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FULL CIRCLE: Council CEO Chris Cowley, GFG Alliance Media and Communications Manager Sean Kelly and Whyalla Mayor Clare McLaughlin with the old jetty steel in the background and the plant it will go back into for recycling.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Steel from the old Whyalla jetty has come full circle, heading back to its origins at GFG Alliance’s Whyalla steelworks for recycling more than 40 years after it was first produced there.
Maritime Constructions has been busy taking down the main frame of the old jetty and transporting it to the small beach in the marina. These heavy metal beams were lifted off the old piles with a crane on the barge Elwood and then towed into the marina by Chappy (Chapman) the tug boat.
ON ITS WAY: Steel from the old jetty is loaded up at the marina.
From there they have been transported to the steelworks to be recycled. Whyalla Mayor Clare McLaughlin said this was all part of the overall jetty project with GFG Alliance donating the structural steel for the new jetty.
“It is great to see this work happening and the old structure being recycled,” Mayor McLaughlin said.
“We have already received most of the donated beams from GFG, so although this scrap metal won’t directly be recycled for the new jetty, it will still be going through the steelworks to become another useful product and provide more work for our local steelmaking operation.
“This is a great example of co-operation between Council and the major industry in our city.
“It is an arrangement that benefits everyone - including the environment - as recycling forms a key component of this jetty project.”
HEAVY WORK: The old steel from the jetty is unloaded at the Whyalla steelworks.
GFG Alliance Media and Communications Manager, Sean Kelly said the scrap metal being transported to the steelworks completed a fantastic project cycle with the Whyalla-based operation proud to be a key contributor.
“Our Executive Chairman Sanjeev Gupta was on-board from the start in regards to contributing local steel to support this new jetty project,” Mr Kelly said.
“It is with great pride that Sanjeev and every worker at GFG Alliance will be able to look at this jetty for decades to come and know they contributed to a major project for our city.
“It’s also quite fitting that the steel that was produced here back in the 1970s will now end up back in the very furnace in which it was forged, giving it another opportunity to support a major new piece of Australian infrastructure.
“We’re also proud to be part of council’s recycling efforts – helping ensure none of the reusable materials go to waste - as sustainability is a core value of our global operations.”
The old jetty has now been completely demolished with piles starting to be put in place for the new structure.
IMPRESSIVE: An artist's impression of how the new Whyalla jetty will look.