NAWMA’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF) at Edinburgh opened in 2017 and is the only local government owned and operated MRF in South Australia.
The MRF processes approximately 45,000 tonnes of kerbside recycling each year from NAWMA’s Constituent Councils – the City of Salisbury, City of Playford and Town of Gawler, as well as metropolitan and regional client councils.
The facility combines mechanical, automated, and manual sorting technology to recover paper and cardboard, plastics, glass, aluminium, and steel. It includes trommels, magnets, an eddy-current and ballistic separators, automated sorting technology and more than 1.5 kilometres of conveyor belts.
Highlighted features of the MRF include NAWMA’s integrated Glass Fines Recovery Plant and Fibre Polishing Plant (FPP), which provide additional recovery and processing capability.
The Glass Fines Recovery Plant recovers small pieces of broken glass that may otherwise be lost to landfill. Screening, magnets, and air separation remove contamination and recover glass for beneficial reuse, including a substitute for natural sand.
The FPP further processes paper and cardboard recovered through the MRF, removing contamination and improving the quality of the finished product. With capacity to process more than 31,000 tonnes of mixed paper and cardboard each year, it helps NAWMA produce cleaner, higher quality fibre for recycling markets.
Together, these technologies enable NAWMA to recover more material, improve product quality, reduce waste to landfill, and maximise the value of resources collected from our communities.
Recovered materials are supplied to recycling markets in Australia and overseas, supporting NAWMA’s commitment to resource recovery and the circular economy.
