Our History

A History focused on the future

Breen Resources is more than a waste management company. We are a family-owned business with over 75 years of experience committed to environmental sustainability and community development. Based in Kurnell, Sydney, we focus on transforming construction and demolition waste, Civil Earth Works GSW, VENM & ENM’s into reusable materials, helping to build a circular economy and reduce our environmental footprint.

A Proud History

  • 2024
  • 2023
  • 2020-2
  • 2020
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2015
  • 2010
  • 2006
  • 2005
  • 1995
  • 1991
  • 1988
  • 1985
  • 1968
  • 1966
  • 1962
  • 1961
  • 1957
  • 1956
  • 1953
  • 1950

Our Vision

To be authentic leaders in waste and resource management, driven by the creation of valuable recycled products, minimising environmental impact, and maintaining the highest standard of transparency.

Our Values

Integrity

Upholding the highest standards of ethical practices and transparency in all dealings.

Resource Resilience

Contributing positively to the environment and reducing the need for virgin materials.

Customer & Community Focus

Creating tailored solutions to adapt to the ever-changing landscape.

Heritage

We are proud of our history and roots by continuously building on our legacy.

1949
Composite Holdings is registered. Tom Breen Snr is a founding shareholder. 33 acres of land is purchased at Bate Bay Road on which Precision Bricks produced sand-clay-cement bricks, closing the following year.
1950
Tom Breen Snr takes over Composite Holdings, establishing the Metropolitan Sand Company. Over 6 years, 800 ha of land on the Kurnell Peninsula is secured from William Taren Tate. An additional 400 ha is purchased from Thomas Holt.
1953

Tom Breen Snr establishes Processed Sand. It produces kiln-dried and screened silica sands sourced from its Kurnell deposits and elsewhere in NSW. It pioneers a large number of industrial uses for these products in Australia.

1956

Several thousands of tonnes of processed silica gravel is trucked to the atomic weapons site at Maralinga, South Australia, for use in British atomic bomb tests.

1957

Tom Breen becomes sole shareholder of Composite Holdings, and the company name is changed to Breen Holdings.

1961

Breen sells several hectares of the Bate Bay Road site to the NSW Government to establish Cronulla High School.

1962

Tom Breen (Jnr) joins the company as Sales Manager. Processed Sand is supplied for concrete for the construction of the Sydney Opera House and for many major civil works in Greater Sydney.

1966

The Breen family donates the first of 13 Charlotte Breen surf boats to Elouera Surf Lifesaving Club.

1968

Construction Sand operations extend to the Hawkesbury River at Pitt Town and later to Newcastle.

1985

Breen sells rights to extract and market its Kurnell sand to Monier Ltd (Rocla Quarry Products).

1988

Breen donates 14 hectares of land to the community to create the Charlotte Breen Memorial Park, named after Tom’s late wife.

1991

Breen Holdings establishes Kurnell Landfill to rehabilitate its previously sand-mined land in stages.

1995

Breen Holdings adopts a policy to protect the Green and Golden Bell Frog habitat at Kurnell.

2005

Sand extraction ceases on all Breen land in Kurnell, and Breen continues a major land restoration engineering project.

2006

Tom Breen (Jnr) becomes CEO of Breen Group.

2010

The NSW Minister for Planning rezones portions of Breen’s land for residential sub-division and public parklands.

2015

Trommel Recycling Plant fitted at Kurnell & Stage 1 of Shearwater Landing is complete and the first stage of homesites sold at auction.

2017

Damien Vella becomes CEO of Breen Group.

2018

Breen rebrands to Breen Resources with a new logo.

2020

Tom retires as Executive Chairman and hands the reigns to his son, Ben Breen.

2020-2

Rapid adjustments to the business were made to ensure Breen remained open throughout the numerous COVID lockdowns.

2023

After 14 years, Breen moves its CBD office from Pitt Street to Clarence Street to accommodate a bigger team.

2024

Weeks after turning 75, NSW Government approves state-of-the-art Recycling Plant and Marang Parklands project. A new logo and website is launched to showcase the company’s growth.