REMONDIS Australia, the Australian arm of privately owned global waste management group REMONDIS, diverted 1937 tonnes of plastic, 5856 tonnes of steel, 82,684 tonnes of cardboard and paper and 4769 tonnes of paint from landfill in 2021.
The recyclable rates are among the highlights listed in REMONDIS’ first Sustainability Report documenting the local operation’s environmental, social and governance achievements and targets.
Demonstrating transparency around the company’s sustainability approaches, the report focuses on 2021 performance and outcomes while also setting more ambitious objectives and targets for 2022.
REMONDIS Australia has aligned its sustainability strategy to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), using the SDG framework combined with local materiality assessments to focus its ambitions.
“Our 2021 Sustainability Report is an important reference point for customers, regulators and other stakeholders interested in understanding our sustainability values, philosophies, policies and achievements,” said Björn Becker, REMONDIS Australia Chairman.
“It documents our commitment to sustainability at a time when industry, government and households are expecting more on this front.”
Other highlights in the 2021 report include the commissioning of a Resource Recovery Line at REMONDIS’ Rocklea Resource Recovery Facility to accelerate cardboard, plastic, timber, glass and metal recovery and reduce such materials going to landfill. In 2021 the newly commissioned line achieved a 12 per cent diversion by weight of such materials.
REMONDIS also registered three Emissions Reduction Fund projects, at Swanbank and Springmount and received government approvals enabling progression of a $22 million Tomago Resource Recovery facility at Tomago, near Newcastle.
Environmental licence amendments were approved, enabling expansion of environmentally sound hazardous waste collection and treatment services, at REMONDIS’ Dandenong South, Swanbank and Northgate facilities.
Multiple social inclusion initiatives were instigated including a partnership with Busy Ability at REMONDIS’ Rocklea Resource Recovery Facility in Queensland, resulting in the employment of socially disadvantaged picking staff. REMONDIS also partnered with indigenous-owned JAI-MEC Rural Contracting, creating a new company, Red Earth Industrial Services, which focuses on domestic waste collection and is intended to provide diversified industrial services across Cape York.
Objectives and targets for 2022 include increasing total installed renewable energy capacity to more than 3 MW, with a plan to source all electricity from renewable sources by 2025, measure and report on Scope one, two and three greenhouse gas emissions, consistent with the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act, from 2022 and create a Driver Academy, to ensure REMONDIS’ 500+ waste collection and transport vehicles are driven to the safest standards, and enable staff to achieve specialist licences.
REMONDIS Australia intends to publish sustainability reports regularly. The company’s sustainability practice is overseen by Chief Technical Officer and REMONDIS Australia Director Alex Hatherly, with Environment and Sustainability Manager Helen McCarthy and her team.
The 2021 Sustainability Report can be viewed at https://www.remondis-australia.com.au/about-remondis-australia/sustainability/sustainability-overview/
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