Private companies, councils and public sector organisations are not just becoming more environmentally aware, they are also becoming more knowledgeable about waste minimisation.

The increasing number of landfills closing, coupled with an appetite to reduce municipal waste, means that these groups are now looking for a business case which identifies the best solution to achieve zero-waste ambitions.

There are a diverse range of technologies and options available to the waste management sector, with trends moving towards specialised systems for specific waste streams, requiring more specific infrastructure knowledge, design and strategies.

Meinhardt Australia has recently evaluated and benchmarked 89 technologies relevant for waste management, based upon: technology maturity, financial performance, track record, environmental outcomes and risk outcomes. From these, five have been subjected to detailed evaluation and triple bottom-line analysis.

The Victorian Department of Health recently appointed Meinhardt to conduct a review of the waste management practices within the Victorian public healthcare system, with the goal of:

  • Gaining a better understanding of the issues surrounding waste data collection
  • Calculating and reporting the amount, type and disposal costs of solid waste generated by the Victorian public healthcare system
  • Developing a suite of initiatives that can be implemented on a whole-of-portfolio basis to reduce waste generation and landfill, and increase resource recovery.

Such initiatives included the establishment of evaluation criteria to determine priority initiatives for government, the development of a waste data collection tool, and waste contract clauses relating to waste data collection.

Avoid, minimise, offset

Providing the infrastructure assets required by a growing economy ultimately puts increasing pressure on natural assets, heritage, the environment and access to resources.

It can be seen that an increasing awareness of these issues is driving a new direction in infrastructure planning, design and procurement.

Increasingly, projects require far earlier and greater consideration of non-engineering issues such as cultural heritage (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous), flora and fauna, and contaminated land.

Environmental and planning approvals are fast becoming the biggest project and program risk during planning, pre-construction and project procurement. Keeping a project on track and delivering on a holistic and informed project outcome requires getting this right early.

Most critical is a real understanding of project risk, particularly in relation to planning and environmental approval processes, understanding who each of the relevant stakeholders are, and of course, effective consultation and active project management.

Most major multi-discipline organisations now have contaminated land capabilities which are fully integrated into the project delivery process. The use of environmental planning such as environmental impact statements and assessments has become more common and the development of sustainability measurements, such as Green Star ratings for buildings, has also continued to improve the environmental outcomes of projects.

Meinhardt is currently undertaking several key infrastructure projects for a number of local and state government clients, which require detailed assessments and consideration of cultural heritage, flora and fauna, and contaminated land.

In the instance of the City of Casey, located in southeast Melbourne, Meinhardt is helping to protect a threatened Dwarf Galaxia population in O’Grady Road by implementing measures throughout the design and construction of proposed infrastructure works, to identify and manage existing threats and to conserve habitat both locally and in the broader community

Longer term strategies and public consultation

If we are truly to meet sustainable infrastructure goals and create sustainable communities, we need to look as far into the future as possible. When taking such a long-term view, it is crucial that the community and all potentially affected stakeholders are a part of the process, and are able to give input for the strategy.

The world is constantly changing and engineers need to be able to move with the change while balancing the cost, time, safety and quality of a project.

A Meinhardt planning and environment team has been engaged by the City of Brimbank, located in western Melbourne, to provide strategic planning and environmental advice for the 296 hectare Brooklyn Industrial Precinct – a key business and employment area of strategic significance in Victoria.

The existing precinct includes quarrying, a former landfill and abattoirs, and also houses a range of retail and manufacturing businesses. Meinhardt has been engaged to identify issues and opportunities for a long-term strategy to address amenity and environmental concerns, as well as strengthen the area’s role as a major employer, and attract new investment and development.

Central to the project is an extensive program of consultation with stakeholders including major landowners and industry operators, community representatives, surrounding councils, key government agencies, and representatives of the property development and real estate industry.

The strategy will address issues relating to transport and traffic, land use, urban economics, urban design, landscape architecture, land contamination and other environmental constraints, and key development and investment opportunities.

Carbon consequences

Immense consideration has been given to the impacts of the Federal Government’s new carbon pricing mechanism on the construction phase of a project; however, the market has fallen short when it comes to analysing the impacts on the whole lifecycle of a project.

The introduction of the carbon pricing mechanism will mean it is possible to have the carbon impact of a project assessed. This assessment will need to move towards a net present value-type assessment.

Until the market is willing to accept and value these benefits, as a project is passed from construction to operation and then to the decommissioning phase, the change being sought will be difficult to implement with the construction market.

We are looking at implementing a carbon consultancy business within Meinhardt, which considers business operations and not just buildings and infrastructure. This is crucial if we are to truly address the potential effects of the carbon pricing mechanism.