Case Study

Grasshopper Environmental

Established in 1978, Grasshopper Environmental has provided professional, tailored, and responsive waste management services for over four decades across two critical sectors in Sydney – building, demolition & infrastructure, and commercial & industrial. They have been certified under GECA’s Waste Collection Services standard and are the first licensee under our Construction & Demolition Waste Services standard.

What are some key sustainability aspects of your business and certified services?

Grasshopper Environmental takes pride in the environmental accountability of our services. We are passionate about resource recovery and helping our customers achieve their diversion targets, especially as landfill space becomes an issue and there is a greater demand for circular products.

We value the importance of timely services, on-site efficiency, environmental responsibility and reporting. Our team works flexibly with our customers, delivering route optimisation to lower our impact on the roads and contribution to emissions. Our detailed waste data reports help our customers understand how their projects are achieving diversion, as well as highlighting areas of improvement.

Why did you choose to get GECA certification?

GECA is a credible and independent third-party lifecycle ecolabelling scheme that provides confidence and certainty to the market that the certified products and services have a lower environmental impact.

GECA certification shows our customers we are committed to responsible waste management. It signifies to the industry that we are accountable for environmental compliance, aiming to maximise recycling and resource recovery.

How important is certification to you and your customers?

GECA certification is incredibly important as it showcases our commitment towards sustainability. It demonstrates to the market that we have met all the rigorous standards and requirements to be certified.

Many of our customers require their own GECA certification for their projects, so it made sense for us to get ours too. This has made it easier for our customers to know their waste contractor is reliable and committed to helping them achieve their waste diversion targets.

It’s a win-win.

At Grasshopper Environmental, we are all incredibly proud of the work we do, going above and beyond in taking responsibility for the part we play in creating a sustainable future and promoting a circular economy.

How are Grasshopper Environmental’s GECA certified services involved in the Central Station Metro project? Why is this so significant?

We’re proud to deliver leading recycling and resource recovery solutions to Laing O’Rourke’s Central Station Metro (CSM) project. We congratulate Laing O’Rourke for leading the first construction project in Australia to specify GECA certification for their waste collection services.

It’s significant because we are helping to build a critical piece of sustainable infrastructure within a historical landmark. It’s a great partnership because both Laing O’Rourke and Grasshopper Environmental are committed to waste diversion and promoting a sustainable waste industry.

According to Laing O’Rourke, “To achieve this industry-leading accreditation, Grasshopper Environmental has demonstrated their ongoing commitment to innovation, improving sustainability outcomes and lowering environmental, health and social impacts.”

What do you think are the biggest sustainability challenges for your industry right now?

Being sustainable is not always cost-effective. It can be seen as too expensive, restrictive, or lacking infrastructure. However, this is only because environmental and social costs have been externalised for the past hundred years. We need to get customers, markets and society to realise that it’s not “too expensive” but rather this “cost” reflects the true cost of creating waste. We need to work together to internalise the externalities.