Joint media release: Recycling investment brings new products and jobs to Victoria
The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for the Environment and Water
The Hon Lily D'Ambrosio, Victorian Minister for the Environment and Climate Action
The Albanese Labor Government and Andrews Labor Government are combatting climate change and reducing waste while creating new jobs and industries by co-investing in Victoria’s recycling systems.
Federal Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek and Victorian Minister for the Environment and Climate Action Lily D’Ambrosio today announced $14.26 million of funding for new recycling infrastructure projects in Victoria.
The grant funding will give another life to 150,000 tonnes of Victoria’s food and garden waste and 30,000 tonnes of soft plastics.
Seven organic recycling projects will be funded through the Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund, which diverts up to 3.4 million tonnes of food organic and garden organic (FOGO) waste from landfills across Australia every year.
The funding improves the quality of recycled organic products, such as compost, soil conditioners and mulches, by removing material that contaminates them. Six of the seven organic waste recycling projects are in regional areas.
The recycled food and garden waste from these facilities will boost soil quality on farms and help create up to 134 local jobs during the construction phase.
The Federal Government’s $67 million Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund will leverage over $171 million in total government and industry investment. The Victorian Government has co-invested $5.6 million through the Circular Economy Organics Sector Transformation Fund.
The Governments will also jointly invest $3 million to IQ Renew for a large recycling facility in Altona, which will recycle 30,000 tonnes of soft plastic into food grade soft plastic and washed flakes of low-density polyethylene, through the Recycling Modernisation Fund.
Australians use around 70 billion pieces of soft “scrunchable” plastics including food wrappers every year, but as little as 4 per cent is recycled with the rest ending up as landfill or litter in the environment.
The funding will get more recycled material into the hands of Australian manufacturers and drive the country’s circular economy.
The grant funding is part of the Victorian Government’s $515 million investment to deliver the biggest transformation and reform of Victoria’s waste and recycling system in our state’s history for a sustainable and thriving circular economy.
More information is at https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/food-waste/food-…;
Further information about Victorian Circular Economy Recycling Modernisation Fund and the Circular Economy Infrastructure Fund at https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/grants-funding-and-investment/
Quotes attributable to the Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek:
“These new Victorian organics recycling projects will help us reach our national target of halving the
amount of organic waste sent to landfill by 2030 by taking organic waste and turning it into high-quality compost and soil improvers for Australian farmers.”
“We’re not only reducing landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions, but we are making Victorian
soils more productive.”
Quotes attributable to the Victorian Minister for the Environment and Climate Action Lily D’Ambrosio:
“We’ve been leading the way with the biggest recycling system reform in the state’s history and it’s good to have support in Canberra to hit our target of diverting 80 per cent of waste from landfill and help create a thriving circular economy.”
“We’re finding new ways to use organic waste in our parks and our paddocks, creating jobs and cutting emissions as we halve food waste by 2030.”
ENDS
Background - funded projects Victoria
Food Waste for Healthy Soils projects
Central Gippsland Regional Water will receive $4.8 million to scale up an existing organic waste processing facility to enable additional diversion of wastes from landfill, including newly rolled out FOGO collection in the region. The upgrade will allow the processing of an additional 70,000 tonnes of organic waste each year and support 33 construction jobs and a further 8 ongoing positions.Cleanaway Solids Waste Pty Ltd will receive almost $1.9 million in co-funding to upgrade its Thurla transfer station to a composting facility that will process local FOGO waste. The $2.83 million project will allow the processing of an additional 11,500 tonnes of organic waste each year and support 24 jobs during construction and a further 6 ongoing positions.
Sacyr Environment Australia Pty Ltd will receive almost $1.5 million in co-funding to upgrade equipment at its Dandenong facility to improve product quality and reduce contamination. The $2.94 million project will divert an additional 10,000 tonnes of organic waste from landfill each year and support 25 jobs during construction and a further 8 ongoing positions.
Pinegro Products Pty Ltd will receive almost $1.1 million in co-funding to upgrade its Mt Wallace facility to accept FOGO. The $1.62 million upgrade will process an additional 26,000 tonnes of organic waste each year and support 20 construction jobs and a further five ongoing positions.
Ileowl Pty Ltd (trading as Greenchip Recycling) will receive just over $700,000 in co-funding to build infrastructure to value-add to fines (a cross between mulch and compost) produced in current composting operations, by converting them into organic pellets. The organic pellets will be used in broad acre farming to add carbon back into the soil. The $1.06 million upgrade will process an additional 4,250 tonnes of organic waste each year and support 12 construction jobs and four ongoing positions.
Manningtree Corporation Pty Ltd will receive just over $375,000 in co-funding to expand capacity at its Elmore Compost and Organics facility, transforming it from a small farm-based operation to a commercial EPA (Vic) Licensed site. The $565,398 upgrade will allow the processing of an additional 40,000 tonnes of organic waste each year and support six construction jobs and four ongoing positions.
Swan Hill Rural City Council will receive $961,400 in co-funding to expand the council’s existing small scale open windrow composting facility to an in-vessel facility. The upgrade will support future rollout of FOGO in the Swan Hill Rural City Council. The $1.442 million project will process an additional 1,000 tonnes of organic waste each year and support 14 construction jobs and 3 ongoing positions.
Victorian Circular Economy Recycling Modernisation Fund projects
IQ Renew will receive $3 million in co-funding for a new large Soft Plastic Engineered Commodity (SPEC) facility in Altona to process up to 30,000 tonnes of soft plastic that will go on to be recycled into infinitely recyclable food grade soft plastic and a high-quality washed LDPE flake. The $11.37 million facility will support 30 construction jobs and 17 ongoing positions. It is expected to be operational in early 2024. The Australian Government will contribute $1.1 million, and the Victorian Government will contribute $1.9 million.