As part of a BINGO acquisition of Dial-A-Dump Industries in 2019, he moved into the General Manager Resource Recovery role, overseeing all 10 New South Wales sites – a mixture of transfer stations, resource recovery facilities and landfills.

He now helps lead BINGO’s major recycling projects, including the recent end-to-end delivery of BINGO’s Material Processing Centre 2, a $150 million, 300 tonne per hour construction and demolition and commercial and industrial recycling facility, capable of achieving a more than 80 per cent diversion from landfill and the largest C&D advanced recycling facility in the southern hemisphere.

Playing a part in the initial design stages and leading the commissioning, Simon says the project was particularly challenging as the plant was installed and commissioned through the COVID-19 pandemic. He’s excited by the next challenge – developing a new division for BINGO that he says will improve recovery rates to more than 90 per cent.

BINGO diverts more than two million tonnes per annum of construction and demolition (C&D) and commercial and industrial (C&I) waste from landfill, by producing clean separated materials and recycled products that are then sold to large-scale developments and infrastructure projects to close the loop.

Simon says BINGO achieves an industry-leading recovery rate of circa 80 per cent through its advanced recycling facility, MPC 2, resulting in about 20 per cent of the company’s entire waste network ending up as residual waste in landfill.

With operations along the entire East Coast, it’s this 20 per cent the new division will target, converting it into Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). RDF is residual waste that has undergone processing and shredding to ensure it satisfies industry specifications. Many heavy industries including cement kilns, power stations, paper mills, steel manufacturing, sugar mills and energy-from-waste facilities (EfW) can use RDF as a substitute for coal to meet their emission reduction targets.

Simon says BINGO’s foray into alternative fuels has been in the pipeline for several years, but the project has been restricted by an inability to supply locally. That changed in 2022, when opportunities to supply alternative fuel to heavy industries arose. “Dealing with this volume is the perfect introduction for BINGO to ensure it can meet all the quality standards required,” Simon says. “There are very strict specifications around the materials that can and can’t be used.”

When it comes to processing those materials, BINGO is working with specialist waste and recycling equipment provider FOCUS Enviro.

“We’re committed to enhancing diversion of waste from landfill through creating sustainable products from problematic waste streams,” Simon says. “I have worked with (State Manager) John McGuinness and the team from FOCUS Enviro for many years. When the opportunity to enter the alternative fuels market was on the horizon I knew John had the experience and processing technology to match.  “Following a trial of the machine on site we knew straight away that the UNTHA was the right machine that could process our material into the specification required and the business would benefit from the unique low operating costs this machine delivers.”

When manufacturing biomass-based fuel BINGO was previously processing wood using multiple shredding steps – slow speed into high-speed systems to try and achieve the fraction size – but this was not commercially viable long-term. The machine breaks down and operational downtime due to tramp material in the feedstock was part of daily routine.

“The switch to a single-step electric drive mobile shredder from UNTHA means BINGO can now transform about 30 tonnes of wood waste per hour with less than six per cent fines and 20 per cent more uptime,” John says.

Simon adds: “We are recovering a further 16 tonnes of clean metals from the magnet belt per week for recycling and resale. The combination of UNTHA’s shredding, backed by FOCUS Enviro’s service, make this the perfect machine to assist BINGO enter new markets.”

FOCUS Enviro only works with experienced manufacturers and suppliers that specialise in the waste industries and understand the challenges of processing material in these sectors. 

John says that as a growing number of opportunities for the manufacture and supply of alternative fuels into local markets become a reality in Australia, he is not surprised to see Simon and the team at BINGO at the front of the pack.

“Previous attempts to produce a specified size piece from hard to shred materials using a diesel-driven mobile shredder was outdated.  “This switch to an electric-driven alternative design, proven in these applications, reduced energy consumption by more than 60 per cent and cost savings of about $185,000 a year,” he says. 

“The ongoing journey with BINGO and FOCUS Enviro in commissioning the new shredding system is proof that much more efficient and profitable solutions can be delivered while at the same time adhering to the high environmentally conscious principles that are part of the culture at BINGO. “It has been a pleasure to work with Simon and we are honoured that we have been selected to work on these projects.”

Simon says when he first started working in Australia’s waste industry it was like “stepping back in time”. The standards were well below those of Europe and the UK. Over the years he’s seen Australia close the gap with the rest of the world, driven by legislation aimed at reducing waste to landfill and achieving a circular economy. He says it’s rewarding to have contributed to BINGO’s journey in developing new products that are now being sold to customers as alternatives to virgin materials such as BINGO’s Eco-Product range comprising recycled mulches, aggregate and sands.

“Our RDF will assist us in solving for  the last mile.”