ST Engineering says its environmental engineering subsidiary in China, ST Environment Services & Technologies (STE&T) has been awarded a RMB113 million ($22.6 million) contract to provide a proprietary loop-based Pneumatic Waste Collection System (PWCS) to collect recyclables, non-recyclables and food waste in Tianjin’s Eco-City’s Eco-Business Park.

The deal is inked with Tianjin Eco-City Sheng Chuang Investment & Development, a wholly-owned company of Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City Investment and Development Co. (SSTEC), the master developer of the 30 sq-km Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City.

The project resulted from an MOU that STE&T signed with SSTEC about a year ago to explore collaboration in the provision of a PWCS for the Eco-Business Park. Contracted on a design, build, own, operate, and transfer (DBOOT) business model, the construction period is estimated to be 18 months, beginning from Oct 1, followed by an Operations and Maintenance period of 13 years. Under this DBOOT model, the ownership of the facility will subsequently be transferred to Sheng Chuang.

The technology used in the PWCS reduces exposure of solid waste to the environment, enhances overall living environment and promotes recycling in daily life as the system allows collection of multiple streams of waste at any one time.

Using both vacuum and pressure to transport waste from disposal points to the collection station, the underground pipeline system offers a cleaner and odourless living environment as the air in the system is re-circulated with minimal exhaust.

The system’s collection pipeline proprietary design of pipe elbows and bends allows better conveyance of glass and metal waste. In addition, the system has an automatic air flushing and drying mechanism which works by forcing air at a higher air speed through the pipes, thereby cleaning and drying them at the same time with each waste stream.