ResourceCo is leveraging its experience in construction and demolition recycling to play a key role in Australia’s resource recovery future.
Construction and demolition waste are the bricks and mortar of ResourceCo. A recognised pioneer in resource recovery, the company is built on the belief that what others see as the end of the journey for materials, is just the beginning of quality recycled products, further progressing Australia’s circular economy.
As ResourceCo has diversified it has never lost sight of the primary objective – to divert waste from landfill and extract its maximum value.
“We have always recycled waste with a focus on just doing that and getting it right,” says Brad Lemmon, Chief Executive Officer, Recycling and Waste.
“It’s embedded in our business ethos and that is why we are doing so many great things with so much growth ahead of us.”
Brad says the company has been at the forefront of established and emerging markets for recovered materials both domestically and globally since the early 1990s.
Now, as the appetite for recycled construction and demolition products grows, ResourceCo is positioned to play a leading role in the expansion of the sector, with added capabilities to serve the growing demands for quality recycled C&D products.
Reinforcing the future
ResourceCo is looking to expand its operations beyond South Australia.
Brad says growth of the Recycling and Waste business will strengthen the company’s existing capabilities across the states, particularly in Victoria.
“We are well established in our tyre recycling and material solutions business in Victoria. Expanding our construction and demolition waste recycling capability makes us well placed to be a partner of choice to support the growing infrastructure industry,” he says.
“Construction and demolition waste is the cornerstone of ResourceCo. We’ve been doing it for 30 years and established a solid presence in South Australia.
“We want to amplify that and bring the breadth, depth and capability of ResourceCo to expand it into a much broader business with sustainable circular outcomes.”
Over the years, ResourceCo has challenged conventional waste practices and looked for new technologies to recycle waste. Brad says the expanded operations will have a positive impact on mixed waste and commercial and industrial (C&I) recycling.
He says that impact, coupled with the already established network of ResourceCo’s businesses, will enable the company to play a significant role in recycling and resource recovery across its national footprint.
Victoria on the move
There is a growing push across Australia to use recycled materials, driven by the National Waste Policy target of an 80 per cent average recovery rate from all waste streams by 2030.
Brad says Victoria is leading the charge in construction and demolition materials, in part due to the State Government’s Recycled First Policy.
Since 2020, all tenderers on Victorian major transport projects have been required to demonstrate how they could optimise the use of recycled and reused materials.
ResourceCo’s Material Solutions has been involved in several key state rail and road projects including level crossing removals and the Monash Freeway upgrade.
Brad says growing community expectation that businesses are operating sustainably, and concern about the availability and cost of quarried materials, is a powerful motivator for the uptake of recycled content. That is more relevant in Victoria as it continues to experience high infrastructure and construction activity.
“Community desire and pressure to increase sustainability outcomes is a very strong and growing driver,” Brad says.
“But a lot of construction activity is also putting a high demand on traditional construction materials such as sand, aggregate and rock that have typically been used in construction. They’re being exhausted, and the availability of those materials is starting to deplete.
“While it will be a long time before recycled material fully replaces virgin material, concerns about natural resources are leading to a great outcome where recycled materials are filling the void.”
One of ResourceCo’s key strengths is the ability to manage a range of waste streams via its integrated processing facilities.
Aggregate gains
C&D waste usually refers to the heavier materials such as concrete, bricks and masonry, while C&I is more the lighter side including timbers, plastics, doors and shelving. Often there is cross contamination between the two, however not many sites are capable of sorting and processing both.
“We can take C&D waste to the crushing plant and C&I to the sorting plant,” Brad says. “We’ve managed to increase the amount of material we can efficiently bring in and process.”
He says adding organic recycling into the mix for soil management will broaden the company’s capability to offer a circular solution for projects.
He cites a building demolition project as an example – demolition waste is transported to ResourceCo, the company helps manage old soil and find the right disposal or recycling options and can supply a range of recycled materials required for the new build.
“The circularity of the project, integrating all ResourceCo’s capabilities, is incredibly powerful,” Brad says. “Our aim is to get as much waste material out of the construction sector and stop that going to landfill, to turn it into usable products. It’s the DNA of the business.”
He says while ResourceCo is not the first, or only, resource recovery business, its demonstrated capability to produce and provide a secure supply from its South Australian operations puts it in a good position.
“We’re right at the epicentre where there’s a lot of construction activity,” he says.
While the company aims to grow its capability, Brad says it’s also vital it maintains a clear focus on its traditional business and customer base.
Employee experience
A lesson learned through decades of experience is the importance of the health and wellbeing of employees and stakeholders. At ResourceCo, a focus on strong culture and visible safety leadership starts at the top and emanates through the business.
Brad says one of the company’s competitive advantages is the depth of experience and passion of its employees.
“Our people embrace innovations and the entrepreneurial spirit to continue to add value to waste. It is an amazing industry for the younger generation,” he says.
“We value our employees and their capabilities. We have operational people who have been here for years. It’s one of the things that makes ResourceCo unique.
“There will be massive job opportunities in this sector that allow them to make real change. In Australia alone it is an exciting time for the circular economy and sustainable business practices.”
Brad says while all employees are encouraged to be proactive and take an active role in managing their own safety and wellbeing, that focus spills over to the company’s environmental credentials.
To that end, there’s a focus on clean operations, good housekeeping, stockpile management and containment of dust and other emissions. The company is also proactive in greening its sites and recently planted 2500 trees at its Lonsdale operations in Adelaide as part of an ongoing plan across all of the company sites.
Brad says aesthetic benefits are obvious, but greening the sites has other benefits such as dust management and reducing the impacts of climate change.
“It’s all well and good for us to be strong in terms of sustainability and the circular economy, but it doesn’t mean anything if we’re not operating our sites in an environmentally responsible manner.”
For more information, visit: www.resourceco.com.au
