South Australia’s largest and most advanced household recyclables facility was officially opened on Monday November 8, at the start of National Recycling Week.

The Southern Materials Recovery Facility (SMRF) in Seaford Heights will be able to process 60,000 tonnes of yellow bin recyclables every year. 

The state-of-the-art 6,000m2 SMRF deploys world-leading advanced screening and optical sorting technologies to process 25,000kg of recyclables every hour, including cardboard, plastic and glass.

It has been designed to meet the highest standards of recycling purity to ensure that nothing goes to waste. 

The SMRF is Australia’s first major materials recycling facility designed to meet the Council of Australian Government’s Export Ban requirements, which ensures waste is processed and reused in Australia rather than being shipped overseas. 

It is a joint initiative of Australian recycling and resource recovery specialist Re.Group and the Southern Region Waste Recycling Authority (SRWRA), which is a joint subsidiary of three South Australian Councils – City of Onkaparinga, City of Holdfast Bay and City of Marion. 

The project has been partly funded by the Australian Government through a $5.3 million Community Development Grant, allowing the facility to expand beyond processing the recyclables of the three partner councils to also service other regional councils and commercial businesses. 

SRWRA Chair Mark Booth says the facility is a gamechanger for waste management and resource recovery in South Australia, which as a state has led the way in recycling and reducing waste. 

“The support of the Australian government and leadership of the three constituent councils will go a long way to addressing the need for increased recycling capacity across the state. 

“The SMRF will set a new benchmark for materials recovery facilities and raise the bar as Australia’s recycling industry continues to evolve and mature to meet the growing demand for domestic processing.” 

The facility employs 18 full-time staff with senior employees requiring advanced manufacturing skills to use the cutting-edge technologies to process the regions recyclables. 

Senator Andrew McLachlan, who officially opened the facility, says it will lead the nation in recycling and resource recovery. 

“This is the most state-of-the-art recycling centre in the country that is going to set a new benchmark for Australia. 

“Communities across Adelaide’s southern suburbs and the Fleurieu Peninsula can now be confident their recyclable waste is being processed to world-class standards and reused right here in Australia. 

“We all want to live in a community that is sustainable and at one with nature. We do not want future generations to exist amongst the waste we leave behind.” 

City of Onkaparinga Mayor Erin Thompson says the opening marked a historic day for the residents of Southern Adelaide and the South Australian recycling sector. 

“More than 300,000 residents in South Australia now have the confidence that their yellow-bin recyclables are being processed locally—bringing down costs, creating jobs and, when the facility’s capability increases, being reused in council projects. 

“They can also be confident we’re closer to achieving our vision for a recycling circular economy and tackling the challenges of climate change head-on.”