Problem solving plastics in our circular economy
Sustainability Victoria is investing in the innovation and infrastructure needed to unlock the circular potential for one of our most infamous materials: plastics.
Plastic is not a single material – it’s a group of materials, and none of them are equal. Sustainability is not about getting rid of all plastics, but about using them as part of a circular economy where we can smartly leverage their characteristics as one of the lightest, strongest, and most versatile materials with many important applications in modern society.
We know plastic pollution is a big problem. Projections suggest that globally 15 tonnes of plastic enter our oceans every minute. If we stay on this course, there will be more plastics than fish in the sea by 2050.
A circular economy, where waste is avoided and all resources are kept in circulation for as long as possible, demands we ‘do plastic differently’. There is no 'silver bullet”' for this transition, according to the CSIRO National Circular economy roadmap for plastics, glass, paper and tyres, which notes that 'the challenges are numerous and often interconnected'.
Closing the loop between recycling, design and manufacturing will allow us to use plastics sustainably and to their greatest potential – to produce less plastic overall, recycle more plastic at higher quality, increase demand for recycled plastic, and phase out single use, toxic or problem plastics.
Sustainability Victoria is driving the systems change we need to achieve this in our state.
Here’s how Victoria has started to ‘do plastic differently’.
Recycling more plastic locally at higher quality
Australia currently recycles only about 13% of end-of-life plastics – a significant bottleneck in the system. We've leveraged millions in private investment to deliver major projects transforming Victoria’s recycling system and we’re partnering across government and industry to invest in the infrastructure and technology we need to recycle more.
Major projects funded through SV’s grants will uplift Victoria’s processing capacity for plastics by 71% from 2020 to 2025.
Case study: New facility to process more than 1 billion plastic bottles every year
Circular Plastics Australia’s new PET plastic recycling facility will process more than one billion plastic bottles every year, or over 150 bottles for every Victorian.
This joint venture between Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Asahi Beverages, Pact Group and Cleanaway was supported by a $6 million joint investment between the Australian Government and Sustainability Victoria on behalf of the Victorian Government.
The facility provides a complete, bottle-to-bottle solution where plastic bottles collected from household recycling bins and container deposit sites will be recycled and remanufactured into new packaging at PACT group’s facility in Altona North.
It’s a best-practice example of closing the loop between recycling, design and manufacturing, connecting waste processing and manufacturing to replace virgin materials with recycled resources, and driving collaboration across supply chains.
The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) leads the development of a circular economy for packaging in Australia and has set 2025 targets prescribing that 70% of plastic packaging should be recycled or composted and 50% of new plastic packaging should contain recycled material.
By investing in projects like the PET plant by Circular Plastics, we demonstrate what is possible through smarter design and manufacturing of plastic packaging, while boosting Victoria’s overall recycling capacity.
For more information, read Victoria’s biggest PET plastic bottle recycling plant opens for business in Melbourne and watch Circular Plastics Australia PET.
Plastics recycling at the Circular Plastics Australia facility in Altona North. Image courtesy PACT. Tackling tricky plastics with innovative technology
The CSIRO’s Circular Economy Roadmap argues that to capitalise on the availability of more recyclable plastic flowing through the system, Australia needs to 'radically improve' its recycling capability and pursue innovation through government-research-industry collaboration.
We’re collaborating with industry to future-proof Victoria’s recycling system and ensure we have the state-of-the-art technology needed in a circular economy.
Case study: Advanced chemical recycling to make soft plastics good as new
Sustainability Victoria funded Australian Paper Recovery (APR) Plastics in Dandenong South to pilot new systems to transform how we sort and recycle some of our trickiest plastic, like soft plastics.
Current technology used to recycle most plastics is based on mechanical recycling, where we shred, wash, and melt plastics into new pellets for manufacturing. After being recycled multiple times, the plastic quality degrades to a point where it will eventually end up in landfill.
APR is exploring the use of new technology called advanced chemical recycling, or feedstock recycling, that allows us to convert plastic waste, including post-consumer soft plastics, into a plastic crude oil, which is refined back into raw material for manufacturing that is just as good as virgin plastic.
Sustainability Victoria’s investment will enable APR to scale its use of advanced chemical recycling, building on its pilot research phase to install a $3.8 million plant with processing capacity of 5 tonnes per day (1,800 tonnes per annum).
Reports led by government research organisations show that this type of recycling is the most economically viable solution for recycling soft plastics back into food grade plastics. The quality of this material means we can use it instead of new, oil-based plastics; what we import today basically becomes the free feedstock for tomorrow’s products.
For more information, read Funded project – Recycling soft plastics into plastic crude oil and watch Ministers visit APR Plastics.
Shredded plastic during processing. Image courtesy of APR Plastics. Invest in new uses for recycled plastics
Even if we can recycle more plastic to higher quality in a circular economy, we still need to make sure that the recycled product will be purchased and used.
The CSIRO Roadmap notes that “the single biggest need is to create more markets for recycled plastics, which will underpin confidence for investors to build recycling infrastructure.”
This means supporting the system by investing in innovative projects that provide new avenues to use and build confidence in recycled plastics, through intelligent design and manufacturing.
One example is using plastic in our built environment, as we’ve seen with recycled plastic railway sleepers and noise walls on freeways.
Case study: Plaspole lighting the way for recycled plastics
Plasgain, a family-run business in Drouin, is using recycled plastic to produce 100 percent Australian-made light poles, dubbed 'Plaspole'.
The light poles will feature a rigid core made from 95 kilograms of recycled plastic covered with aluminium, giving it the appearance of a conventional light pole.
Plasgain will manufacture an estimated 5,000 light poles each year, recycling 350 tonnes of soft plastic – the equivalent to one and a half Olympic swimming pools of water.
This project supported by Sustainability Victoria through the Circular Economy Infrastructure Fund: Materials, will reduce the need for imported materials and virgin plastic products in urban developments.
Find out more
Our plastic problems won’t disappear overnight and require full systemic change. We’ll need designers, manufacturers, waste management businesses, recyclers, consumers and all other parties to do their bit.
Sustainability Victoria works across the lifecycle of plastic to drive circular systems change, from:
- research to build an evidence base for future investment
- education and behaviour change interventions to avoid problematic single use plastics
- investing in the technology and infrastructure projects we need to improve our ability to sort, process and recycle more plastic at higher quality right here in Victoria
- driving end markets for recycled plastic to make sure that what we recycle is purchased and used again.
Read our new strategic plan.
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