REMONDIS Australia has expanded its Brisbane headquarters at Rocklea with a new multi-purpose waste processing hub, adding specialised medical and biosecurity waste processing to its Queensland operations.
The two-hectare expansion within the company’s existing 10-hectare Rocklea Resource Recovery Facility includes a 2,500-square-metre building housing medical, biosecurity and cardboard processing operations, as well as a heavy-duty mechanical maintenance workshop, as revealed in a news release.
The development was officially opened on 11 September by REMONDIS Group Board Member and REMONDIS International Group CEO Egbert Tölle, REMONDIS Australia CEO and Managing Director Björn Becker, Queensland Shadow Minister for Health and local MP Mark Bailey, Brisbane City Councillor Tracy Davis and Waste Recycling Industry Queensland CEO Alison Price, according to REMONDIS Australia.
REMONDIS said the expansion had been six years in development and would support its existing commercial and industrial waste transfer operations at Rocklea, which has served as the company’s Queensland headquarters for more than 20 years. The new services are intended to support customers across South East Queensland.
The company said approximately 200,000 tonnes of waste was processed at the Rocklea site in 2025, with volumes expected to increase as the new operations are introduced.
The medical and biosecurity waste processing operation is REMONDIS’s first in Queensland and forms part of the company’s broader expansion into specialised waste management.
REMONDIS said the facility was developed in response to demand from public and private sector customers, with gaps in the market becoming particularly apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under licence conditions, the operation will use a US-made Bondtech autoclave to sterilise medical and biosecurity waste, including syringes and surgical equipment, before handling and disposal. REMONDIS said material would be collected from customers including hospitals, nursing homes and medical and veterinary centres.
Becker said the company had used expertise from its Australian and international operations in developing the facility.
“Customers and the environment are always front and centre of mind when we invest in expansion,” Becker said.
“We focus on how we can deliver the most reliable and efficient tailor-made solutions for customers, while keeping costs down.”
REMONDIS said the medical waste facility was located close to Brisbane’s CBD and would provide a specialised processing service for the company’s Queensland customers.
Cardboard processing has also been added to the site, with an advanced Godswill baler from Taiwan and equipment supplied by Queensland-based Material Recovery Solutions. According to REMONDIS, the equipment can process more than 20 tonnes of cardboard per hour and removes the need for external processing at this stage of the recycling process.
The expansion also includes an in-house workshop for REMONDIS’s heavy vehicle mechanics. The company said the facility would support the maintenance of 50 trucks operating from Rocklea and was intended to contain operational costs and improve fleet efficiency.
Becker said the site had been designed with scope for further expansion.
“Leveraging our other successful projects around Australia and the world means we can deliver top-tier initiatives like this seamlessly,” he said.
“It’s significant that we’ve left scope for the new offerings to expand as we pick up new business and market demand continues to grow.”
REMONDIS expects the expanded operations to create at least 10 new jobs as they ramp up.
Animal Referral Hospital Brisbane and Animal Welfare League Queensland are among the organisations using REMONDIS’s clinical waste services. AWLQ operates across seven South East Queensland sites and receives regular collection services from REMONDIS.
AWLQ Head of Property Operations Steve Dignam said clinical waste management was an important part of the organisation’s operations.
“A streamlined and cost-effective means of managing clinical waste is essential to our function of saving animals’ lives,” Dignam said.
“Time and money saved on this front is time and money directed to caring for animals.”
Dignam said REMONDIS’s Rocklea facility and broader operations allowed the company to provide services tailored to AWLQ’s requirements.
DSD Group was engaged to undertake the expansion’s design, construction and civil works, while more than 20 other consultants, contractors and equipment suppliers contributed to the overall project, according to REMONDIS Australia.
