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Department of Agriculture

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  3. Environment protection
  4. Waste and recycling
  5. How we manage waste
  6. Investing in Australia's waste and recycling infrastructure
  7. Investments in Recycling Infrastructure

Sidebar first - EN - Protection

  • Recycling Modernisation Fund
    • Regional and remote
    • State and territory agreement announcements

Investments in Recycling Infrastructure

The Australian Government has invested $190 million in the Recycling Modernisation Fund to support the states and territories (as part of the National Partnership on Recycling Infrastructure) to increase the capacity of recycling facilities around the country.

There are a number of projects underway and more in the pipeline. For the most up to date information on these projects - please see RMF projects table at the base of this page.

This information is updated as new projects are announced or as updated information is reported by the States and Territories.

The Australian and ACT Governments will provide $21 million to upgrade the ACT Material Recovery Facility. The upgrades will allow better separation and processing of paper, glass and plastic and reduce contamination rates so the facility can produce better quality recycled material to sell to market.

The upgraded facility will have the capacity to improve the quality and marketability of 23,000 tonnes of paper and mixed cardboard, 1,800 tonnes of mixed plastics and 14,000 tonnes of glass from the ACT and five regional New South Wales councils annually.

These quality recycled materials will support thriving regional industries and local job opportunities.

  • Media release: $21 million for better recycling for the ACT

The Australian and New South Wales Governments have co-announced $45 million in grants towards new recycling infrastructure projects to turbo-charge New South Wales’ recycling industry.

This investment, along with previous investments has encouraged industry to also invest a further $140 million and create hundreds of jobs.

Further grants will be announced in the future.

  • Media release: Ground breaking recycling projects to roll out across NSW
  • Media release: $162 million for New South Wales recycling infrastructure
  • Web: Remanufacture NSW

This funding will provide better recycling outcomes, deliver environmental and community benefits and create new jobs.

  • Media release: Joint media release: Recycling to become a boom industry in Queensland
  • Grant program: Queensland Recycling Modernisation Fund

The Australian and South Australian Governments have co-invested $35.3 million for South Australia to boost its recycling and remanufacturing sector. This funding will support eight projects to help South Australia process an additional 205,000 tonnes of waste plastic, glass, paper and tyres each year, and support more than 500 jobs across the state.

As part of these projects, South Australia and the Australian Government are jointly contributing $7.92 million to build a new $12 million fibre polishing plant adjacent to the Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority that will process an additional 40,000 tonnes of paper and cardboard per annum.

  • Media release: Joint media release: $111 million boost for SA recycling industry
  • Web: Grant program

The Australian and Tasmanian Governments are working together to transform Tasmania’s waste and recycling industry by each contributing $5.5 million and leveraging over $9.3 million of industry investment.

The combined funding of over $20.3 million will support three plastics projects to process almost 15,000 tonnes of additional waste plastic each year.

This is a substantial investment in plastics recycling which will enable Tasmania to process its own plastic waste, reduce the need to transport waste for processing to mainland Australia and reduce waste into landfill.

It will also play an important role to help grow the resource recovery sector and create a circular economy in Tasmania.

  • Media release: Tasmania's recycling revolution gains pace
  • Media release: $16 million to boost Tasmanian recycling infrastructure
  • Media release: Recycling Modernisation Grants Program Opens
  • Grant guidelines: Recycling Modernisation Fund (Plastics) Grants Program

The Australian and Victorian Governments will co-invest $46 million in new plastic, paper, glass and tyres recycling infrastructure for Victoria.

This will help Victoria to process the 260,000 tonnes of waste plastic, paper, glass and tyres impacted by the export ban, and more.

The latest round of funding brings the total number of projects supported through the RMF in Victoria to 21, with 13 new projects bringing the total waste processing capacity for Victoria to over 320,000 tonnes per annum.

The Australian and Victorian Governments will also invest a combined $24 million, and leverage a further $13 million investment from Visy Industries, to fund Australia’s first drum pulper to recycle Victoria’s waste paper and cardboard at the Coolaroo Paper Mill. The drum pulper will process an additional 95,000 tonnes of kerbside waste and will result in more recycled paper products being made and sold out of Victoria.

Industry and local government are playing their part and will contribute total industry investments of over $122 million across Victoria.

Two additional projects are being funded specifically in regional and remote areas of Victoria to ensure recycling infrastructure benefits all areas. These two projects will  process almost 15,000 tonnes of paper, glass and plastic each year and support 15 new jobs in regional Victoria.
 

  • Media release: Recycling transformation drives jobs in Victoria
  • Media release: Jobs and growth for Geelong recycling plant
  • Media release: Recycling boom spells jobs for Victoria
  • Grants guidelines: Recycling Victoria Recycling Modernisation Fund

Western Australia is funding new plastics and tyre processing infrastructure.

More than $30 million from the RMF will go towards tackling over 100,000 tonnes of waste paper and cardboard at a new pulp mill in Perth. This will be operational before the export ban on mixed paper comes into effect on 1 July 2024.

Another $35 million will leverage investments across eight new projects processing approximately 140,000 tonnes of Western Australian plastic and tyre waste every year.

These projects will help our environment and create at least 200 jobs.

The Western Australian Government will also provide $5 million in industrial zoned land for recycling infrastructure projects.

  • Media release: $174 million boost for Western Australian recycling
  • Web: WA plastics and tyres processing infrastructure fund
  • Web: WA mixed paper and cardboard processing infrastructure fund

RMF projects

The RMF projects table will be updated as additional agreements are confirmed and the outcomes of new grant rounds are announced. The Northern Territory and Queensland are yet to be confirmed.

RMF projects approved as at April 2022

Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

State Project Description Waste Export Ban Category Additional capacity (tonnes per annum) Completion date Co-funding $

ACT

Upgrades to MRF

Paper and cardboard

23,000

June 2023

$21,000,000

Mixed plastics

1,800

Glass

14,000

New South Wales (NSW)

State Project Description Waste Export Ban Category Additional capacity (tonnes per annum) Completion date Co-funding $

NSW

Mixed coloured glass beneficiation facility

Glass

99,000

Dec 2023

$1,000,000

NSW

Use of recycled crushed glass sand in asphalt as part of a major road upgrade project

Glass

5,900

April 2022

$236,000

NSW

Facility upgrade to asphalt plant to enable crushed glass use

Glass

3,000

Dec 2021

$250,000

NSW

Develop and trial geopolymer concrete containing recycled crushed glass sand to inform future widespread use in footpaths and cycleways

Glass

100

Feb 2024

$249,987

NSW

New recycling facility to process lower grade glass cullet and beneficiation plant rejects into products for use in engineering applications

Glass

47,500

Apr 2023

$900,000

NSW

Reprocessing of waste glass materials currently sent to landfill

Glass

1,950

Apr 2021

$150,000

NSW

New recycling facility to process glass for use in locally manufactured products

Glass

38,000

Aug 2021

$603,290

NSW MRF upgrade to include a new input hopper and bouncing belt to extract paper and cardboard, new conveyors to improve the flow of materials, and a new plastics sorting station Mixed plastics, paper and cardboard 200 Dec 2021
$115,000

NSW

Paper fibre beneficiation facility

Paper and cardboard

100,000

Sep 2023

$4,800,000

NSW

New processing infrastructure to recover expanded polystyrene (EPS) currently being landfilled

Single plastics

430

Sep 2021

$55,490

NSW

Processing of mixed plastics into commercial grade recycled HDPE, PP and LDPE resins

Single plastics

5,000

Jun 2022

$495,000

NSW

Processing of waste PET into food-grade recycled PET pellets for use by major Australian brands

Single plastics

25,000

Jun 2023

$4,800,000

NSW

Trial project - Upgrades to recycling infrastructure at a plastics chemical recovery plant

Mixed plastics

N/A

Dec 2021

$150,000

NSW

Pelletising Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) plastic waste

Single plastics

1,950

Dec 2021

$150,000

NSW

Processing mixed plastics into plastic flakes for use by local plastics manufacturers

Mixed plastics

16,000

Sep 2023

$3,305,000

NSW

Hard plastics recycling using specialised washing and shredding systems

Mixed plastics

600

Oct 2021

$146,000

NSW

Processing soft plastic waste to pellets

Single plastics

1,000

Dec 2021

$150,000

NSW

New HDPE extrusion and sorting line

Single plastics

12,000

Jun 2022

$1,000,000

NSW

Tyre processing expansion project

Tyres

4,644

Mar 2023

$745,184

NSW

Recycled HDPE for integration in food packaging

Single plastics

1,200

Sep 2022

$553,608

NSW

New Materials Recovery Facility

Mixed plastics, glass, paper and cardboard

56,175

Jun 2024

$5,000,000

NSW

Recycling industrial, agricultural and retail plastic waste

Mixed plastics

864

Jan 2023

$636,000

NSW

Material Recovery Facility upgrades

Mixed plastics, glass, paper and cardboard

338

Dec 2022

$143,500

NSW

Material Recovery Facility upgrades

Mixed plastics, glass, paper and cardboard

238

Mar 2023

$520,810

NSW

Install new MicrofactorieTM

Glass and mixed plastics

1,010

Jul 2023

$500,000

NSW

Upgrades to increase recycled content in wheelie bins

Single plastics

1,167

Feb 2023

$2,083,606

NSW

Upgrades to increase tyre recycling capacity

Tyres

11,366

Oct 2022

$524,347

NSW

Upgrades to tyre recycling facility to enable processing of Off the Road (OTR) tyres

Tyres

2,586

Nov 2022

$2,888,915

NSW

Recycling of liquid paperboard and single use coffee cups into particle and plaster board substitutes

Paper and cardboard

4,000

Jun 2023

$1,739,128

NSW

Upgrades to expand processing capacity at plastics recycling facility

Mixed plastics

481

Dec 2022

$422,500

NSW

Recycling equipment upgrade

Single plastics

2,250

Dec 2022

$762,000

NSW

New equipment to increase the amount of recycled content being used to make industrial and personal care packaging products

Single plastics

750

Aug 2022

$492,200

NSW

Increase glass recovery and processing at existing facility

Glass

22,819

May 2023

$2,546,758

NSW

Trial project – mobile granulator to process plastics onsite

Mixed plastics

N/A

Aug 2023

$179,500

NSW

Trial project -incorporation of recycled plastic into PVC pipes

Single plastics

N/A

Nov 2022

$910,000

NSW

Trial project -incorporation of recycled plastic into sound abatement walls

Mixed plastics

N/A

Apr 2023

$850,000

NSW

Trial project - incorporation of recycled content into industrial pails

Mixed plastics

N/A

Mar 2023

$177,825

NSW Materials Recovery Facility Mixed plastics, glass, tyres, paper and cardboard 6,400 June 2024 $909,800
NSW Resource Recovery Facility for HDPE and Tyres Plastics, Tyres 8,500 June 2024 $840,900
NSW Installation of a Re-Use HDPE Drum Washer Plastics 50 June 2024 $49,900
NSW Reforming recovered polymers using 3D printing Single Polymers - PET, PP, HDPE, LDPE 442 June 2024 $163,731
NSW E-waste Plastics Recovery Mixed plastics 4,800 June 2024 $1,000,000
NSW Rubber plant creating valuable crumbed rubber and mesh power for infrastructure Tyres 160 June 2024 $514,000
NSW Regional Resource Recovery Centre processing glass and paper and cardboard Glass, Paper and Cardboard 8,600 June 2024 $1,000,000
NSW Recycling of irrigation plastic pipes discarded by farms Plastics 4,788 December 2023 $355,087

South Australia (SA)

State Project Description Waste Export Ban Category Additional capacity (tonnes per annum) Completion date Co-funding $

SA

Installation, commissioning and operation of a polystyrene recycling machine at a resource recovery centre.

Single plastics

13

Feb 2021

$27,000

SA

Installation, commissioning and operation of equipment to recycle polystyrene

Single plastics

49

Feb 2021

$33,400

SA

Installation of advanced polymer separation equipment to enable new markets for plastic received in mixed form

Mixed plastics

4,000

Aug 2020

$500,000

SA

Installation of equipment to separate paper fibre from mixed rigid waste plastic

Mixed plastics

4,000

Oct 2020

$500,000

SA

Expansion of plastic recycling facility in regional SA

Mixed plastics

4

Mar 2020

$27,540

SA

Installation of equipment to remove contaminants from paper and cardboard

Paper and cardboard

0*

*Facility was damaged in fire after project completion

Oct 2020

$43,140

SA

Processing plant for washing and treatment of post-MRF glass fines for use in roads

Glass

3,800

May 2022

$500,000

SA

New glass beneficiation plant

Glass

100,000

Apr 2022

$8,000,000

SA

Increase manufacturing capacity for LDPE and HDPE plastics

Single plastics

6,300

Oct 2023

$1,222,000

SA Processing and sorting equipment for mixed plastics and glass Mixed plastics, and glass 5,000 Jun 2022 $3,140,000

SA

New plastics processing plant

Mixed plastics

12,000

Jun 2023

$8,888,000

SA

New glass processing plant

Glass

30,000

Apr 2022

$1,078,000

SA Processing and sorting equipment for mixed plastics and glass Mixed plastics, and glass 10,000 Oct 2021 $4,110,000

SA

Tyre recycling plant

Tyres

1,800

Jun 2022

$962,000

SA

New facility to process waste paper and cardboard

Paper and cardboard

40,000

Jun 2024

$7,920,000

Tasmania (TAS)

State Project Description Waste Export Ban Category Additional capacity (tonnes per annum) Completion date Co-funding $

TAS

Processing plastic into various products.

Single plastics

6,400

Jun 2024

$2,099,940

TAS

Processing plastic for products to use in aquaculture, agriculture and construction industries.

Mixed plastics

7,200

Jun 2024

$3,084,394

TAS

Processing plastic into composite decking and other products.

Single plastics

1,300

Apr 2023

$5,815,666

Victoria (VIC)

State Project Description Waste Export Ban Category Additional capacity (tonnes per annum) Completion date Co-funding $
VIC

Processing post-consumer PET bottle waste to food grade plastic packaging

Plastics 24,700 Apr 2023 $6,000,000
VIC

Expanded processing capacity with state-of-the-art processing equipment

Tyres 23,000 Feb 2022 $3,699,670
VIC

Construction of new facility, and equipment to process mixed plastics

Mixed plastics 18,600 Dec 2022 $9,708,487
VIC

Expansion of garden pot stewardship program to divert plastics from landfill to reprocessing and manufacture

Plastics 5,800 Nov 2022 $5,315,975
VIC

New processing equipment

Paper and cardboard, and mixed plastics 3,000 Jun 2022 $286,747
VIC

Increased reprocessing of soft plastics to produce a stone aggregate for use in applications such as carparks, pathways and kerbs

Mixed plastics 7,000 Jan 2023 $735,000
VIC

New equipment to upgrade two Material Recovery Facilities

Glass 5,900 Mar 2022 $225,350
VIC

New plastic extrusion line to produce corrugated pipe from single stream plastic waste as a substitute for concrete piping

Plastics 770 Jan 2023 $251,064
VIC

New regional glass processing hub to process glass into feedstock for asphalt

Glass 10,000 Jun 2022 $740,000
VIC

Composite recycled plastic railway sleeper production line

Mixed plastics 1,600 Feb 2023 $1,669,857
VIC

Glass washing facility

Glass 5,000 May 2022 $848,000
VIC

Material Recovery Facility upgrades and new glass recycling facility

Glass, plastics, paper and cardboard 9,573 Mar 2023 $1,027,400
VIC

Establishing a PET recycling plant for used plastic bottles

Single plastics 28,000 Jul 2023 $6,000,000

VIC

Glass sorting and processing facility

Glass

1,500

Aug 2023

$228,750

VIC

New centrifuge to process additional glass, and a material storage bunker

Glass

50,000

Apr 2022

$400,000

VIC

New glass recycling facility

Glass

7,500

Jun 2022

$481,800

VIC

New plastics reprocessing facility

Mixed plastics

20,000

May 2022

$3,000,000

VIC

New machinery and plastics processing facilities for use in new products

Single plastics

1,655

Apr 2022

$847,961

VIC

Plastics remanufacturing into new pipe products

Single plastics

1,320

Apr 2022

$155,045

VIC Upgraded and expanded plastics recycling facility Mixed plastics 8,000 Feb 2023 $3,000,000

VIC

New drum pulper technology at a paper mill

Paper and cardboard

95,000

Jan 2024

$24,000,000

Western Australia (WA)

State Project Description Waste Export Ban Category Additional capacity (tonnes per annum) Completion date Co-funding $

WA

Expansion of tyre recycling facility for end-of-life tyres

Tyres

11,000

Jun 2023

$2,966,505

WA

New HDPE, PET, PP reprocessing and mixed plastics sorting facility

Single and mixed plastics

21,000

Dec 2023

$5,640,000

WA

New facility to recycle waste tyres into crumb rubber primarily for the WA asphalt industry

Tyres

9,152

Nov 2023

$3,500,000

WA

Purchase of a high-quality shredder to pre‑process tyres into feedstock

Tyres

5,632

Aug 2022

$357,867

WA

New processing facility to process end of life OTR tyres from mining sites in a regional area

Tyres

27,000

Dec 2023

$6,921,845

WA

New plastics reprocessing facility to process post-consumer plastic feedstock into food and non-food grade plastic flake

Mixed plastics

17,000

Dec 2023

$9,590,400

WA

New HDPE/PET recycling plant supported by the existing shredding/grinding plants in other WA locations

Single plastics

2,500

Jan 2023

$832,000

WA

New facility to process tyres into rubber crumb

Tyres

29,000

Dec 2022

$5,191,383

WA

New paper pulp mill

Paper and cardboard

115,000

June 2024

$30,000,000

ALL

TOTAL

 

1,302,815

 

$242,639,488

 

RMF Co-funding by State and Material as at April 2022

Row Labels Additional capacity (tonnes per annum) Co-funding $

ACT

38,800

$21,000,000

Glass

14,000

 

Paper and Cardboard

23,000

 

Plastics

1,800

 

NSW

501,258

$45,065,066

Glass

242,435

 

Paper and Cardboard

145,451

 

Plastics

83,416

 

Tyres

27,556

 

SA

216,966

$36,951,080

Glass

141,300

 

Paper and Cardboard

40,000

 

Plastics

33,866

 

Tyres

1,800

 

TAS

14,900

$11,000,000

Plastics

14,900

 

VIC

327,347

$68,621,106

Glass

84,550

 

Paper and Cardboard

99,066

 

Plastics

120,731

 

Tyres

23,00  

WA

237,284

$65,000,000

Paper and Cardboard

115,000

 

Plastics

40,500

 

Tyres

81,784

 

Grand Total

1,336,555

$247,637,252

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Last updated: 13 May 2022

© Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.