South Australians will again be able to recycle their soft plastics, thanks to a partnership between the State and Federal governments.
Recycling Plastics Australia has received a $20 million federal grant to set up advanced recycling technology at its Kilburn centre which will allow soft plastics to be recycled.
The soft plastics, including shopping bags, chip packets and food wrappers, will be cleaned and purified to create feedstock for new soft plastic packaging.
Recycling Plastics Australia Chair Peter Gregg said he was grateful to the South Australian and Australian governments for supporting the $40 million project.
“Recycling Plastics Australia has a proud history leading the circular economy by recycling plastics that are difficult to process,” Mr Gregg said.
“This funding will see our Kilburn site in South Australia become the prominent soft-plastic recycling processor in the country, with materials recycled here and sold into local and global packaging markets.”
The Kilburn project, which will deliver about 45 jobs and is expected to be operating within the next 12 months, is among the first announced under the new Recycling Modernisation Fund Plastics Technology stream.
The $60 million stream funds solutions that increase the nation’s recycling and recovery rates for hard-to-recycle plastics, enables collection schemes to be scaled up over time, and helps drive Australia’s transition to a safe circular economy.
The Australian Government is also supporting soft plastics recycling by improving packaging design through new national packaging laws.
These laws will require that packaging be designed to be recovered, reused, recycled and reprocessed safely in line with circular economy principles.
Nationally, the Federal Government is increasing recycling capacity in Australia by more than a million tonnes every year while creating more than 3000 jobs, including over 600 in South Australia.
This month is Plastic Free July – a campaign that appeals to all Australians to do their bit to reduce plastic pollution and waste.
For recycling advice and bin tips, visit www.whichbin.sa.gov.au.
