SULO MGB puts wheels on the uptake of recycled content products
SULO MGB Australia, technological leader in the manufacture of garbage bins (MGBs), is vigorously pursuing the uptake of recycled content products (RCPs) through its association with the Buy Recycled Business Alliance (BRBA).

John Kernahan, National Sales and Marketing Manager at SULO MGB Australia, said the company has been a strong supporter of the BRBA for many years.

“SULO joined the BRBA when it was founded in 1999. We had already been producing and using large amounts of RCPs for over two years, so it was a natural fit for us to be part of an organisation that would promote our initiatives and the use of RCPs,” Mr Kernahan said.

According to John, the benefits of being part of the BRBA can be seen on a number of levels.

“Through our membership with the BRBA, we have been able to network with other business members and compare our processes so as to learn and improve our techniques. We have also had the opportunity to create beneficial business partnerships with other members such as Wharington, Visy and Corporate Express,” Mr Kernahan said.

“Another benefit of joining the BRBA is that the Alliance promotes itself and its members very well through its website and publications. The BRBA has made SULO visible through articles in various magazines. The BRBA is also lobbying with government to promote the use of RCPs.

“SULO promotes the fact that it is a member of the BRBA to demonstrate that it is a supporter of the recycling industry and that it wants to close the loop with its own products – SULO produces and buys its products back at end of life,” he said.

SULO MGB Australia is currently running a campaign to purchase back old MGBs that will be remanufactured into a variety of new products including MGBs.

“One of our main objectives at the moment is to purchase back as many old MGBs as possible so that we can keep producing bins out of recycled content material. For example, we will be purchasing up to 50,000 garbage bins that have come from a Sydney Council which would represent about 300 tonnes of material being reprocessed.

“Customers, especially local councils, are increasingly demanding garbage bins made of recycled content material. It is beneficial for the environment as they don’t only require less energy to produce, but reusing old MGBs means that less landfill space is taken by them.

“Producing and buying recycled content garbage bins is also cost effective and therefore we can offer our customers high quality products at a reduced price,” Mr Kernahan said.

John said SULO is working on a number of projects to promote the uptake of RCPs.

“We are providing information and pictures for the new national database of RCPs that the BRBA is currently developing. On behalf of the BRBA, we have also provided the Australian Council of Recyclers (ACOR) with information on MGB material for its online specification sheet on recycling MGBs,” he said.

Lara Barclay, Executive Director of the BRBA, said there is a good synergy between SULO MGB Australia and the BRBA.

“SULO has been keen to develop recycled content products and educate businesses and government about the ‘buy recycled’ concept. The BRBA helps SULO in the development and delivery of this objective, with particular emphasis on demonstrating how the ‘buy recycled’ approach can deliver competitive advantage in the market place,” Ms Barclay said.

“Recycling and buying recycled should be a key component of a company’s sustainability strategy as it is a simple way for all businesses to improve environmental responsibility by reducing waste. Recycling also reduces greenhouse gas emissions caused by the breakdown of waste in landfill. In addition, manufacturing RCPs from secondary resources generally requires less water and energy,” she said.

The BRBA was founded in 1999 and operates across Australia as a not-for-profit business-led initiative to provide a forum to promote greater uptake of recycled content products (RCPs), which strongly contributes to corporate sustainability.

Foundation members of the BRBA include Amcor, McDonalds, Visy Industries, Foster’s Group, Corporate Express, Fuji Xerox and Australian Paper.

For more information on the BRBA, please visit www.brba.com.au or call 1300 662 593.

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Released for the Buy Recycled Business Alliance by Dennis Rutzou Public Relations (www.drpr.com.au).
For further information please call Kim Larochelle or Fiona Pennington on
(02) 9413 4244.