Environment

By helping to rebuild nature's loop, creating green jobs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the UR-3R Process^® creates substantial environmental, economic, trade and industry opportunities.

The UR-3R Process^® is designed to deliver a socially, environmentally  and economically attractive triple bottom line solution to the challenges of urban waste management by reducing, recovering and recycling household wastes.

UR-3R Process^® - Independant Endorsements

The Boomerang Alliance, the peak environmental group which includes Greenpeace, the Total Environment Centre, Clean Up Australia, the Nature Conservation Council and the NSW Local Government and Shires Association, has identified Global Renewables as a new eco-friendly business developing and operating new resource recovery waste management facilities.

In addition, an independent evaluation of the community and environmental benefits of the UR-3R Process^®, undertaken by sustainability consultant NolanITU, concludes that adopting the Global Renewables' UR-3R Process^® would bring a net benefit of A$150 per household per year to Australia when compared to landfill. Applied Australia wide, the benefits would exceed A$620 million per annum and contribute A$140 million to Australia's GDP. It provides a compelling case for the adoption of the UR-3R Process^®.

NolanITU used international standards and references to evaluate the cost benefits of an Australia-wide rollout of UR-3R^™ Facilities to all major population centers. The study included a social impact assessment involving significant community stakeholders and regulators.

Source: National Benefits of the Implementation of the UR-3R Process - A Triple Bottom Line Assessment, NolanITU, July 2004
( View the full NolanITU study )

MBT Preferred by Greenpeace

Greenpeace Environmental Trust has published a study entitled "Cool Waste Management" providing an overview of Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) of waste as a preferred approach over thermal processes. The study concludes that an MBT process route almost identical to that of Global Renewables' UR-3R Process^®, followed by landfill, is clearly preferable to thermal treatment in terms of:

• Toxic emissions
• Climate impacts
• Material conservation
• Energy conservation.

Source: Greenpeace, Cool Waste Management - A state of the art alternative to incineration for residual municipal waste, Greenpeace Environmental Trust, London, United Kingdom, February 2003

UR-3R^™ Environmental Benefits

Global Renewables designed the maiden UR-3R Facility at Eastern Creek to be self sufficient in energy and water. The Facility was designed to generate biogas sufficient to produce 17,000 megawatt hours of green energy (enough to the power 2,250 households), 300,000 tonnes of Emission Reduction Units (carbon credits equivalent to taking 50,00 cars off the road each year), and more than 60,000 tonnes of compost products in addition to recycling paper, glass, metal and plastics. Mitsui & Co (Australia) and BP Australia Limited have forward purchased 1.5 million tonnes of Emission Reduction Units to provide environmental offsets.

Further UR-3R™ Facilities would help to offset the substantial greenhouse gas emissions, including from new power, water desalination infrastructure, and mineral processing facilities, thus helping to create sustainable cities.