BENDIGO’S old buildings are being crushed down into base material for house sites, driveways and pavements.
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Hopley Recycling, which yesterday unveiled new recycling machinery worth $1.02 million, is crushing buildings from the old Bendigo Hospital site into piles of filler, which has already been reused to make a car park at the site.
The ambulance station will be demolished in coming days and eventually recycled, followed by the laundry and boiler house.
Speaking at the official opening of the site upgrades at the White Hills facility, Hopley Recycling director Justin Hopley said the business was diverting about 500 tonnes of bricks and concrete from landfill each week.
“We can now process four or five times the amount of product, stopping a lot of material from going to landfill,” he said. “It’s good for Bendigo.”
The company predicts growth of annual growth of 20 per cent over the next three years, with 50 local businesses using the facility.
The new machinery can process 200 tonnes of product per hour, up from 29 tonnes per hour.
Member for Northern Victoria Damian Drum said the state government had contributed $60,000 for the upgrades.
“The Hopley family has made an enormous investment in the region,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for us to partner up with them and assist in a small way.”