Sustainability win for de-packaging unit

SITA Australia has won a 2014 Australian Business Award for Sustainability for its de-packaging unit that recycles both food packaging and its contents into valuable resources.

The first of its kind in Australia, the de-packaging unit - sited at the Camellia Resource Recovery and Treatment Facility in Western Sydney - separates packaging from its contents to maximise organic resource recovery and prevent these resources from going to landfill.

The de-packaging unit recovers resources from consumer products that can no longer be sold, such as pasta meals, sauce bottles, powdered baby formula, coffee products, tea bags and pet food.

“SITA is the only waste management company in Australia to offer this innovative de-packaging solution, which transforms food waste into valuable resources while helping our customers reduce waste disposal costs,” said SITA General Manager of National Key Accounts Peter Stephens.

“Through this innovative resource recovery solution, products such as plastic coffee capsules, which previously would have been sent directly to landfill, are processed to allow the packaging to be recycled while the actual coffee is transformed into nutrient-rich compost.”

SITA won a 2013 Australian Business Award for Sustainability for its waste management services at Taronga Zoo which helped maximise recycling and divert waste from landfill.