reDirect Wood Recycling has been established to create a closed-loop particleboard and wood recycling initiative. The business conducts resource recovery of pallets, clean timber, and particleboard offcuts. With the aim to produce new products from old resources and return them to the market, diverting more waste from landfill reducing waste after the product has reached the end of life in the market. reDirect Wood Recycling is encouraging effective, efficient waste management processing and advocating resource recovery.
As part of reDirect Recycling’s Wood Recovery Initiative, we have partnered with Central Waste Station and Drumderg Services in the recovery of materials at the Newcastle University McMullin building demolition.
Constructed in 1965, the McMullin building located in Callaghan New South Wales, was Newcastle University’s first-ever building and is being demolished to make way for a new STEMM facility (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Music), the flagship building in their new STEMM precinct.
The University is demonstrating its commitment to environmental sustainability, by targeting a world-leading 6 green star rating through the design and build. The building has received SSDA approval through the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and the Environment (DPIE) and it will act as an agent of sustainable change, physically and conceptually, signalling a future centred on connectivity with the environment.
With Newcastle University’s strong commitment to contributing to a circular economy, the demolition requirements included resource recovery and diversion of materials where possible, away from landfill for beneficial re-use or repurpose in manufacturing. This included the removal and recovery of all interior products of the McMullin building by reDirect Recycling, Drumderg Services, and Central Waste Station.
With over 40% of Australia’s waste comprising construction and demolition materials, it is important as an industry to contribute towards a circular economy and close the loop on waste.
The demolition of the site has been done mostly by hand, piece by piece, separating and sorting the various materials to ensure as much demolition waste can be diverted from landfill and therefore recovery of recyclable materials has been at over 90%.
reDirect Recycling have diverted over 100 tonnes of particleboard and other clean timber which is accounting for over 23% of the resources covered, including gyprock, masonry, metals, cardboard, and plastics.
Reconstituted or engineered timber products are used extensively in joinery applications. The recovered wood waste is then diverted to the manufacturing of new particleboard, which utilises recycled wood and particleboard offcuts into the production of new particleboard.
