Resource Recovery Infrastructure Fund
The Resource Recovery Infrastructure Fund supports the development of infrastructure to build capability and capacity to recover high quality materials from collection, sorting, recycling and processing of valuable materials.
The program supports projects that will increase jobs in the resource recovery sector and the recovery of priority materials.
Valued at approximately $26 million, the funding program has allocated over $22 million to 70 infrastructure projects in metropolitan and regional Victoria since 2017.
The projects are expected to create more than 450 jobs in Victoria’s waste and resource recovery sector and divert at least 600,000 tonnes of material from landfill each year.
Success stories from funded projects
Enrich 360: Turning food waste into valuable compost
Enrich 360 is a Melbourne based business which installs dehydration units to restaurants, hospitals and similar facilities which produce large quantities of food waste.
The food waste is separated, collected, and dehydrated, creating a valuable soil-enriching product. This is then blended and processed to create a rich compost that will add organic material and nutrients to the soil on farms.
Advanced Circular Polymers: Australia's largest recycling plant for plastics
Advanced Circular Polymers state-of-the art plastics recycling plant will process mixed plastics collected from kerbside recycling and is capable of processing 47% of the plastics currently recovered for recycling in Victoria.
Duratrack: Railway sleepers made from recycled plastic
The sleepers last three times longer than traditional sleepers and contain a mix of polystyrene and agricultural plastic waste – including cotton bale wrap and vineyard covers.
New facility recovers construction waste for reuse
Repurpose It, a new state-of-the-art recycling plant in Epping is turning construction and building waste previously destined for landfill into reusable materials for civil and infrastructure building projects.
Resource Recovery Infrastructure Fund Summary
The Resource Recovery Infrastructure Fund supports the development of infrastructure to build capability and capacity to recover high quality materials from collection, sorting, recycling and processing of valuable materials.
There have been multiple funding rounds since 2017 with projects located in and servicing Victoria eligible to apply for between $40,000 and $500,000 in funding for infrastructure development.
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Date:
November 2019
Projects and funding received:
$1.2 million for 5 projects across VictoriaRecipients
Macedon Ranges Shire Council
Woodend
Project: Kerbside food organics garden organics (FOGO) service infrastructure
Funding: $182,000
Description: Macedon Ranges Shire Council will expand their existing garden organics collection for residents to include the collection of food waste, and introduce additional garden and food waste collection services. They will provide the infrastructure, such as kitchen caddies, liners and kerbside bins, and educational material to promote the service.
Maribyrnong City Council
Footscray
Project: Let's Go FOGO
Funding: $472,500
Description: Maribyrnong City Council will expand their existing garden organics collection for residents to also include the collection of food waste, and introduce additional garden and food waste collection services. This will divert almost 8,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 14,000 tonnes.
Surf Coast Shire Council
Torquay
Project: Surf Coast Shire Food Organics Recovery Program
Funding: $150,000
Description: Surf Coast Shire Council will expand their existing garden organics collection for residents to include the collection of food waste, and introduce additional garden and food waste collection services to rural properties. A recent trial across 3,000 households in Anglesea saw a 24% reduction in waste to landfill.
Warrnambool City Council
Warrnambool
Project: Separation at source recycling – 'a Clear Solution!'
Funding: $47,000
Description: Warrnambool City Council will improve the quality of recycling from households by providing three separate recycling collection services. There will be a new bin exclusively for glass, to complement the existing organics and co-mingled recycling bins.
Yarra City Council
Richmond
Project: Yarra City Council holistic waste management services
Funding: $400,000
Description: Yarra City Council will expand on existing collections services that segregate glass and organics improving the volume and the quality collected for recycling and further diverting waste from landfill. -
Date:
August 2019Projects and funding received:
$4.7 million for 13 projects across VictoriaRecipients
See location of recipients on the map of Victoria.
Alex Fraser Group
Laverton
Project: Clarinda additive bin
Funding: $336,500
Description: Alex Fraser Group will install an additive bin at their Clarinda facility which will divert low-value recovered glass unfit for reuse from landfill. They will be able to increase the use of this recycled glass in construction, such as road base, providing a much-needed end-market for this material.Astron Plastics Pty Limited
Cheltenham
Project: Baled low-value mixed plastics reprocessing
Funding: $495,000
Description: Astron will enhance its capacity and capability to efficiently sort, clean and reprocess baled low-value mixed plastics from kerbside recycling. Plastics will be reprocessed into high-value, commercial grade recycled resins which can be on-sold to the market to manufacture recycled content products.Astron Sustainability
Cheltenham
Project: Post-consumer polypropylene plastic flake sorting and reprocessing plant
Funding: $490,500
Description: Astron Sustainability will build an infrastructure to sort and process more than 2,000 tonnes of difficult-to-recycle mixed plastic waste will be sorted and processed to a quality that can be used in manufacturing processes.Boral Resources (Vic) Pty Ltd
Bendigo
Project: Asphalt plant upgrade
Funding: $500,000
Description: Boral will upgrade their asphalt plant to be able to receive plastic, glass and crumbed rubber for asphalt production that can be used in roads.City of Greater Geelong
Geelong
Project: Central Geelong laneways minimal waste precinct
Funding: $78,660
Description: City of Greater Geelong will develop a laneway project with key recycling infrastructure to aid in the recovery of food, glass, plastic and cardboard from retail and hospitality outlets.Cleanaway Co Pty Ltd/Tox-Free
Dandenong
Project: Mixed e-waste plastics resource recovery facility
Funding: $500,000
Description: Tox-Free will install optical sorting equipment for plastics from e-waste processing, which will help with the increased volume expected from the new e-waste to landfill ban. The increased sorting capability will segregate streams of different plastic types and colours to increase the quality to a standard that can be readily sold on the market.Close the Loop Limited
Somerton
Project: Increased use of recycled soft plastics in asphalt roads
Funding: $500,000
Description: Close the Loop will add infrastructure that will recover 5,000 tonnes of soft plastics annually, as well as waste toner powder and engine oil, all of which can be used in asphalt road base.Envirostream Australia Pty Ltd
New Gisborne
Project: Victorian Battery Recycling and Material Recovery Infrastructure Project
Funding: $ 110,000
Description: Envirostream will upgrade and increase capacity to recycle batteries, which are high-risk e-waste due to their toxicity to the environment and human health.Fulton Hogan Ltd
Warrnambool
Project: Glass and plastic recovery processing for pavement materials
Funding: $102,500
Description: Fulton Hogan will upgrade their asphalt plant to be able to take glass and plastic from kerbside recycling collections to use as an alternative for pavement materials.Pipeconnex
Dandenong South
Project: Melbourne PVC pipe recycling and manufacturing facility
Funding: $500,000
Description: A new facility production line will recycle up to 5,246 tonnes of plastic every year. This will divert hard-to-recycle plastics from landfill, such as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which are commonly used in piping and bottles.Repurpose-It Pty Ltd
Somerton
Project: Waste glass washing
Funding: $500,000
Description: The Repurpose It washing plant will install infrastructure to improve the recovery and washing of glass fines sourced from materials recovery facilities, which generally cannot be recycled, so diverting this waste from landfill. They will provide clean glass feedstock that has value for end markets.Supa Dupa Industries Pty Ltd
Preston
Project: HordyPly – Recycling construction site hoarding into valuable plywood
Funding: $58,250
Description: Supa Dupa Industries will recover timber plywood boards from construction waste, creating high-value products such as building fit-outs, fixtures and furniture.Waste Wise Environmental
Thomastown
Project: Commercial and industrial materials recycling facility
Funding: $500,000
Description: Waste Wise Environmental will build a new large-scale material recovery facility which will be able to process up to 20,000 tonnes of commercial and industrial waste each year. -
Date:
December 2018Projects and funding received:
$5 million for 21 projects across VictoriaRecipients
See location of recipients on the map of Victoria.
30xy Group Pty Ltd
Project: 30XY Group/Reclaim Waste – Wet Recycling System
Funding: $264,000
Description: Funding of a wet recycling system. The project will allow 30XY/Reclaim to recover 100% of solid waste and over 95% of water from waste collected as food waste and street sweepings, diverting 24,700 tonnes of solid material and 13,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill per year.Alpine Waste Services
Project: Alpine Waste Services Advanced Materials Recovery Facility
Funding: $150,913
Description: Upgrading of a recycling centre to mechanical sorting rather than the existing manual sorting. This will increase the diversion from landfill from 94 tonnes/annum to 1,508 tonnes/annum.Ararat Rural City Council
Project: Toward the Future – Lake Bolac Resource Recovery Centre Upgrade Project
Funding: $160,100
Description: The Lake Bolac Resource Recovery Centre will consolidate three existing rural facilities into one best practice facility to maximise recovery of commingled recycling, organics, e-waste and plastics.Australia and New Zealand Recycling Platform (ANZRP)
Project: E-Waste Plastic Micro Factory Project
Funding: $248,333
Description: The first commercial application of innovative new micro-factory technology developed by TES (an e-recycler), and the UNSW SMART Hub to manufacture 3D printer filament from e-waste plastic.Back Again Recycling Pty Ltd
Project: Regional Construction and Demolition (C&D) Waste Recovery Centre
Funding: $500,000
Description: Creation of a C&D waste recovery centre targeting the residential construction industry. The project will process up to 95,000 tonnes in the first year.Bingo Recycling Pty Ltd
Project: Bingo Recycling – Braeside Recycling Centre Redevelopment for Optimised Resource Recovery
Funding: $500,000
Description: Establishment of technically advanced Recycling Centre in Braeside to process mixed solid inert commercial and industrial (C&I) and C&D waste, and putrescible garden waste. Diversion of approximately 80,000 tonnes/annum of target waste streams in its first year of operation.Cleanaway Waste Management Limited
Project: Clayton Resource Recovery Centre Waste Sorting Line
Funding: $500,000
Description: Upgrade of the Clayton Resource Recovery Centre. This presents an opportunity to recover an additional 15,400 tonnes/annum.Commercial Tippers Pty Ltd
Project: Construction and Demolition Waste & Commercial and Industrial Waste Sortation Facility
Funding: $500,000
Description: Commercial Tippers in conjunction with Smart Recycling, plan to build a Construction and Demolition Waste (C&D) and Commercial and Industrial Waste (C&I) Sortation Facility. The facility will accept up to 160,000 tonnes per annum of material.Greater Shepparton City Council
Project: Installation of Recycling Bins at Ardmona and Murchison Resource Recovery Centres (RRCs)
Funding: $89,000
Description: Installation of new bins at Ardmona and Murchison RRCs to allow for the recovery of rigid and soft plastics, cardboard and paper.Integrated Recycling Pty Ltd
Project: Duratrack Railway Sleeper Project
Funding: $330,000
Description: Build the first stage of the Duratrack composite recycled plastic sleeper production line with a capacity to produce between 50,000 and 80,000 recycled plastic railway sleepers per year.National E Waste Alliance Pty Ltd
Project: Diversion and Recycling of Problematic Electronic Waste
Funding: $43,250
Description: The National E-Waste Alliance, in collaboration with WDEA (a disability employment enterprise), will establish a network of collection points across the Western districts of Victoria to permit the drop off of end of life electronics not covered under the Federal National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme.Officeworks
Project: New recycling stations for Officeworks' Product Stewardship Programs
Funding: $135,000
Description: Officeworks have designed a new recycling station. They are seeking to rollout these new recycling stations to all 50 stores in Victoria – including batteries, e-waste, soft plastics.Outlook (Vic) Inc
Project: Western Melbourne Resource Recovery Facility
Funding: $112,867
Description: The project will establish a new Resource Recovery Facility within the western suburbs of Melbourne in an appropriate industrial use zone. Outlook employs an integrated workforce comprising employees with a disability or mental illness, long term unemployed and open employees.Plascorp
Project: Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic granulator for recycling PVC piping
Funding: $139,000
Description: End-of-life PVC piping will be ground up in a specially designed granulator, recycling approximately 375 tonnes of PVC piping every year.Poly Pac Recycling
Project: Nextstep rPET Solution
Funding: $500,000
Description: New facility for PET/ HDPE / LDPE plastic recycling to prepare materials for downstream remanufacturing.ReSourc Pty Ltd
Project: Expansion of Handheld Battery Recycling Plant
Funding: $175,000
Description: Expansion of existing plant to increase capacity and widen the range of batteries which can be processed along with installing an automatic mechanical and optical sorting line for maximum sorting purity.RPM Pipes
Project: Improved Regional Plastics Processing
Funding: $140,000
Description: Adding a large shredder to the existing plastics processing facility to automatically and continuously process large plastic articles without pre-cutting by hand, which then makes them suitable for further processing through the existing washing system.Schulz Organic Dairy
Project: Schulz Organic Dairy Upgrades to Increase Reusable Glass Bottle Packaging
Funding: $49,015
Description: Bottle washing facility to enable the replacement of 50% of plastic bottle packaging with returnable, reusable glass bottles.Sims Recycling Solutions (SRS)
Project: E-waste and Battery Collection and Processing
Funding: $50,000
Description: Statewide collection system for end of life electrical and electronic waste (e-waste) and batteries and processing facility.Tyrecycle Pty Ltd
Project: Extracting Steel and Premium Tyre Derived Fuel from Tyres
Funding: $90,000
Description: Tyrecycle will further process tyres which have been reduced to 6 inch chips into 1.5 inch chips. The process will make it faster and more efficient to separate the steel faster and more efficiently and increase the recovery of steel from 30% to 40%, Tyre Derived Fuel from 50% to 55% and granulate loss from 20% to 5%.Warrnambool City Council
Project: FOGO's a GOGO. "If it Grows in it Goes"
Funding: $300,000
Description: Introduction of a new kerbside food organics/garden organics (FOGO) collection service to over 15,000 households. The project and resultant ongoing service will generate a reduction of waste to landfill of potentially 8,500 tonnes/annum. -
Date:
June 2018Projects and funding received:
$4.2 million for 13 projects in regional VictoriaRecipients
See the location of recipients on the map of Victoria.
Benalla Rural City Council
Project: Resource Recovery Centre Upgrade Project (RRCUP) – Stage 1
Funding: $440,000
Description: Development of a Resource Recovery Transfer StationCampaspe Shire Council
Project: Introduce a Household Food Organics Collection and Expand the Current Garden Collection to Include Food.
Funding: $200,000
Description: The rollout of a kerbside food and garden organics (FOGO) collection service to 8000 residents in the municipality (i.e. all with new food and 2000 with food and garden).Campaspe Shire Council
Project: Recovering Flexible Plastics and Polystyrene Otherwise Destined for Landfill
Funding: $75,144
Description: Upgrade of infrastructure on-site to recover flexible plastics and polystyrene.Camperdown Compost Company
Project: Camperdown Compost Company Facility Upgrade Plan
Funding: $500,000
Description: Infrastructure to increase the composting capabilities at the site.iGas Operations Pty Ltd
Project: Maddingley Waste to Energy
Funding: $500,000
Description: The project will develop a scalable Waste to Energy facility at the Maddingley Brown Coal site and install a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) for sorting.Integrated Recycling Pty Ltd
Project: Project Mildura Plant Upgrade
Funding: $130,000
Description: Infrastructure to double the production capacity to recycle plastics for extrusion into timber replacement products.Mitchell Shire Council
Project: Planning for the Future - Advancing Resource Recovery in the Rapidly Growing Mitchell Shire
Funding: $500,000
Description: Development a new Resource Recovery Centre (RRC)Moira Shire Council
Project: Cobram Commercial Waste Sorting Facility (CWSF)
Funding: $495,000
Description: The project will enable industrial waste sorting at the Cobram Resource Recovery Facility. This includes materials such as soft plastics, cardboard, dirt, concrete, metals and timber.Pinegro Products Pty Ltd
Project: Pinegro Products Enclosed In-Vessel Compost System – Monash Way, Morwell
Funding: $500,000
Description: Development of a best practice enclosed tunnel compost facility for the Gippsland RegionTowong Shire Council
Project: Waste not Want not – Increased Resource Recovery in Towong Shire
Funding: $40,000
Description: Upgrades to the Corryong Resource Recovery Centre and the Tallangatta transfer Station and establishment of two resale shops.Wangaratta Rural City Council (RCOW)
Project: Regional Organics Processing Plant
Funding: $500,000
Description: The construction of a food organics and garden organics (FOGO) processing facility.Western Composting Technology Pty Ltd
Project: Shepparton Organics Resource Recovery Facility (SORRF) Plant Capacity Increase
Funding: $215,302
Description: Increase the capacity of the composting plant and construct two tunnels for processing commercial and Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) waste.Yarriambiack Shire Council
Project: Warracknabeal Transfer Station Upgrade and Landfill Closure
Funding: $140,000
Description: Upgrade of the Warracknabeal Transfer Station which will allow for increased recyclables collection including agricultural soft plastics such as grain bags and tarpaulins. -
Date:
June 2017Projects and funding received:
$5.5 million for 14 projects in metropolitan MelbourneRecipients
See the location of recipients on the map of Victoria.
Advanced Circular Polymers Pty Ltd
Project: Advanced recycling of flexible plastic by polymer type
Funding: $500,000
Description: Recycling Solutions aim to increase the diversion of flexible plastic from landfill by over 10,000tpa through the development of an advanced recycling facility.City of Yarra
Project: Closing the Loop on Yarra's Food Waste
Funding: $400,000
Description: Yarra City Council will provide a kerbside food organics and garden organics (FOGO) collection service to 700 households. Additional on-site reprocessing solutions for food waste will be installed at 3 apartment locations and 1 commercial location.CMA Ecocycle
Project: Battery Recycling Solutions
Funding: $500,000
Description: CMA Ecocycle will construct a new custom-built plant which will involve pre-sorting, automatic-sorting and manual sorting to recycle major battery types. The project aims to divert approximately 4,000 tonnes of batteries from landfill, from which valuable metals will be extracted via a fully traceable “closed loop” recycling methodology.Enrich360 Pty Ltd
Project: Enrich360 Onsite Food Organic Waste Recovery Program
Funding: $500,000
Description: Installation of 18 food organic dehydration units to restaurants, hospitals and similar facilities to allow waste to be collected and then turned into compost.Future Metals Recyclers Melbourne Pty Ltd
Project: Upgrade Cardinia Transfer Station
Funding: $500,000
Description: Upgrade of the Cardinia Transfer Station to increase tonnage of materials recovered at the site.Knox Transfer Station Pty Ltd as the trustee for Knox Transfer Station Trust
Project: Knox Transfer Station (KTS) Process Engineered Fuel (PEF)
Funding: $459,000
Description: KTS Recycling will establish a Process Engineered Fuel manufacturing facility at the Knox Transfer Station.Melton City Council
Project: Melton Recycling Facility Upgrade
Funding: $391,500
Description: Upgrade of the Melton Recycling Facility to Better Practice Resource Recovery standards.Polymeric Powders Company Pty Ltd
Project: Production of tyre crumb derived composite material
Funding: $121,000
Description: Creating tyre crumb derived Polymeric Powder from end-of-life tyres for use in the large volume irrigation pipes and sewerage pipes markets.Polytrade Pty Ltd
Project: Polytrade Dandenong Mixed Glass Fines Processing Project
Funding: $500,000
Description: This project will install machinery to colour sort and clean the 3–8mm fraction into 22,000 tonnes per annum of saleable products.Reground Pty Ltd
Project: Coffee Grounds and Flexible Plastic Recycling Expansion
Funding: $40,000
Description: Infrastructure to allow the expansion of the collection of spent coffee grounds from retail and manufacturing venues. Also instituting a concurrent flexible plastics recycling collection.Repeat Plastics Australia Pty Ltd (Replas)
Project: Recycling plant expansion
Funding: $379,100
Description: Purchase and install new proven re-processing equipment to allow the recycling more post-consumer waste.Repurpose It Pty Ltd
Project: Washing Plant 460 Cooper Street
Funding: $500,000
Description: Establish a state of the art washing facility which will utilise best practise technologies in the processing of typically untreatable waste streams currently being sent to landfill.Van Schaik's Bio Gro Pty Ltd – Timber Waste Recovery
Project: Timber Waste Resource Recovery Project
Funding: $427,000
Description: Establishment a waste timber drop off recovery facility. The facility will receive up to 200,000 tonnes per annum of waste timber.Westall Road Resource Recovery Pty Ltd
Project: Westall Road Resource Recovery Pty. Ltd.
Funding: $237,500
Description: Development of a new resource recovery centre at Westall Road, Springvale which will focus on green and wood waste, recoverable hard waste, construction and demolition waste and recyclables. -
The Victorian State Government recognises the significant impact China’s new policy for recyclables has had on the Victorian resource recovery sector. In April 2018, funding was allocated to the Recycling Industry Transition Support Fund to support a rapid response to the current recycling issues.
The grants are a component of the $13 million support package for councils and the recycling industry announced by Minister D’Ambrosio on 23 February 2018.
The objective of the grants is to support Victoria’s resource recovery sector to rapidly improve its capability and capacity to recover and reprocess plastics, paper and cardboard (PPC) waste to a commercial grade, enabling supply to more local and international markets.
Date:
April 2018
Projects and funding received:
$2.1 million for 5 projects across VictoriaRecipients
Polymer Processes Pty LTD
Description: The commissioning of plastic washing equipment that can accept a wider range of plastic materials. Upgrading the treatment of wastewater from the wash plant, resulting in the production of higher grade outputs. The new equipment will increase processing capacity by 800kg/hr for plastics. Once operational the upgraded facility will be capable of reprocessing plastics of various polymers into valuable commodities, which can then be used as alternatives to virgin materials in the manufacture of new plastic products both locally and internationally.
Funding: $500,000Australian Paper Recovery Pty Ltd
Description: Installation of sorting and compaction equipment for waste paper that will have the capacity of processing 39,000 tonnes annually.
Funding: $475,000Polytrade Recycling
Description: The installation of three plastic sorting machines to reprocess 10,400 tonnes annually of mixed plastics sourced from domestic recycling, into commercially saleable plastic products. The machines will separate the mixed plastics into PE, HDPE, PVC/PP and PS. Unlike mixed plastics, these separated outputs will meet the quality requirements of buyers in Malaysia and Hong Kong, effecting an increase in the ability to process mixed plastics to a commercial grade in Victoria.
Funding: $500,000Tambo Waste Pty Ltd
Description: Upgrade existing MRF to include equipment to reduce contamination of PPC and increased capacity by 5,000 tonnes annually.
Funding: $130,000Branin Pty Ltd
Description: Branin is establishing EcoUnpack as an innovative, long term, domestic solution for recycling complex, plastic food packaging. The funding will support the sustainable recycling of over 200,000 tonnes per annum of packaged organic food waste. 7,000 tonnes per annum of plastic will be reprocessed.
Funding: $500,000