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Using existing public transport infrastructure to move material waste around the city.

This project uses existing infrastructure in new ways for new tasks;  trams and trains are used to move waste around and out of the city.  This removes collection trucks from the CBD and Docklands and allows bigger loads to be moved.

Waste is currently stored in back alleys until it is removed.  In this proposal, consumers (businesses, residents) are responsible for transferring rubbish to the tram stop;  this could become a commercial service.   Waste stops are incorporated into existing tram stops. Trams pull an additional waste carriage; alternatively waste trams can use the same routes, as currently occurs in the Netherlands.  Train stations become waste-transfer stations.  The laneways are cleared and available to be used for other activities, creating more useable and valuable cultural pockets within the larger urban fabric.

Waste is shipped out of the city after being processed at a materials recovery facility (currently the site of DFO) at Southern Cross Station.  The Materials Recovery Facility receives, sorts, stores or transfers waste.  The waste itself can be converted into energy, composted or re-sold in the market space as recovered materials.  The facility also houses CH3, a new council building specifically charged with managing the city's waste and other environmental systems.

By integrating materials recovery and waste systems into everyday life, the quantity produced becomes visible and relevant to the users of the city.

Research Sources:
Werner Sunk, “Field trip to WTE facility Spittelau/Fernwaerme Wien GmbH, Vienna Austria”, Columbia University.
Scott Drake, “Docklands Update” Architecture Australia . July/August 2003.
Bob Muntz, “Public Transport should drive our future”, ON LINE Opinion 3 March 2005.
“Litter and Landfill”, Melbourne Atlas 2006, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria.
“Melbourne’s freight flow and distribution”, Melbourne Atlas 2006, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria.

This project proposes a waste management system in the CBD that includes a new collection method for commercial waste.  Melbourne’s existing light rail (tram) system will have the dual task of providing public transport and waste collection pick-up. WALoop trams service the city loop and collect waste at alternating stops. Commercial companies must hold responsibility for depositing their own waste at their local stop.  Waste is collected along strategically nominated streets and brought to the edge of the CBD to be further collected. Underground pipes transfer waste from one corner of a street intersection to another. Collection points will be situated as secondary platforms next to pedestrian stops located at the corner of each city block. WALoop at tramstop collecting garbage. From a master planning perspective, the siting of the waste management facility located along Spencer Street proposes to eradicate the divide between the two precincts, Docklands and the CBD.  The facility’s buildings are arranged to act as a compromise between the loose arrangement of Docklands and the tightness of the city grid in the way of a transitioning zone. To visually unify the seemingly disparate buildings arranged on the site, a technique of folding was used to create continuous planes and folds through the manipulation of various roofs planes, facades and surrounding landscape. Permeable laneways that penetrate the seemingly tight edge of the site along Spencer Street help consolidate pedestrian accessibility between the two precincts. Cross-section of the station and Materials Recovery Facility, showing varying modes of transport. The integrated waste processing plant. Permeable ‘laneways’ help consolidate pedestrian accessibility between the two precincts. The public infrastructure aims to improve awareness of current methods used in waste management.