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Beverage giant Lion has created a recycled bar at the Melbourne Cup Carnival to launch its Quincy sparkling alcoholic seltzer.

Made of 98 per cent recycled plastic, and featuring furniture created from post-industrial and post-consumer plastic such as car bumpers and plastic bags, the Round II bar is an Australian first and will be used at many of the company’s key sponsorship events, says Libby Davidson, head of sustainability at Lion.

“The impact of single-use plastics on the environment is a key concern at Lion so we are always looking for new, innovative ways to repurpose this resource and promote the circular economy.

“The concept was developed by a group of our own people from different teams across the business during a lunchtime sustainability hackathon. Not only does this reinforce the power of diversity, it’s also a great example of what a company can achieve if you empower your people to share ideas and really make a difference beyond the bottom line,” she said.

The initiative is part of a celebration of Lion’s partnership with soft plastic recycling organisation REDcycle and its manufacturer Replas, announced in September. REDcycle collects and reuses soft plastics that cannot be collected at kerbside, and Replas turns it into a range of recycled plastic products such as street signage and park furniture.

Food & Drink Business

Woolworths has opened its new Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) in Western Sydney, joining the company’s National Distribution Centre (NDC) at the Moorebank Logistics Precinct, which was completed in November 2024.

The NSW Government has announced the next phase of its Plastics Plan, setting out a roadmap to phase out single-use and problematic plastics as part of its broader strategy to tackle the state’s waste crisis.

More than 150 of Australia’s innovation experts gathered in Canberra last week for the annual National Innovation Policy Forum. Leaders from business, research and boundary-spanning entities, policymakers and parliamentarians were there, looking at how best to address the significant challenges facing local R&D.