The Australian Financial Review and Boss magazine has recognised Pact Group as one of Australia and New Zealand’s Most Innovative Companies for its world-first freeway noisewalls made from up to 75 per cent recycled plastic.
Pact was nominated for the ninth consecutive year from 700 organisations across Australia and New Zealand. Commenting on the company's recognition for the noisewall innovation, Pact Group managing director and CEO, Sanjay Dayal, described the new technology and installation as an “inspiring innovation for Australia’s circular economy with the potential to unlock opportunities both locally and internationally”.
To be installed along Mordialloc Freeway (spanning a nine-kilometre stretch connecting the Mornington Peninsula Freeway to the Dingley Bypass) the noisewalls will see the transformation of approximately 570 tonnes of hard-to-recycle plastic materials into panels spanning 32,000 square metres.
Each wall panel will be produced from 75 per cent recycled materials, including soft plastics and hard to recycle post-consumer low- and high-density polyethylene, providing a second life for single-use plastics like milk bottles. At the end of their 40-year lifespan, each panel will be 100 per cent recyclable demonstrating the significant opportunity for the current and future circular economy.
The project was driven by Major Roads Projects Victoria (MRPV) with assistance from Ecologiq, a Victorian Government initiative to optimise the use of recycled and reused materials across Victoria’s Big Build projects, and the walls will be installed by AusGroup Alliance. Construction of the walls, which is a world-first, commenced in December 2020 with completion anticipated by October 2021.
Dayal says the project is a breakthrough for how to re-use materials like soft plastic which has traditionally been one of the hardest materials to recycle.
“What we’re most proud of is how highly scalable this solution is. It’s something that could easily be adopted by infrastructure projects across the country, fuelling demand for recycled materials, diverting waste from landfill and helping to build our local manufacturing capacity and deliver new jobs in Australia’s circular economy. It also creates opportunities for other countries to adopt similar practices and improve recycling capabilities at a global level,” Dayal said.
The Australian Financial Review and Boss Magazine’s Most Innovative Companies list is managed by Australian innovation consultancy, Inventium.
The assessment measures a top innovation implemented in the past two years. Specifically, the judges look at how valuable the problem is that the innovation is solving, the quality and uniqueness of the solution, and the level of impact driven by the innovation. Inventium also assesses internal elements such as innovation culture, strategy, resources and process, which demonstrate a sustainable and repeatable approach to innovation.
Commenting on the 2021 List, Dr Amantha Imber, founder of Inventium said, “Inventium is proud to announce the 2021 Most Innovative Companies list in conjunction with AFR. After the enormous impact 18 months (and counting) of a global pandemic has had on the way we live, it’s so inspiring to see all the amazing innovations our winners have created to help make our lives better.”
