Water recycling scheme to get $1m revamp

A Fraser Coast Council effluent recycling project has received almost $1 million from the Queensland Government for an upgrade.

The funding will provide a new pump, pipes and trickle irrigation network for the Pulgul Farm recycling scheme, which was commissioned in 1990.

Local Government Minister Desley Boyle says the funding will expand one of Australia's most innovative water recycling projects.

"The farm is reducing discharge into the bay and providing precious water for crop irrigation," she said.

"In fact, the initiative is actually saving council around $500,000 a year.

"How it works is the treated water is piped from the plant to the farm and then put through the woodland system where nature gets to do its job and digest the nutrients."

How is Paper Recycled?

According to the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA), 55 percent of the paper consumed in the U.S. was recovered for recycling in 2007. This significant achievement was made possible by the millions of Americans who recycle at home, work, and school every day.
In fact, if measured by weight, more paper is recovered for recycling from municipal solid waste streams than all glass, plastic and aluminum combined. Additional good news: every ton of paper recovered for recycling saves 3.3 cubic yards of landfill space.

Paper Recycling Starts with Us
Paper recycling begins with you and me. The paper recycling process begins at any number of locations, including community curbside programs, drop-off centers, schools or offices. Regardless of where the recycling process starts, it is important to understand what materials can be recovered in your community and how to properly prepare them for recycling.

How Is Paper Recycled Once Collected?
After it is collected, recovered paper is transferred to a recycling center, or Material Recovery Facility (MRF), where it is sorted into its different grades and “contaminants” such as trash, glass, plastics and metals are removed. Once the recovered paper is properly sorted and free of contaminants, it is compacted into large bales and transported to a paper mill where the recycling process begins.
To begin the papermaking process using recovered fiber, the fiber is shredded and mixed with water to make a pulp. The pulp is washed, refined and cleaned, then turned to slush in a beater. The process of papermaking from that point forward is essentially the same whether or not recovered fiber is used.

Trash and Recycling

Trash and Recycling
The City of Temecula contracts with CR&R Inc. for trash and recycling services. CR&R provides the most cost effective method of trash collection with a state of the art recycling and green waste program. Automated collection is an efficient and safe process for collecting residential waste and recyclables. Through the use of a mechanical arm operated by the driver, trash is collected quickly and neatly. Each home is furnished with three special containers which residents roll out to the curb on collection day.

Trash Collection Tips:
Collection TimeBins should be placed at the curb or in the street by 6:00 am on your designated trash pick up day. Bins should be placed no more than 24 hours prior to normal collection time and removed within 12 hours after collection. Trash bins shall be stored out of public view.

Street Sweeping and Parking
All residential streets are swept by CR&R the day following the trash service day. If trash service is provided on Friday, the streets are swept on Monday. Please refrain from parking on the residential streets on both trash collection and street sweeping days in order allow CR&R to provide efficient trash collection and street sweeping services.


Holiday Schedule Trash Pick-up
This is a reminder that during the holidays your trash collection will be delayed one day. For example, if your normal trash day is Monday, your trash will be collected on Tuesday, etc. If your normal trash day is Friday, your trash will be collected on Saturday. Holidays will affect the street sweeping schedule, unless the holiday occurs on Saturday or Sunday. Holidays for the year are New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. If any of these holidays fall on a Saturday or Sunday, normal collection will be provided.

Recycled drinking water 'a tough sell'

Western Australia's Opposition says the Government is going to have a tough job convincing Perth residents to drink recycled water.

The Water Minister, Graham Jacobs, has released a strategy to address the rapid decline of water levels in the Gnangara system, which provides 60 per cent of Perth's water supply.

If the recommendations are adopted, the groundwater system will be recharged with recycled water.

Dr Jacobs says West Australians need to get used to the idea, despite the 'yuck' factor.

The Opposition's spokesman for water, Fran Logan, supports the strategy, but says he is concerned about the public response to the longer-term recommendation to source water directly from waste water treatment plants.

"With respect to taking waste water directly from a sewerage works and then putting them through a recycling plant and turning it into straight drinking water, I think the Minister is going to have a big job on his hands convincing West Australians that's fine and that's ok to drink," he said.

Mr Logan says more money needs to be spent expanding the aquifer.

"The Minister has allowed his portfolio to be slashed," he said.

"If he [Graham Jacobs] stood up for his portfolio, he might be able to get some of that critical money poured into the infrastructure that we need to manage the state's water resources and ensure our water security into the future, particularly as we go into increasingly drying years."

The draft strategy is open for public comment for two months.