On Thursday 1 August, at 4:39pm AWST, a truck arrived at Tellus’ geological repository at Sandy Ridge, in the WA Goldfields. Nothing unusual there. Except that, as this particular truck entered our facility, Sandy Ridge hit a major milestone: 100,000 tonnes of waste through the gate.
No wonder the truck received a guard of honour from our proud employees at Sandy Ridge.
There is no doubt that 100,000 tonnes is a lot of waste – that is the equivalent of the weight of two Sydney Harbour Bridges, four Statues of Liberty or around a million kangaroos (though the latter would be difficult to herd under the Sandy Ridge air dome).
But while milestones are fun and satisfying for their own sake, it’s what this one means that matters to us.
Over the past three years, Sandy Ridge has accepted waste from the length and breadth of Australia, including, since early last year, low-level radioactive waste. This is 100,000 tonnes of hazardous waste that is not going to leach into waterways, threaten human health, or otherwise harm the natural environment.
It includes six tonnes of mercury-contaminated soil we removed earlier this year from a site in Kalgoorlie – allowing the children from East Kalgoorlie Primary School to return to their classrooms.
It includes 3000 tonnes of contaminated soil we transported this year all the way to Sandy Ridge from Hunters Hill, on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour. That site had been contaminated for more than 100 years: now it can be returned to the community and safely enjoyed by everyone.
These are very specific examples, among thousands of others. But what also matters is what the 100,000 tonnes milestone means in terms of our overall mission: to enable Australia’s transition to a green and renewable economy. Renewable energy creates hazardous waste right along the supply chain, from the by-products of critical minerals extraction to used solar panels and batteries. Tellus enables the safe and permanent disposal of all these materials.
Because 100,000 tonnes is a lot of waste, soon you’ll be seeing a second white airdrome rising in the WA desert, next to our current one. And then it’s on to the next 100,000 tonnes, and beyond!