Australian government funds new soft plastics recycling facility

South Australia will divert over 14,000 tonnes of soft plastics from landfills annually, thanks to a $20 million investment in advanced recycling technology by the Australian Government.

Recycling Plastics Australia in Kilburn, will clean and purify soft plastics like shopping bags, chip packets, and food wrappers to create new soft plastic packaging. This initiative will help develop an advanced recycling supply chain in Australia.

In partnership with the South Australian Government, this project is one of the first under the new Recycling Modernisation Fund Plastics Technology stream and will create 45 jobs.

Additionally, the Australian Government is improving packaging design through new national packaging laws, requiring packaging to be recoverable, reusable, recyclable, and reprocessable safely, aligning with circular economy principles.

Nationally, the Federal Government aims to increase recycling capacity by over a million tonnes annually, creating more than 3,000 jobs, including over 600 in South Australia.

Peter Gregg, Chair, Recycling Plastics Australia, said: Recycling Plastics Australia has a proud history leading the circular economy by recycling plastics that are difficult to process. We are grateful that the Australian and South Australian Governments have supported this $40 million dollar project that is to transform soft plastics recycling in Australia.

This Kilburn project was announced during Plastic Free July, a campaign encouraging Australians to reduce plastic pollution and waste.