Joint media release: $75m for gold standard recycling project to help fast-track circular economy

The Hon Chris Bowen MP, Minister for Climate Change and Energy 

The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for the Environment and Water

Brisbane will be home to a world class demolition and recovery recycling centre, thanks to $75 million in debt finance from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC). 

Rino Recycling’s $89 million Pinkenba recovery centre, under development between the Brisbane CBD and the airport, will help ensure the 2032 Olympics and other significant construction projects in Queensland are able to significantly minimise their carbon footprint.

The centre will be able to process more than 1 million tonnes annually of concrete, excavation and skip bin waste into quality outputs.

The amount of high-quality building and manufacturing materials that will be recycled will be equivalent to removing around 12,000 cars from the road each year.

Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said it would help boost recovery rates of construction materials and reduce waste.

“We’re investing right across Australian industry, including recycling, to keep jobs up and emissions down across the economy jobs,” Minister Bowen said.

“There is incredible technology just waiting to be unlocked across the economy, and this project alone would have the same impact on emissions as taking around 12, 000 cars off the road.”

Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek said tackling the recycling challenge quickly and efficiently was a priority for the government.

"We need to value our materials more and view our waste as a resource if we’re to drive Australia’s circular economy,” Minister Plibersek said.

“We are making progress, but more action is needed to divert waste from landfill, and build more-efficient production processes, and the Pinkenba facility will help achieve this.

“This is vital because every bit of rubbish that ends up in landfill is a missed opportunity.”

All Australian Environment Ministers have committed to working with the private sector and industry to design out waste and pollution, keep materials in use, and foster markets for a circular economy by 2030.

Some 29 million tonnes of waste came from the construction and demolition sector last year, amounting to 38 per cent of all waste generated in Australia, with much of it sent to landfill.