ARRC to represent Australia at the ReMA 2025 event

The Australian Resources Recovery Council (ARRC) will represent Australia at what is claimed to be the largest gathering of the recycled materials industry in the world.

ARRC CEO Rick Ralph will be joined by former federal minister and council non-executive director the Hon Karen Andrews at the ReMA 2025 event held this month in the US.

“As the amount of waste generated in Australia continues to rise, we need a serious focus on how we create a stronger domestic market for the resources we currently recover and for what we could recover,” Ralph said.

“The ReMA 2025 event brings together recycled materials industry professionals from around the world, offering us the opportunity to speak with leaders in resource recovery and to bring those learnings back to Australia.

“Critically, we need sustained markets for the materials we are recovering, and key insights from global markets such as India and China will help shape how we can prioritise the use of alternative resources to achieve emission reduction targets and contribute to building a stronger manufacturing sector.”

ARRC will be meeting directly with senior industry leaders from Europe, India, the US, China and Canada to discuss key legislative trends and issues.

“Our priority is to have productive discussions on how the Australian resources recovery industry can play a larger role in driving economic growth and sustainability domestically and globally, and importantly, to understand what the new US tariff regime means for global resources trading,” Ralph said.

“There is much we can learn from our global partners, especially if we want our government to get serious about its policy initiatives and in lowering the nation’s environmental impacts while also developing new local manufacturing supply chains.”

ARRC members provide Australian businesses, governments and communities with access to essential waste, resource recovery and recycling services. This includes recovering materials such as biogas, plastics, tyres, metals, garden and food organics as well as engineering fuels for energy.

“The council continues to lead change in the national narrative around resource recovery and advocates for a shift in focus from a largely environmental agenda to more important industry, manufacturing, supply chain, and energy-focused policy changes,” Ralph said.

“In the last financial year, the industry directly employed 45,479 Australians, contributing more than $7.3 billion in industry value added to the economy. Imagine what it could do if policymakers shifted their thinking by embracing the fact that all renewable and recyclable resources we are generating in our waste are genuine alternatives for our domestic supply chains.”

The ReMA 2025 event will take place in San Diego from 12–15 May 2025. For more information, including how to register, visit the event’s website.

Image credit: iStock.com/Art Wager