Southern Materials Recovery Facility

The 4435m3 MRF building located in Seaford Heights can process 60,000 tonnes of rubbish per year. It also houses an interior office space which was completed early so the client could occupy it while the main building was completed.

The bale storage shed in the foreground holds the bales of rubbish after they have been sorted into their separate commodities (paper, glass, metal, plastic). There is ample car parking space alongside the main building to service staff members and visitors. In the background features the existing SRC building, with an additional extension that was also built by Woolcock Construction.

The MRF is South Australia's largest household recycling facility, ensuring rubbish is sorted and processed locally instead of being sent overseas. The new facility created jobs in the local community for 18 full time staff members.

Steel work was locally fabricated, with more than 100 tonnes of steel used for platforms, walkways, conveyors and supports. Advanced screening and optical sorting technologies were designed to meet the highest standards of recycling cleanliness so that nothing goes to waste.

Multiple entry points were installed on the eastern side to give trucks and forklifts easy access in and out of the building. A retaining wall built inside separates the main dumping area and the truck entry/exit points from the main sorting area.

Woolcock Construction were first approached by client SRWRA (Southern Region Waste Resource Authority) to build an extension to the existing warehouse at their Seaford Heights site.

This project led onto Woolcock Construction also being awarded the contract to build South Australia’s largest Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) building. It was an exciting endeavour for the team to work on a project of such a unique nature. As the build progressed, it attracted more and more interest from external parties.

On 31 March 2021, the construction site received a visit from Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who offered $5.35 million of government funding for the facility. The Prime Minister is looking to advance the Australian recycling industry and stop the export of waste materials, so the new MRF building was an important step in helping to achieve this goal.

“This is going to be the most state of the art recycling centre in the country. This is going to set a new benchmark for Australia.” – Prime Minister Scott Morrison

In order to ensure the building was insurable and met fire standards, Woolcock Construction worked together with the Fire Safety Committee and fire engineer to plan and install an advanced fire system. Along with installing sprinklers, hose reels, and a smoke detection system, a new pump house was built with upgraded fire pumps and tank capacity. Two water cannons were installed which automatically activate on a fire alarm, and roller doors were put on battery-operated backup so they will still operate in the event of a power outage. It was also decided that an accompanying second building would also be built for bale storage, so the project was constantly changing and expanding.

The building was under construction during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic which presented its own challenges and caused delays. On various occasions booked trades had to go into isolation. As the building was nearing the handover date, South Australia went into a 7-day lockdown which meant all work had to cease. Recycling facilities are an essential service so although works should have been able to continue, it took three days to get approval from SA Health so only two working days were able to be utilised. The Woolcock Construction team, subcontractors, suppliers, and all other necessary parties pulled together and worked hard to get each aspect done and move the building towards completion.

The new MRF building officially opened on 8 November 2021 and now services the local council areas of the City of Onkaparinga, City of Marion, and City of Holdfast Bay. The interior consists of a vast array of walkways, conveyor belts, screening and sorting technologies which can be seen on the video footage captured by an interior timelapse camera.

The facility has the capacity to process more than 60,000 tonnes of yellow bin recyclables per year. Woolcock Construction are honoured to have had this opportunity to work alongside SRWRA, Re.Group, local councils, and the government to construct this unique building and support the local recycling industry.