'World-first' waste recycling facility to open in Brisbane

Brisbane company Rino Recycling has announced it is set to open an automated recycling plant that it says is the first of its kind in the world.

The $95 million in Pinkenba turns construction and demolition waste into recycled material for new infrastructure projects. Rino Recycling General Manager Dan Blaser said the site can process up to 475 tonnes an hour, the equivalent of 68 truckloads, and minimises the need for landfill.

“This plant has scale, capacity and efficiency — it can recycle more than 1.5 million tonnes of waste with 97% recovery annually while producing high-quality products such as aggregates, sand and road bases to the equivalent standard of quarried material but with significant environmental benefits,” Blaser said. “In under 20 minutes, a truck can go from offloading construction waste and leave with a new load of high-quality, recycled products ready for the job site. It is a green, circular economy in action.”

He said ahead of the infrastructure and construction boom driven by the Brisbane 2032 Olympics, the SEQ City Deal and the significant infrastructure pipeline in Brisbane, it is critical to have this new facility (said to be the largest by volume in the world under one roof) to cater for new projects and lead the circular economy charge.

Based on an independent report, it’s estimated the new recycling facility will help reduce carbon emissions by 55,000 tonnes per year — the equivalent of 909,000 trees planted or removing 12,000 cars from the road annually. Rino Recycling’s Director, Todd Pepper, said it could help Queensland lift its recycling rate from 68% to 75% by recovering 97% of the material fed into the plant.

“We are helping decarbonise through recycling waste and cutting greenhouse gas emissions by reducing the number of truck movements on the road,” Pepper said. “The new facility is 13 kilometres from the CBD, so trucks have less distance to travel, and we are replacing the need to have to go to landfill sites west of the city, like Swanbank in Ipswich.”

The plant has an acre of rooftop solar panels for energy efficiency and recycles 35 thousand litres of water every hour, making it ‘water neutral’.

Rino Recycling has been recognised as a compliant waste processing facility under GBCA Construction and Demolition Waste Reporting Criteria for 2024.

Image credit: Rino Recycling.