What Recycal Australia does

Recycal Australia is a family-owned scrap metal recycler headquartered in Ringwood, Victoria, operating nine collection and processing sites across Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania, Western Australia and South Australia. The company purchases scrap ferrous and non-ferrous metals (copper, aluminium, brass, lead, steel, batteries) from trade and industrial customers and earns revenue on the spread between purchase price and sale of processed metal, supplemented by fee-based industrial services including transformer recycling (units up to 200 tons), metal-rich demolition projects, and customised onsite bin and machinery installations. Operational technology centres on shredders, non-ferrous sorting plants, alligator shears, balers, fully concreted yards with triple interceptors and stormceptors, and a national fleet ranging from small vans to 10-axle hook trucks supporting more than 10,000 bins deployed at customer sites.

The business is controlled by the Rowe family, which has operated in Australian metal recycling since 1990 through the original Southern Rocycling business; Recycal was re-established in 2011 following the sale of that predecessor. The group has since extended into adjacent regulated waste verticals through sister and wholly-owned entities: CMA EcoCycle handles mercury, silver and hazardous waste and is the only nationally EPA-licensed mercury recycler in Australia; eco e-waste focuses on electronics recycling; and ecobatt and Envirobat operate battery recycling facilities including lithium capability with fire suppression. Group-level certifications include ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 18001 (since 2016) and AS/NZS 5377 for battery operations, and the group has invested more than $6 million in R&D since 2010.

Name

Recycal Australia

Legal name

Recycal

Website

https://recycal.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Recycal Australia is a family-owned scrap metal recycler operating nine sites across six Australian states, purchasing ferrous and non-ferrous scrap and providing industrial processing, transformer recycling, demolition and customised bin services to enterprise and trade customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Scrap Metal Recycling

NAICS

Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesalers (423930), Materials Recovery Facilities (562920), Waste Collection (56211)

SIC

Misc Industrial & Commercial Machinery & Equipment (3590)

akta.pro primary industry

Secondary Materials Brokerage & Trading (Recovered Commodities) (BPALADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Construction & Demolition (C&D) Recycling MRFs (EUAIADAD), Consumer E-waste Collection & Take-Back Programs (EUAIAIAA)

Keywords

• Scrap metal recycling
• Metal collection services
• Transformer dismantling
• Demolition recycling
• Bin hire services

Headquarters

HQ city

Ringwood

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Scrap Metal Cash Payments: Cash for scrap metal model where Recycal purchases scrap metal from customers including copper, aluminium, brass, lead, batteries and steel. Revenue generated through the difference between purchase price of scrap and revenue from selling processed metals.
2. Recycling Processing Services: Processing services for industrial clients including transformer recycling, demolition services, and tailored solutions such as labelling, colour coding of bins, specialised containers and onsite machinery installations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Recycal is a family-owned Australian metal recycling company that purchases scrap metal (copper, aluminium, brass, lead, batteries, steel) from industrial clients and pays cash based on monitored commodity market prices. It operates a national fleet of collection vehicles and over 10,000 bins, and provides specialised services including transformer recycling (up to 200 tons), metal-rich demolition services, and tailored industrial bin solutions.

Product overview

Recycal Australia is a specialist family-owned scrap metal recycling company offering a comprehensive suite of services centered around metal recovery and recycling. The core Recycal service provides cash for scrap metal (copper, aluminium, brass, lead, steel, batteries) with nationwide collection using a fleet of vehicles and over 10,000 bins. Supporting services include transformer recycling (handling units up to 200 tons) and metal-rich demolition services. The company has expanded into specialized verticals through subsidiary brands: eco e-waste handles electronic recycling (laptops, phones, TVs); ecobatt and Envirobat focus on battery recycling with advanced safety systems for lithium batteries; and sister company CMA EcoCycle manages mercury, silver, and hazardous waste. These entities operate together to provide total recycling solutions across metals, electronics, and batteries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Scrap Metal Recycling (Cash for Scrap) Family-owned scrap metal recycling service offering cash for copper, aluminium, brass, lead, steel, and batteries, with collection via a national fleet of vehicles and more than 10,000 bins across Australia. Prices are monitored from country and world markets to provide the best return.
• Transformer Recycling Specialist recycling service for transformers of all types and sizes up to 200 tons, including dismantling, transport, processing, and optional onsite removal services. Designed for utilities, industrial operators, and demolition projects requiring safe handling of large transformers, including those containing hazardous materials such as mercury and PCBs.
• Demolition Services Metal-rich demolition project services using mobile shears, large material handlers, heavy vehicles, and bins. Designed for professional demolition contractors and clients undertaking large-scale metal recovery projects, with clean site return and zero LTI safety record.
• Bin Services National bin inventory of more than 10,000 bins ranging in size from 1m3 to 38m3, including bright green bins with trolleys, hook lift bins, open-ended Stilliages for longer metal lengths, specialised plastic battery boxes, and colour-coded magnetic signs for separating scrap metal arisings.
• ecobatt Battery Recycling Wholly owned subsidiary of Recycal providing battery collection and recycling with purpose-built facilities in every state. Uses hydrothermal recycling process to recover mercury, lead, silver, nickel cadmium, steel, lithium and plastic. Includes specialised electric vehicle rescue containers with fire suppression systems for lithium battery safety.
• eco e-waste Wholly owned subsidiary of Recycal providing specialist e-waste recycling for electronic products including laptops, computers, mobile phones, and televisions. Became operational in 2020.
• Envirobat Wholly owned subsidiary of Recycal providing battery collection and recycling using a hydrothermal recycling process to safely recover mercury, lead, silver, nickel cadmium, steel, lithium, and plastic from spent batteries.

Quantifiable outcome

• Zero Lost Time Injuries (LTI's) safety record maintained
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• EcobattcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Wholly owned subsidiary company created to collect and recycle all types of batteries. Uses hydrothermal recycling process to extract valuable materials. Purpose built facilities in every state for national battery disposal and collection service. Specializes in mercury, lead, silver, nickel cadmium, steel, lithium and plastic recovery.
• Eco E-wastecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019New entity created as a specialist e-waste recycling company focusing on recycling of electronic products including old laptops, computers, mobile phones and televisions.
• CMA EcoCyclecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister company CMA EcoCycle is Australasia's most experienced mercury and silver recovery and recycling business, operating in every state. CMA EcoCycle is the only company nationally fully licensed by Environmental Protection Agencies to handle the entire process of collecting and recycling mercury-containing waste. Many metals recovered from mercury treatment are recycled back through Recycal. Recycal and CMA EcoCycle work together to handle and process Aluminium, Brass, Zinc and Copper Drosses.
• Castings TasmaniastrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with local foundry Castings Tasmania (formerly Johns Perry Castings, established 1833). Recycal supplies quality steels needed for the foundry, utilizing portable X-Ray guns that can sort metal in various grades to match the best scrap to the right castings.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cleanaway Waste Management: Cleanaway is Australia's largest waste management company, providing solid waste collection, recycling, and hazardous waste services. Comparable as a national Australian competitor with overlapping customer base in industrial and hazardous waste collection, though Recycal is more specialised in metal and mercury recycling.
• European Metal Recycling (EMR): EMR is one of the world's largest metal recyclers with operations across the UK, Europe, and North America, processing ferrous and non-ferrous scrap. Comparable to Recycal in core metals recycling capability but with vastly larger global footprint and integrated mill supply contracts.
• Veolia Australia: Veolia operates hazardous waste collection, treatment, and recycling services in Australia, including industrial waste, e-waste, and specialty recycling. Comparable to Recycal and CMA EcoCycle in hazardous waste handling but operating as part of a global environmental services group with broader service portfolio.
• Schnitzer Steel Industries: Schnitzer Steel is a major US-based ferrous and non-ferrous scrap metal recycler with auto parts and steel manufacturing operations. Comparable in product categories (scrap metal collection and processing) and end markets but operating at significantly larger scale and with downstream steel-making capability.
• Sims Limited: Sims Limited is the largest publicly listed scrap metal recycler in Australia and globally, operating metal recycling yards, Sims Lifecycle Services for e-waste, and a stake in upstream recycling assets. Directly comparable as a national-scale competitor collecting and processing ferrous and non-ferrous scrap, though much larger and more diversified than Recycal.

Others

• TOMRA Sorting Solutions: TOMRA provides sensor-based sorting technology used in recycling and waste sorting facilities globally. Comparable as an enabling technology supplier to scrap metal MRFs and e-waste recyclers like Recycal, with optical sorting and XRT systems relevant to Recycal's processing capabilities.
• Aurubis AG: Aurubis is a European non-ferrous metals processor and recycler producing copper and other metals from primary and secondary (recycled) feedstocks. Comparable to Recycal as a downstream offtake buyer of processed non-ferrous scrap (copper, brass, aluminium) but at industrial scale rather than as a collection operator.

Direct peers

• Re.Group: Re.Group is an Australian recycling and resource recovery company operating materials recovery facilities (MRFs), e-waste recycling, and organics processing. Directly comparable as a national Australian recycling operator with multi-stream capability, overlapping with Recycal's metal recycling, e-waste, and battery recycling operations.
• Ecocycle Australia (Battery & E-waste): Ecocycle is an Australian e-waste and battery collection/recycling business closely tied to CMA EcoCycle (Recycal's sister entity). Comparable in scope (battery recycling, mercury handling, e-waste), though operates separately with overlapping customer segments in hazardous materials recovery.

Regional players

• Southern Cross Metal Recyclers: Southern Cross Metal Recyclers is an Australian scrap metal buyer and recycler with yards across multiple states. Directly comparable as a domestic Australian competitor offering cash for scrap metal, container services, and collection logistics similar to Recycal.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/recycal

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Recycal Australia