Hidromek HMK200W was digger of choice for waste sorting

The Stanley Road Waste Management Facility in WA is owned and run by the Bunbury Harvey Regional Council (BHRC), which manages waste for the City of Bunbury and the Shire of Harvey in the southwest region of Western Australia.

The facility features a waste transfer station, green waste recycling and a Class-2 landfill site.

In July 2018, BHRC and the Stanley Road Waste Management Facility took on a new bulk commercial collections project which required a fleet of machines including dozers, landfill compactors and excavators to carry out.

After careful consideration and speaking to other contractors, the waste management facility purchased a brand new Hidromek HMK200W excavator for waste sorting purposes.

“The process involves sorting through waste to divert anything that does not belong in landfill such as steel, wood, tyres, asbestos and oil,” said Stanley Road Waste Management Facility CEO, Tony Battersby.

“We have three attachments for the excavator for three different applications. The Star 110 - 230V scrap handling magnet with GEID 12 EL-ZM hydraulic DC generator is used to recover metal, a Daemo DRP235 concrete pulveriser is used to break up bulky concrete and an EI Engineering grapple is used to sort material into different piles and to feed the shredder.

“The shredder is also equipped with a magnet to pick up any remaining metal”.

The facility currently has a fleet of equipment on-site that it has on hire, including a shredder, landfill compactors, dozers and a loader.

“The Hidromek HMK200W is our first excavator and that was purchased for our new project,” Battersby said.

In addition to the wheeled material handling excavator, the facility also has a tracked Hidromek HMK220LC excavator on hire.

“Both machines have excellent performance. The main difference is the wheeled vs. tracked set-up,” Battersby said.

On why the organisation decided on a Hidromek rig over other brands, Battersby said it all came down to price, performance and feedback.

“We have previously hired other major excavator brands and we find the Hidromek's completely on par with those brands,” he said.

“When we purchase a machine the price probably weighs in 50 per cent towards the purchase decision. A given factor is whether the specs are in line with what is needed.

“The third thing that is very important to us is feedback from other contractors who own these machines, not just feedback from management in terms of dollars and numbers but feedback from operators who use the machines.

“The feedback from other companies was very positive and the machine we purchased has definitely lived up to the expectations we had.

“The build quality is excellent, fuel consumption is great and it is very compatible with the different attachments we opted for.”

Some of the feedback around the Hidromek centred around operator comfort and smoothness of the operation, as well as the excellent visibility.

“One of the key features is the visibility from the cab where the elevation gives the operator a great view of the hopper,” Battersby said.

The machine was purchased from heavy machinery dealership, Onetrak, who started distributing the Hidromek brand last year.

“Our relationship with them has been very positive,” Battersby said.

“We have had numerous follow-up visits where they have checked in to ensure everything is running smoothly.”

He added Onetrak has even organised to take photos and videos of the new machine which the facility will use to educate the community about what it does to keep landfill at an absolute minimum.

“We always encourage people to learn more about the waste and the positive outcomes of our waste management initiatives,” Battersby said.