Long-term partner of Planet Ark, BINGO Industries, has officially opened its new recycling centre in Sydney’s south-west suburb of Mortdale. 100 kilowatts of rooftop solar panels have been installed at the facility by Planet Ark’s sister organisation, Australian solar energy engineering and technology specialists, Planet Ark Power.

Planet Ark’s CEO, Paul Klymenko, said the centre is an example of BINGO’s commitment to implementing high environmental standards across its facilities, which have an average recycling rate of 77%.

“It’s fantastic to see two of our partners, BINGO and Planet Ark Power, working together to create positive environmental change. The Mortdale recycling centre is a great example of how businesses can utilise their vacant roofs to generate environmental and financial benefits,” said Mr Klymenko.

The site’s solar energy system is expected to save the equivalent of almost 2,500 tonnes of C0₂ emissions from entering the atmosphere over its lifespan. That’s the equivalent of planting 350 trees or taking more than 1,000 cars off the road for a whole year.

As industry leaders in construction and demolition recycling, BINGO acquired the new site to assist in the redevelopment of its Sydney network. Located in proximity to major transport routes, the M5 Motorway and King Georges Road, the Mortdale facility is a convenient location for receiving South West Sydney’s construction, commercial and industrial waste.

Materials collected at the Mortdale facility will be sorted through the newly installed onsite plant. Material offtake will then be transferred to BINGO’s advanced recycling plants at Eastern Creek and Patons Lane where it will be turned into BINGO’s ECO Product range of building and landscaping products; an exemplar of circular economy thinking.

BINGO’s CEO, Daniel Tartak, said the opening of the Mortdale site is well-timed with construction activity expected to increase across Sydney.

“Sydney’s population and economic growth is fuelling an increase in waste volumes and we need recycling infrastructure such as this to prevent waste from going to landfill,” said Mr Tartak.

Recycling centres that can accommodate great quantities of waste are integral to applying circular economy principles in Australia. The 2018 National Waste Report, released by the Department of Environment and Energy, revealed three-quarters of our waste is actually generated by the commercial and industrial (C&I) and construction and demolition (C&D) sectors, with 40% of this waste ending up in landfills.

BINGO and Planet Ark share a vision of a waste-free Australia and have been working in partnership since 2011 to increase the amount of C&I and C&D waste that is recovered and recycled into new products. We will continue to work in partnership to help Australian businesses transition to a circular economy.

Positive actions

• If you manage or own a business, make sure the company that collects your building waste can verify that it has been taken to a recycling facility for high-recovery processing, like the facilities available at BINGO’s recycling sites.
• If your business doesn’t yet have recycling systems in place, you can get started with the information available at Business Recycling.
• For more consumer information on recycling, including how to recycle correctly and what can and cannot be recycled in your local area, visit RecyclingNearYou. 
• If you manage or own a business, school or other organisation with a vacant roof and are interested in solar energy, learn more about Planet Ark Power's offerings.