Batteries are one of today’s most bought and sold products, the amount we use is astonishing, but of course, this is because these days we have a lot more electronics at our disposal. In Australia, this is causing a massive issue as we only have one site able to recycle flat batteries. To make matters worse, China (who had been taking a lot of Australia’s waste) has placed a ban on waste imports, meaning that now all the batteries are either heading to the landfill or this small facility.
The facility lies in New Gisborne in Victoria and has 200 plastic lined drums that are full of 160 tonnes worth of batteries. Now, this may not sound like a much, but remember most consumer batteries are pretty small compared to most other items when it comes to waste. The Company called Envirostream (the owners of the facility) has pleaded to manufactures and the government to help keep the batteries out of landfills.
Research done by the Australian Department of the Environment and Energy found that the waste could estimate 18,000 tonnes in 2018 along with possibly hitting 154,000 tonnes by 2034. This, of course, isn’t including the possibility of a surge in battery-powered cars along with batteries for houses, which has not become popular in Australia just yet. It means that, with the Chinese ban still in place, there needs to be a step up in efforts to properly manage battery waste.
One company has already responded to the call saying that they will transport batteries back to their US headquarters to be recycled there. It is a good start and to be honest no one expected anything less of Tesla, as they have shown in the past their commitment to environmental issues. The question is; will other companies follow suit?
Did you know that coal dust can lead to mine explosions? Dust is present in numerous industries with flour, sawdust and sugar potentially as explosive as coal dust. Vapours, mists and gases are also factors that may trigger explosions when exposed to spark ignition.
Oil and gas installations, petrochemical, chemical plants, grain storage, coal handling and refuelling areas often create hazardous areas resulting from flammable gases, vapours, mists and dusts which can produce explosive mixtures with air. The electrical, mechanical and instrumentation equipment installed in these potentially hazardous areas must be designed to provide protection against the possibility of gas or dust ignition. Solutions to these problems can be certified flameproof and intrinsically safe equipment.
Dusts are solid airborne particles, often created by operations such as grinding, crushing, milling and sanding. The size of the dust particles is important as there is a difference between inhalable and respirable dusts and the nature of the hazards they present.
Gases are formless fluids usually produced by chemical processes involving combustion or by the interaction of chemical substance. A gas will normally seek to fill the space completely into which it is liberated, for example, nitrogen gas widely used in vessels due to its chemically inert properties.
Have you ever considered living off the grid, in a community that co-exists with nature – growing your own vegetables, minimising waste and environmental impact, and creating your own power through solar energy? This is exactly what the 70 members of the Moora Moora community do. Located on Mount Toolebewong in Victoria, approximately 70 km from Melbourne, this community consists of 30 housing units grouped in six clusters. Everyone living here owns a share in the land, infrastructure and machinery.
Moora Moora was developed with three aims: cooperation, reducing environmental impact and education. Many of its members were concerned with the overcrowding and isolation of city life, so they decided to move into this ‘intentional community,’ which finds its purpose in the pursuit for individual and community development. The notion of an intentional community comes from the idea of living cooperatively in a village which reflects shared values.
Fifty adults and 20 children currently live in Moora Moora. Their shared philosophy is that adults and children can’t be autonomous if they’re forced to rely on each other, so different members of the community will look after the children. This also feeds into the idea that children need more than one playmate and space that’s free of urban dangers to allow them to learn and be creative.
While members often have jobs outside of the community, they’re expected to commit to internal workdays, attend meetings and social events and be actively involved in the community life. Members are encouraged to take part in industries that directly benefit the cooperative, such as farming, teaching, mechanics, building, carpentry and spinning and weaving.
Community member Glen Morris is responsible for the power supply to the Moora Moora community, given they live off the electricity grid. He has designed a micro-grid system out of 20 different brands of inverters, batteries and panels. With more than 20 years’ experience in the renewable energy sector, he’s personally lived off the grid for most of that time. Glen is the Keynote Speaker and workshop presenter at the upcoming IDC Solar-Diesel Hybrid & Battery Systems Conference in Brisbane, Queensland. He will be running a full-day workshop on “Designing Stand-Alone Power Systems,” drawing on his own experience of building and maintain an autonomous grid.
For more information, or to register, please click HERE.
Wiring Rules Revision
Techncial paper presented at the IDC Technologies 2nd Electrical Regulatory Compliance Conference in Perth on November 29th & 30th 2017.
By Gary Busbridge - Standardisation Manager, Clipsal and Schneider Electric Partner Business
The Wiring Rules affect your businesses every day. Whether you are an electrical contractor or an electrical engineer, the changes to each clause in a revision of the Wiring Rules affect your compliance with State legislation.
The new and revised Wiring Rules should be ready for publishing by May/June 2018. Is your business prepared for these amendments?
This workshop is intended to provide an opportunity to work through those amendments clause-by-clause and discuss the reasoning with the Chair of the Wiring Rules committee. This will also provide a unique insight into the actual intent behind the amendments.
A finalised draft was issued for Public Comment early in 2016. This is a predetermined part of the standards development process and not surprisingly it is named the Public Comment phase. Yes, that is right each one of the electrical industry stakeholders, from the biggest businesses to the one-man show, had an opportunity to review and provide comment for the Wiring Rules committee to consider.
Over 2000 comments have been received and reviewed by the committee who have resolved these as an “agreed”, “not agreed” or “noted” comment. You may not get what you wanted but you have a right to view the resultant committee decision after this resolution process. Incidentally there have been many comments that make plenty of sense but further work is need to refine them, so these we are consigning to Amendment 1.
The document is being readied for Committee Ballot. The committee may or may not accept the document for various reasons and any negative votes must be reconciled before it moves to a publishing phase.
There are over 200 changes that will be presented at the conference and there is a preponderance of technical updates that are essential for you to be aware. Let’s get started on the major changes for each section.
To read the full technical paper click here: http://www.events.idc-online.com/files/WiringRulesRevisionGaryBusbridge.pdf
In April 2018 IDC Events had the pleasure of running the 6th Arc Flash Conference in Perth, Australia.
The objective of this conference was to provide delegates with the latest developments and best practice to deal with arc flash hazards and electric shock in Australia. Attendees had the opportunity to discuss their arc flash issues with our presenters and learn about practical applications to improve arc flash safety in their work places. The focus throughout was on the experiences of end users and technical solutions to arc flash issues, industry trends, standards developments and new techniques to tackle existing arc flash threats.
The conference featured one half day workshop on The Anatomy of Arc Flash PPE by international keynote speaker Jim Pollard of Unlimited PPE Inc who visited from Canada plus the following topics:
