Veolia has signed a contract worth more than A$850 million to build a new materials recycling facility (MRF) in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The company will also run the facility under a 20-year contract.
The state-of-the-art facility will increase local recycling capacity, reduce transport emissions by sorting recycled items locally, and provide jobs for the ACT’s growing circular economy.
‘This materials recovery facility [will be] one of the most advanced in Australia and produce the highest purity materials for recycling and resource recovery,’ says Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia.
‘This project is part of our GreenUp strategy to invest more in Australia, a priority geographical area for Veolia.’
Bringing world-leading waste management technology to Australia
Veolia is a leader in water, energy and waste management. The company has been providing services in Australia since 1969, and in Canberra for three decades.
The new MRF will separate and sort paper and cardboard, glass, plastic, steel, and aluminium. Its advanced sorting technology, equipped with sophisticated automatic recognition, uses:
- screens to separate paper
- laser optical identification with air jets to separate plastics
- powerful magnets to extract metals.
It also includes a glass processing plant that removes impurities from used or broken glass and crushes it into small pieces that can be made into new glass products.
The facility is expected to process more than 1.3 million tonnes of mixed household recycling in the first 20 years of its operation.
The project will create 112 jobs during construction. Once complete, it will provide 24 permanent roles as part of the facility’s operations.
Veolia will also set aside funds for recycling education programs targeted at school children. It will also set up an education centre, so that members of the community can learn about recycling.
An artist’s impression of the new materials recovery facility to be built in Hume. Image courtesy of the ACT Government.
Australian funding for recycling efforts
The new MRF received support from the Australian and ACT Governments through the Recycling Modernisation Fund.
The Recycling Modernisation Fund is a national initiative expanding Australia’s capacity to sort, process and remanufacture glass, plastic, tyres, paper and cardboard.
When combined with co-investment from all states, territories and industry, the Fund will give a A$1 billion boost to Australian recycling.
How Austrade helped
Austrade provided a range of services and support to Veolia, including:
- organising meetings between Veolia ANZ and senior Australian Government officials
- providing information on Australia’s net zero roadmap, policies and legislation
- sharing details of Australian grants and incentives such as the Recycling Modernisation Fund
- inviting Veolia to meet with potential off-takers.
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