Waste Management
Chipping Norton, NSW
Greenline Excavations
Industry
Material
FlipScreen Model
Location
01 / Challenge
During excavation works in Chipping Norton, Greenline Excavations encountered soil containing large amounts of discarded copper cable and scrap fragments left from previous industrial activity. The metal was valuable but difficult to recover efficiently because it was buried within loose spoil and construction debris. Traditional approaches involved removing all the material from site and sorting it later, which required extra transport, labour and time. Much of the copper risked being missed or damaged during handling. The crew needed a way to separate copper scrap quickly while excavation was taking place, allowing them to recover the metal without slowing down the project.
02 / Solution
Greenline Excavations fitted a FlipScreen S30 screening bucket to one of their compact excavators working on the project. As spoil was removed from the ground, operators fed the material through the rotating screening drum. Fine soil and sand passed through the mesh while larger objects such as copper cable pieces, pipe offcuts and scrap metal remained in the bucket. This made the copper immediately visible and easy to collect for recycling. Because the FlipScreen operates directly from the excavator, screening became part of the excavation cycle rather than a separate processing step.
03 / Result
The ability to separate copper during excavation dramatically improved the recovery process. Instead of transporting mixed spoil offsite for sorting, the crew could identify and collect copper scrap within minutes of digging it up. This reduced material handling and ensured valuable metal was not lost in the waste stream. The recovered copper was sent directly for recycling, generating additional revenue from material that would otherwise have remained buried. At the same time, the cleaned soil could remain onsite for reuse or disposal without further processing. The result was faster excavation progress and a far more efficient way of recovering valuable scrap metal.