REMONDIS Australia – Schools a new frontier for ACT charity collections as cost-of-living pressures hit home
Canberra ACT, 23 September 2026, REMONDIS Australia – Unprecedented pressure on families to make ends meet has prompted REMONDIS Australia to supercharge a new way of ensuring pre-loved essentials can be collected and distributed to those in need across the ACT and parts of rural New South Wales.
In collaboration with Canberra charity Roundabout Canberra, REMONDIS is providing 240-litre donation bins that will be rotated through ACT public and private schools.
Roundabout Canberra has previously worked with a small number of schools to collect donated goods, with the new REMONDIS partnership helping expand the initiative by providing additional bins and supporting a more coordinated approach.
It’s expected that bins will be placed at schools for about a month at a time, starting from September.
The initiative opens new avenues for charity collections as demand soars, ensuring that quality pre-loved items such as clothes, bedding, and toys get second lives with people in need.
It’s also an environmental win because many such items would otherwise be disposed of and end up as landfill.
REMONDIS ACT Regional Manager Shane Merry said charity recycling through schools was a new frontier.
“As a major waste management operator, REMONDIS’s core mission is bettering the environment by diverting unwanted items from holes in the ground,” Shane said.
“Partnering with Roundabout Canberra to channel household goods to local families who need them via schools is community teamwork at its best, adding important social outcomes to the mix.
“We’ve begun placing bins at schools and the response from students, staff and families has been incredible.
“They want in on giving back and have embraced the opportunity in front of them.”
Roundabout CEO Hannah Andrevski said the bin placements were timely.
“We’re seeing first-hand the pressure that rising costs are putting on local families, and demand for the essentials we provide continues to grow,” Hannah said.
“When Roundabout Canberra started eight years ago, we supported around 350 babies and children. This year, we expect to support more than 6,000.
“For families already managing very tight budgets, having access to things such as clothing, nappies, bedding, prams and other children’s essentials can make a real difference. It means limited household income can go towards rent, groceries, bills and other expenses that simply can’t be avoided.
“What I really love about this partnership is that it makes it easy for school communities to be part of the solution. Families can pass on good quality items their children have outgrown, knowing they’ll go on to support another local child or family who needs them.
“We’re so grateful to REMONDIS and the schools taking part. This will help us keep essential items moving through our warehouse and into the hands of families across Canberra and the surrounding region.”
REMONDIS and Roundabout Canberra first partnered two years ago, as the charity sought better ways to deal with donation waste.
“As our organisation has grown, so has the amount of goods coming through our warehouse,” Hannah added.
“Not everything donated to us can be reused, and damaged items like prams and highchairs can contain metal, plastics and other materials that need to be dealt with properly.
“That is definitely not our area of expertise, hence REMONDIS stepping up to help.
“The partnership means we can focus on what we do best, getting essential items to children and families, while making sure as much as possible is reused or recycled rather than going to landfill.
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REMONDIS is one of the world’s leading privately run recycling, service and water companies with around 1,500 business locations in over 30 countries and across four continents. Founded in 1934, this family-run business employs 48,000 people and generates a turnover of €13.4 bn (2025). Each year, it processes about 30 million tons of recyclable materials and provides services for local authorities, small and medium-sized businesses and industrial firms as well as for around 30 million people. Operating in many different fields of business, REMONDIS makes an important contribution towards protecting the environment and conserving natural resources – from recovering valuable raw materials from industrial and household waste, to producing high-quality recycled raw materials, all the way through to transforming non-recyclable materials into a range of different fuels. Moreover, the company is increasingly helping to advance the switch from fossil fuels to renewables by using biomass as a source of energy. REMONDIS sees itself as an adviser and point of contact for industrial, commercial and retail businesses as well as for local authorities as it helps them to find regional and bespoke solutions. REMONDIS Australia commenced operations in 1982 and now has around 1,200 employees servicing more than 24,000 customers nationally. www.remondis.com.au
Roundabout Canberra is a local charity providing safe, high-quality essential items to babies, children and families in need across the ACT and surrounding region. Working through a network of social services, Roundabout Canberra provides items including clothing, nappies, bedding, prams, car seats, toys and other children’s essentials, free of charge. Supported by hundreds of volunteers and the generosity of the Canberra community, Roundabout Canberra helps ensure every child has a safe start, and every family is supported with dignity. www.roundaboutcanberra.org
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