Veolia wins tender to build and operate state-of-the-art resource recovery facility in Canberra

A recycling revolution is coming to the ACT after Veolia signed a contract worth more than $850 million to build, operate and maintain a new state-of-the-art materials recycling facility (MRF) in Hume. More than 1.3 million tonnes of mixed household recycling is expected to be processed by Veolia in the first 20 years of its operation, which equates to a reduction of 520.000 tonnes in greenhouse gas emissions ― the equivalent of driving 289 000 petrol powered cars non-stop for a year.

The new facility is the latest investment by Veolia as part of its global Green Up strategy to depollute, decarbonise and regenerate the environment. It marks the first of many strategic investments being made by Veolia across the country in 2025, with Australia listed as a priority growth area for the Group.

Veolia, a trusted environmental services provider in Australia since 1969, has been proudly serving the Canberra community for three decades. Our dedicated local team brings unparalleled experience and a stellar reputation to the region.

Canberra’s new resource recovery facility will separate and sort paper and cardboard, glass, plastic, steel, and aluminium. Its advanced sorting technology, equipped with sophisticated automatic recognition, uses screens to separate paper, laser optical identification with air jets to separate plastics, and powerful magnets to extract metals. It also includes a glass processing plant that removes impurities from used or broken glass and crushes it into small pieces that can be made into new glass products.

These advanced technologies have been adapted from Veolia’s best global operations, which are designed to remove contaminants, such as items that can’t be recycled due to how they are made, or non recyclables mistakenly put in the recycling bin. This ensures the very highest quality sorting of materials for onwards processing into new products. The new facility has been designed with state-of-the-art fire detection, mitigation and control systems to safeguard the site from fires, which can be caused by items such as lithium batteries or gas bottles which find their way into the recycling stream. Non-recyclable or flammable items should not be disposed of in recycling bins, but it does happen from time to time, warranting the need for these additional safety measures.