Green Eco Technologies

For the world’s most sustainable retail development, Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre, Frasers Property Australia sought innovative technology to process the centre’s organic waste sustainably with minimal impact on the environment, whilst adhering to the strict parameters of the Living Building Challenge®, the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment.

Working with water and waste management company SUEZ, Frasers Property awarded the contract to Green Eco Technologies to manage the entire site’s food waste with a WasteMaster 400 food waste conversion system, commissioned on site in January 2020.

The innovative WasteMaster technology reduces greenhouse gas generation by diverting food waste from landfill and recycling it on site, significantly reducing the environmental footprint. Efficiently converting and re-purposing organic waste on site into a re-usable residual material for green energy generation through anaerobic digestion has also led to further reductions in vehicle movements and costs for tenants.

With the success of Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre, Frasers Property subsequently introduced WasteMaster to two other retail centres – Ed.Square Town Centre and Eastern Creek Quarter.

Innovations and design features

Green Eco Technologies’ WasteMaster system uses unique technology to convert food waste, without bacteria, other additives, or water, into a virtually odour-free, much reduced quantity of reusable residual material. The WasteMaster’s innovative technology blasts the cell walls of the food waste with charged oxygen molecules, which accelerate decomposition. The moisture in the waste is evaporated and vented into the air as humid, odour-free vapour. What remains is a pathogen-free, high-calorific value, nutrient-rich residue, which is ideal for a range of beneficial uses. At the end of the process the weight of the organic waste has been reduced by up to 80%. For every 500kg loaded into the system, WasteMaster outputs around 100kg of compost-like residual material, which will not attract insects or vermin in its dry state.

The WasteMaster can reduce the weight of food waste loaded by up to 80% in a short time, usually between 10 – 24 hours, while retaining the calorific and nutrient value of the waste loaded. Composting food waste takes considerably longer, erodes the calorific and nutrient value of the waste loaded, and releases considerably more CO2 eq greenhouse gases than the WasteMaster.

Like the WasteMaster system, most dehydrators can process all types of organic waste in a short space of time. However, dehydrators use extreme temperatures to ‘cook’ the waste. This process requires large amounts of power and destroys the nutrient and calorific value of the waste in the process.

Key milestones

During the first twenty-four-month period of operation at Burwood Brickworks Shopping Centre, the WasteMaster system has diverted 66 tonnes of food waste from landfill, preventing the generation of 83tonnes of greenhouse gas.

About 16 tonnes of the repurposed residue sent to Yarra Valley Water created enough green electricity to power 2,500+ homes for one day.

Lessons learnt

Frasers Property recognised the need to balance commercial feasibility with investing time and resources into working alongside tenants, so they could come along for the journey and play their essential role at the new shopping centre.

The lesson is to educate tenants on “Why” and “How” they can collectively help reduce waste and environmental footprint.

Awards and Certifications

n 2020, WasteMaster was a finalist in the Banksia Awards (Banksia Awards 2020) and the Victorian Premiers Sustainability Awards (VIC Sustainability Awards 2020).

In 2021 WasteMaster was a finalist for the P.E.A awards UK for Product (P.E.A Awards 2021) and Winner in the NSW Sustainability Awards by Banksia for Small Medium Business (NSW Sustainability Awards - Banksia 2021).

By exploring different ways and implementing new systems to manage waste in the most efficient and green way possible, we are fulfilling our commitment to regeneration, and to reusing resources wherever possible for a more sustainable future.

Thank you to our partners Green Eco Technologies and SUEZ.