Good Sammy Enterprises CEO Kane Blackman (3rd from left) and REMONDIS WA GM Chris Gusenzow (2nd from right) with Good Sammy resource recovery team members
REMONDIS is creating additional jobs for people with disability as it expands its involvement in Western Australia’s Container Deposit Scheme, widely known as ‘Containers for Change’.
Having recently been awarded a tender to run a new bulk sorting and counting facility alongside existing Containers for Change handling operations at its Canning Vale depot, REMONDIS will also enable the employment of additional people who might otherwise struggle to find jobs.
This is being done in collaboration with not-for-profit organisation Good Sammy Enterprises, which specialises in securing employment for people with disability or experiencing social disadvantage.
It’s expected that up to three full time jobs will be created for disadvantaged people as the new bulk sorting and counting operations ramp up in coming months.
For the past three years 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.
The new operations will see REMONDIS create a sorting line to handle beverage containers collected from self-serve kiosks around metropolitan Perth shopping centres.
“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,” REMONDIS Australia Western Australia General Manager Chris Gusenzow said.
“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.”
Good Sammy Enterprises CEO Kane Blackman said the additional employment opportunities through REMONDIS were welcome.
“We’ve played a pivotal role in the Containers for Change scheme since its inception three years ago, running more than twenty collection points across Western Australia,” Kane said.
“It says a lot about the social disposition of companies such as REMONDIS when they embrace additional employment opportunities for some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people in our community.”
Launched in 2020, the WA Containers for Change Scheme ensures that more beverage containers – such as cans and bottles – are recycled, with 10 cents being refunded for each eligible item as a recycling incentive. The processed containers are freighted for recycling in Australia and overseas.
2.7 billion 10-cent containers have been recycled under the scheme so far.
The scheme is a State Government initiative administered by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and delivered with the assistance of WA Return Recycle Renew Ltd – a not-for-profit company responsible for establishing the collection network and managing day-to-day operations. Ensuring employment opportunities for socially disadvantaged people is a centrepiece of the scheme.
REMONDIS’ involvement in the Containers for Change scheme will continue for another four years.
REMONDIS is one of the world’s leading privately run recycling, service and water companies with around 1,000 business locations in over 30 countries and across three continents. Founded in 1934, this family-run business employs more than 40,000 people and generates a turnover of €12.6 billion (2022). Each year, it processes about 30 million tons of recyclable materials and provides services for local authorities, small and medium-sized businesses and industrial firms as well as for around 30 million people. Operating in many different fields of business, REMONDIS makes an important contribution towards protecting the environment and conserving natural resources – from recovering valuable raw materials from industrial and household waste, to producing high quality recycled raw materials, all the way through to transforming non-recyclable materials into a range of different fuels. Moreover, the company is increasingly helping to advance the switch from fossil fuels to renewables by using biomass as a source of energy. REMONDIS sees itself as an adviser and point of contact for industrial, commercial and retail businesses as well as for local authorities as it helps them to find regional and bespoke solutions. REMONDIS Australia commenced operations in 1982 and now has 900+ employees servicing more than 24,000 customers nationally.
