Gladstone Ports Recycles 122 Tonnes of Conveyor Belts in Australian Circular Economy Initiative

Gladstone Ports Corporation has completed a large-scale conveyor belt recycling initiative designed to establish a more circular approach to industrial rubber waste in Australia’s bulk materials handling sector.

The project was delivered with Fenner Conveyors and Tyrecycle and focused on recovering end-of-life conveyor belts from the Port of Gladstone in Queensland rather than disposing of them in landfill. In June 2026, six decommissioned belts with a combined weight of 122 tonnes were removed from the port and entered the recycling process.

The scale of the project is significant because conveyor belts are a major operational asset at the Port of Gladstone. Gladstone Ports Corporation, or GPC, operates 65 conveyor systems at the port, representing more than 48 kilometres of installed conveyor belting. This creates a substantial long-term material management challenge as belts reach the end of their operational lives.

From Industrial Waste to Recycled Feedstock

Under the recycling model, Fenner coordinated the removal and recovery process, while Tyrecycle handled the material after collection.

The belts were first transported to Tyrecycle's Brisbane facility before being sent for further processing at its Somerton operation in Victoria. There, the recovered rubber is converted into feedstock that can be used in new manufactured rubber products.

Independent analysis commissioned by Tyrecycle estimated that recycling the six belts avoided more than 190 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. The figure reflects the environmental benefit attributed to recycling the material rather than following the previous disposal route.

The recovered material can also be incorporated into Fenner's InfinitySeries conveyor belting, which uses recycled rubber materials, including rubber reclaimed from used conveyor belts, in the construction of new products. This introduces the possibility of keeping part of the material within the same industrial value chain instead of treating decommissioned belts solely as waste.

Logistics Designed Around Existing Operations

A key component of the initiative was its logistics model.

According to Tyrecycle, the companies used a "one-in, one-out" approach that enabled new or replacement equipment movements to be coordinated with the return of decommissioned belts. The model was intended to reduce double handling and associated supply chain costs.

Tyrecycle said the recycling process could be completed in Australia within three days of a belt being removed from service.

For industrial operators, this is particularly relevant because waste reduction programs can become difficult to scale when additional transport, storage and handling requirements increase costs or disrupt operational schedules.

Integrating material recovery into existing maintenance and replacement cycles can therefore be as important as the recycling technology itself. The Gladstone project provides an example of how circular economy programs can be incorporated into asset management rather than treated as separate waste initiatives.

Addressing a Difficult Industrial Waste Stream

Industrial conveyor belts are designed for demanding environments and typically contain combinations of rubber, reinforcing materials and other components that make them durable in service but more challenging to manage when they are retired.

In ports, mines, processing plants and other bulk materials operations, large conveyor networks can result in significant volumes of end-of-life belt material over time.

Historically, the lack of established recycling pathways has meant that operators may have limited alternatives to disposal or lower-value reuse. GPC said its teams had been assessing potential recycling options for used conveyor belts for some time before the latest solution became available.

The new arrangement demonstrates a possible pathway in which suppliers, industrial customers and recycling companies collaborate before equipment reaches the waste stage.

Potential for Wider Industrial Application

The relevance of the initiative extends beyond the Port of Gladstone.

Bulk material handling systems are widely used across Australian mining, ports, quarrying, manufacturing, agriculture and logistics. Conveyor belt replacement is therefore a recurring maintenance requirement across a large industrial asset base.

Fenner has indicated that it intends to expand conveyor belt recycling efforts nationally and work with customers to integrate circular economy practices into routine operations.

For other industrial operators, the Gladstone case highlights several practical considerations. Recycling programs need sufficient processing capacity, reliable logistics and a commercial destination for the recovered material. Environmental benefits are also more credible when emissions and waste reductions can be supported by independently assessed data.

The project additionally shows how procurement decisions can support circularity. If recycled rubber recovered from old belts can be incorporated into replacement products, customers can potentially create demand for the same secondary materials generated by their own operations.

Circular Economy Implications for Heavy Industry

For sectors pursuing net-zero and resource-efficiency targets, managing operational waste is increasingly part of the broader decarbonization challenge.

While recycling conveyor belts will represent only a small share of emissions from energy-intensive sectors such as mining and bulk transport, projects of this type can reduce landfill use, avoid emissions associated with material disposal and virgin material production, and support domestic recycling and manufacturing capacity.

GPC describes itself as a multi-commodity port operator and publishes annual and environmental reporting covering its operations, with its latest listed annual report covering 2024-25.

The conveyor belt initiative adds a practical waste-management example to that broader operational context.

Its longer-term significance will depend on whether the model can be repeated economically across other industrial sites and whether recycled material can consistently meet the technical requirements of new conveyor products.

For now, the recovery of 122 tonnes of belt material at Gladstone provides a measurable demonstration of how an industrial waste stream that has traditionally been difficult to manage can be redirected into a domestic recycling and manufacturing system.

Source: www.sustainabilitymatters.net.au