Tony and Kari Esplin and Wayne Carracher own RTG (Recycling Technologies Group) in Eden where they use waste from the timber industry and turn it into a compressed energy source. The group also sells its expertise and compression machinery to other companies across Australia.
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More recently though the recycling group has come up with a new development which has an application much closer to home - in the dairy industry. Now they are looking for a farmer who would like to trial the system which has been designed as a low cost way to clean milk vats and lines.
"Our Dairy Cube fits fairly and squarely into the recent government funding announcement for dairy farmers looking to be more sustainable," Mr Esplin said.
The Dairy Cube is a 20 foot shipping container which produces hot water by combusting the high-energy pellets produced by RTG and storing hot water. Mr Esplin explained that dairy farmers have to clean their milk vats twice daily, early in the morning and then in the evening after milking.
"The water has to be 80 degrees Celsius in order to activate the detergents used to clean the milk vats and clean the lines. Currently they would use an electrical hot water system, a semi-industrial system which would use a lot of energy.
"Typically they will be paying 23 cents a kilowatt for their energy to heat the water at the moment, but we can get the cost down to 13 cents a kilowatt," Mr Esplin said.
The Dairy Cube includes a connection for cold water to enter, a line out for the hot water, a water storage unit, a water heater powered by compressed pellets and a hopper to contain the pellets.
"From a farmers point of view the cube can be put anywhere and will run off a normal household 240v supply; it could even have a solar panel on the roof. Now we're looking for a farmer who is keen to try it out," he said adding that the farming sustainability grants could cover up to 50 per cent of costs.
The company would like a farmer to work with them to try out the Dairy Cube and give their feedback. Contact Tony or Kari Esplin at RTG on 6496 1133 for more information on the Dairy Cube.
