Around 9,600 tonnes of material will be diverted from Victorian landfills every year thanks to a $3.4 million for six new recycling projects from the Federal and Victorian governments.
The new and upgraded facilities will sort, process and recycle used plastics and paper into new products, such as transport pallets.
The projects which have received funding are:
Australian Paper Recovery (APR) in Dandenong South received $1 million to upgrade its sorting facility, and install a new infrared process to improve the separation and quality of difficult to recover plastics.
NCI Holdings in Tullamarine received $175,810 to increase the use of post-consumer recycled content in the manufacture of impact-resistant paint pails to 50 per cent.
Schutz Australia Recycling in Laverton North received $1 million to install new equipment that will enable refinement of recovered high-density polyethylene (HDPE) from used Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBCs) to produce clean pellets suitable to manufacture new IBCs and drums.
Repeat Plastics Australia in Ballarat received $708,000 to increase operational capacity and capability to enable the production of large-scale manufacturing, industrial, commercial and civil products, such as transport pallets from recycled plastic.
Corex Recycling in Dandenong South received $253,470 to install new equipment that will enable recovery of highly contaminated soft plastic waste and maintain the highest level of end product purity.
Y and Y Trading in Truganina received $250,000 to expand Australia E-waste Recycling's capacity to separate plastics from e-waste and produce flake and pellets for reuse into new products.
This investment aims to improve Victoria’s recycling capabilities across Melbourne and Ballarat, and are touted to support 15 construction jobs and create 38 ongoing positions.
On completion, projects announced under the Recycling Modernisation Fund, are expected to add 1.3 million tonnes of processing capacity every year, diverting materials from landfill for reuse.
When combined with co-investment from all states and industry, the Recycling Modernisation Fund will give a $1 billion boost to Australian recycling.
Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, said, “This funding is supporting new recycling infrastructure, helping Victorians get value from precious materials that would otherwise go to waste.
"We want to better protect nature for our kids and grandkids – and that takes all levels of government working together,” she added.
Victorian Minister for Environment, Steve Dimopoulous, added, “Reducing our use of new materials and recycling our waste is keeping litter out of landfill while creating more jobs for Victorians, and innovative projects like this are just one example of how we can make a real difference to the way we use and manage waste.
“We’ve invested a record $515 million to transform Victoria’s waste and recycling industry to drive progress towards a cleaner future for all with less waste and pollution – creating new industries and driving a sustainable and thriving circular, climate-resilient economy.”
