Funding boost to Australia’s largest recycling plant

Construction of Australia’s biggest polyethylene terephthalate (PET) recycling plant, is gaining momentum, with the Federal Government providing a $16.5 million investment into the plant.  The plant is located just outside of Albury-Wodonga and is being delivered in a joint venture between Asahi Beverages, Pact Group Holdings Ltd and Cleanaway Waste Management Ltd.

The investment will be made through a Clean Energy Finance Corporation investment. This will also serve as the first investment under the Federal Government’s Australian Recycling Investment Fund.

Once operational, the raw plastic material that the new plant will recycle each year is equivalent to 1 billion 600 ml PET plastic bottles and will be used to produce more than 20,000 tonnes of new recycled PET bottles and food packaging, making it the largest end-to-end rPet plant in Australia.  It will increase the amount of locally sourced and recycled PET produced in Australia by two thirds – from around 30,000 tonnes currently to over 50,000 tonnes per annum according to Pact Group. The plant will also reduce Australia’s reliance on virgin plastic and the amount of recycled plastic Australia imports. Solar energy will power part of the facility.

Construction on the project began in February, creating 300 jobs and providing a further 35 roles for the facilities on-going operation.

Read more at the Waste Management Review and at Cleanaway