DELIVERING SUSTAINABLE WASTE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS
The Resource Recovery Group (formerly known as the Southern Metropolitan Regional Council (SMRC) is one of five regional councils in the Perth metropolitan area and is a local government entity. It was established in 1991 as a Regional Local Government to develop innovative and sustainable waste management solutions for the benefit of communities and the environment.
The group operates a state-of-the-art $100 million facility in Canning Vale, which receives, recycles, and processes waste from some of its member local councils and the community.
Our 'local member councils' consist of:
- Town of East Fremantle
- City of Fremantle
- City of Melville
This region encompasses 75 square kilometres within Perth’s southern metropolitan area and has a combined population of over 145,000 people. Recyclables are also received from other Perth metro and regional councils as well as Avon Waste and Cleanaway.
The Resource Recovery Group is committed to assisting the State Government to work towards its targets of diversion of waste from landfill. We employ over 50 staff and provide work for 100 local small businesses and contractors each month.
Our Story
In 1991, the local governments of Canning, Cockburn, East Fremantle, Fremantle, Kwinana, Melville, and Rockingham came together to form a regional approach to waste management. The Councils realised that an individual approach for alternative waste management solutions would be too expensive for a single council, and environmentally unsustainable. A solution was required for the thousands of tonnes of waste that were being sent direct to landfill each year with little consideration of the future social, economic, and environmental implications.
As a result, the Councils formed the Southern Metropolitan Regional Council (SMRC) to provide environmentally sustainable waste management solutions for the benefit of the community and member councils.
The research into alternative technologies was undertaken in part as a response to a 1995 Parliamentary Select Committee Report, Chaired by Dr Kim Hames, that recommended “No new landfill sites should be established on the coastal sand plain because of their potential to pollute the groundwater.”
In 2021, the SMRC changed its name to Resource Recovery Group to reflect its diversifying business and expanding customer base. Watch the video below that explains our new brand.
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