Crossword Genius

Very clean Aussie state recycles metal from a railway (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sanitary

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'very clean' is the definition.
'sanitary' can be an answer for 'clean' (I've seen this before). I am not certain of the 'very' bit.

'aussie state recycles metal from a railway' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'metal' could be 'ta' (Ta is an example) and 'ta' is present in the answer.
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is present in the answer.
'railway' could be 'ry' (abbreviation for railway) and 'ry' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'si' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for sanitary that I've seen before include "Free from filth and pathogens" , "Free from dirt or infective matter" , "Relating to health" , "Any sitar (anag.)" , "Astray in hygienic way" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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