SYDNEY, Jan. 23 (Xinhua) -- A new facility in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) will recycle up to 90 percent of household waste using revolutionary technology, which authorities revealed on Wednesday is the first for the country.
The company responsible for the facility, Bioelektra, has entered into a contract with a local NSW council to be operational by 2021.
"This state-of-the-art facility will be Australia's first advanced treatment plant capable of diverting 90 percent of mixed waste from the landfill," said Amanda Findley, mayor of NSW's southeastern Shoalhaven City Council.
"Everything that can be reused or recycled will be extracted in one process."
There are currently only two facilities like it in the world, both of which are in Poland.
The system uses large pressurized vats which fill with steam to treat waste, reaching temperatures of up to 150 degrees Celsius, sterilizing and breaking down materials to a fraction of their original volume.
Plastic, metals, glass and organic matter will be separated and put back into construction aggregate.
"This new facility will be a giant leap forward for how Shoalhaven manages waste that would otherwise end up in the landfill," Findlay said.
"The introduction of this new facility is projected to extend the landfill life of the Shoalhaven to more than 50 years."
