The Yanchep Rail Extension was given the green light to recycle up to 200,000 tonnes of limestone – enough to fill nearly 45 Olympic-sized swimming pools!
The future Eglinton Station site requires significant excavation that typically would have been sent offsite. With this approval a mobile crushing and screening plant will process the ‘green’ limestone, which is then reused to build roads, station car parks and temporary access tracks on the project.
The project’s Environment and Sustainability Manager Lionel Pero said reusing the limestone has significant sustainability benefits, reducing emissions typically associated with quarrying activities and fuel use when material such as this is transported.
“If we sourced the same amount of crushed limestone from the closest quarry and transported it to site, there would be greenhouse gas emissions from these activities,” Lionel said.
“By recycling the limestone, the greenhouse gas emissions saved equates to taking 316 medium sized cars off the road for one year. Waste is also reduced as the extracted material isn’t going to landfill.”
Crushing and reusing the limestone on site also eliminates the need to stockpile materials and this means saving large volumes of water that would otherwise be used to supress dust to minimise community impacts.
This green initiative on the Yanchep Rail Extension aligns closely with the METRONET Sustainability Strategy, which outlines how METRONET projects can maximise positive environmental, social and economic outcomes.
Meet the team: Keeping it green
No two days are the same for NEWest Alliance Environment Advisor Bec Mason. Managing environmental approvals, monitoring and rehabilitation, handling and relocating native fauna, Bec is an important part of the environmental team. She also provides environmental advice to minimise construction impacts and ensures project environmental compliance.
Bec’s favourite parts of the role are relocating fauna and assisting with revegetation and rehabilitation activities.
“These are both tangible activities where you can really see the positive difference you are making in mitigating impacts to the environment,” Bec said.
“I am also a big animal lover, so it’s such a great feeling being able to release animals into a local and safe new home in Yanchep National Park.
“Plus, the Yanchep Rail Extension project feels very close to home as my parents live in Yanchep. The commute to visit them will be so much easier once the rail is in.”
Although Bec loves working outdoors, the job comes with its fair share of testing times.
“Getting covered in ticks, dealing with grumpy bobtails and doing water monitoring on a 40 degree day without being able to swim in the Turkeys Nest (construction dam) is a few I can think of,” she said when asked to list some of the challenging aspects of the role.
Prior to working on the project, Bec completed a Bachelor of Environmental Science degree and worked on projects in land development, mining and infrastructure, including some time working FIFO from the Pilbara.
One of the next big initiatives for the project is the construction of three green bridges across the rail line.
“I am very excited to get involved – these bridges will act as a passage for fauna movement over the railway and reduce potential impacts to habitat fragmentation. They will be the biggest green bridges built in WA.”
The green bridge design is almost complete, so stay tuned for more information in future updates.