Pioneering Soil Transfer Innovation across Australia and New Zealand

Common headaches on projects nationwide revolve around the logistical struggles associated with soil disposal and waste removal, often costing managers excessive time, fuel and money to work effectively.

Soil Disposal and Waste Removal

To mitigate these headaches, VAC Group’s Soil Transfer (ST) system has pushed the envelope to offer project managers an efficient and cost effective solution to their logistical waste and soil woes. The system minimises the need for offsite disposal of vacuumed material and reduces the risk and environmental impact of non-destructive digging.

Instead of producing liquid waste that needs to be disposed, the Soil Transfer system separates liquid and solid components within slurry, allowing for the liquidised soil to be reused on site while saving time and fuel, mitigating the tedious waste disposal process.

“One of the biggest efficiency issues we’ve identified is the disposal of waste from site. A company can spend a large portion of its time removing the waste and taking it to a facility – a vehicle could take this journey multiple times a day,” said Ben Stephens, VAC Group’s State Manager for Queensland.

“When we think about some of the major projects in Melbourne – Melbourne Metro for instance – you could have 10 to 15 vacuum units on site. Depending on the site, a vehicle could drive between 60 and 100 kilometres out of the city just to get to a waste facility.”

With the Soil Transfer system, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced as less trucks are used, with shorter trips, to dispose of the same material. This results in trucks undertaking the same work with less fuel usage.

According to Mr Stephens, a typical vac-truck can only remove a single excavated load per 12-hour shift, which means larger units are needed and more fuel is consumed. However, in the same 12-hour shift, VAC Groups’ Soil Transfer system can accomplish four or more loads.