REPURPOSING the remains of an old hardstand into aggregate for port laydown areas has earned Western Australia’s Southern Ports a spot as a category winner in the 2024 WasteSorted Awards.

Its waste minimisation efforts were made during its $10.6 million Berth 2 hardstand renewal at the Port of Esperance, which earned it a place as one of three finalists in the Regional category of the awards, which is organised by the WA Waste Authority.

The project involved repurposing 4,100m3 of what was largely the remnants from the demolition of the old hardstand – into aggregate to create a better suited base for port laydown areas.

Southern Ports Chief Executive Officer Keith Wilks said repurposing construction waste from landfill ultimately created cost savings and an increase in capacity of trade.

“Sustainability is at the forefront of our minds and so too is how we can improve and care for our infrastructure and assets,” Mr Wilks said.

“Our team approached this project knowing that just because the materials were no longer fit-for-purpose in the hardstand did not mean they were no longer of use.

“We’re pleased to be recognised in the top three regional waste reduction projects across the state for a project that has helped us to repurpose construction waste, improve our wastewater and increase our fertiliser trade capacity.” 

The hardstand renewal project, completed last year, also involved installing an innovative filtration system that removes dissolved contaminants, such as ammonia, collected in rainwater washing across the berth.

The system prevents harmful contaminants from being washed into the ocean by rain events and is the first-of-its-kind installed at a WA port, and only the second in Australia.

Effective use of the system has been shown to remove more than 80 per cent of ammonia contaminants from stormwater released into the ocean and has resulted in the Port of Esperance increasing its licencing capacity to import more fertiliser.

Last year Southern Ports’ Port of Esperance facilitated more than 13.2 million tonnes of trade including more than 270,000 tonnes of fertiliser.

Port of Esperance is a trade gateway for a variety of commodities including copper, nickel, sulphur, spodumene, iron ore, oil, grain and woodchips.

The WasteSorted Awards were presented on 5 September in Perth.