bleak and barren, very impressive in its scale.

Despite the hazards of the slippery Recycling Plant, all intrepid Probians made a safe return home after a very interesting visit.