Australia Invests €9M in Advancing Soft Plastics Recycling

The government of Victoria, Australia, has announced a significant investment of AUD 15.6 million (€9.5 million) to support three major soft plastics recycling projects. These initiatives are anticipated to divert 43,000 tonnes of soft plastics from landfills each year.

Pro-Pac Group, a leading packaging company, will receive over AUD 6 million to expand its current facility dedicated to converting recycled feedstock into soft plastic products. The enhanced facility will enable Pro-Pac to produce up to 11,000 tonnes of soft plastic packaging annually, incorporating 30% recycled content. This expansion is expected to create 14 direct jobs.

Naula, a prominent recycler, will be allocated more than AUD 5 million to advance its sorting and processing capabilities. This funding will support the processing of up to 32,000 tonnes of soft and mixed plastic products each year. The high-quality materials produced will be used in applications such as food-contact packaging, helping to build a more robust recycling supply chain in Australia. This project is projected to generate 61 direct jobs.

Sustainable Plastic Solutions will receive over AUD 4 million to install new recycling technology that will enable the processing of an additional 8,000 tonnes of agricultural plastics annually. These plastics, including films, grain tarps, and baling twine, will be converted into high-quality resins suitable for reprocessing. This initiative will create 25 direct jobs.

This announcement builds on a previous AUD 20 million investment made in July for establishing a new soft plastics recycling facility in Kilburn, South Australia. Together, these investments are part of the Australian government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund Plastics Technology, which totals AUD 250 million. The fund aims to enhance Australia’s ability to sort, process, and remanufacture various recyclable materials, including glass, plastic, tyres, paper, and cardboard. When combined with co-investments from state governments and industry partners, the Recycling Modernisation Fund is expected to increase Australia’s recycling capacity to AUD 1 billion.

The establishment of this fund comes in response to the collapse of Australia’s soft plastics recycling program in 2022. The REDcycle initiative, which had received significant industry investment since 2010, was found to be stockpiling soft plastics in warehouses instead of recycling them. This failure highlighted the need for improved soft plastics recycling infrastructure.

Australia's national packaging targets, introduced in 2018, aim for 70% of plastic packaging to be recycled or composted by 2025. However, with only 18% of plastic packaging recycled in 2023, the country is unlikely to meet this target. In response, there have been calls for the implementation of a plastic tax and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) schemes.

As of September 1, all Australian states and territories have enacted bans on soft plastic bags, marking a significant step in the country’s efforts to manage plastic waste.