Remondis Australia, a leading recycling, service, and water company, is expanding its involvement in Western Australia’s Container Deposit Scheme, dubbed Containers for Change, as part of a recent tender.
In a media release, the company said it will run a new bulk sorting and counting facility alongside existing Containers for Change handling operations at its Canning Vale depot.
Remondis will also collaborate with Good Sammy Enterprises, a non-profit organisation that specialises in securing employment for people who might otherwise struggle to find jobs, to deliver jobs for people with disability.
The project is expected to create three full-time jobs for disadvantaged people as the new bulk sorting and counting operations ramp up in the coming months.
“It’s a win-win that we can create more jobs for socially disadvantaged people while expanding our involvement in the highly successful Containers for Change scheme,” said Chris Gusenzow, Remondis Australia’s general manager for Western Australia.
“The other big winner is the environment, given that we’ll be playing a greater role in recycling beverage containers which account for nearly half of all litter by volume in Western Australia.”
Remondis has been tasked with handling all non-glass containers under the Containers for Change scheme, including those made of plastic aluminium, steel, and liquid paper board in the Perth, Peel, and Wheatbelt areas. This accounts for about half of all items being collected under the scheme.
Remondis’ expanded presence in the scheme will create a sorting line to handle beverage containers collected from self-serve kiosks around metropolitan Perth shopping centres.
The company’s involvement in the Containers for Change scheme will continue for another four years.
Launched in 2020, the WA Containers for Change initiative seeks to ensure that more beverage containers are recycled. Since its launch, the scheme has recycled 2.7 billion containers.
Administered by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation in collaboration with non-profit company WA Return Recycle Renew Ltd, the initiative offers incentives of 10 cents for each eligible item, such as cans and bottles. The processed containers are then freighted for recycling in Australia and overseas.
