The Hon Sussan Ley MP, Minister for the Environment
The Hon Trevor Evans MP, Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management
The Hon Lily D'Ambrosio MP, Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change
The transformation of Australia’s recycling sector steps up another gear today with the Australian and Victorian Governments jointly announcing 13 new projects that will see 136,000 tonnes of plastics, paper, glass and tyres remade into new products while creating new jobs and new investment in the Victorian economy.
Federal Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley and Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change Lily D’Ambrosio announced $36.5 million in joint funding for projects under the Australian Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) and the Victorian Government’s Recycling Victoria Infrastructure Fund.
Minister Ley said the Morrison Government’s $190 million contribution to the RMF was facilitating unprecedented investment in recycling infrastructure, with the combined Commonwealth, state, territory and industry co-investment model on track to reach around $800 million.
“This latest round of projects includes a joint PET recycling venture that will process the raw plastic equivalent of one billion drink bottles each year to produce over 22,000 tonnes of recycled PET bottles and food packaging,” Minister Ley said.
“It also includes remanufacturing projects, new products that will re-make waste into garden pots, railway sleepers and corrugated pipe.
“The co-investment model is exceeding all expectations and showing that materials can be recycled and remanufactured to create new products and new jobs while helping our environment.”
The Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change, Lily D’Ambrosio said the new processing and remanufacturing technology would help create jobs, divert more recyclable material from landfill and tackle climate change.
“The thirteen funded projects announced today will enable Victoria to reuse over 137,000 tonnes of plastics, glass and tyres every year and have generated over $86 million in industry investment, giving a total value of $122 million,” Minister D’Ambrosio said.
“These projects will reduce waste to landfill and boost the local economy through the creation of 204 local jobs, in addition to other jobs generated indirectly through the construction and operation of these new facilities.”
The federal Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, Trevor Evans, said that the announced projects include two funded under the RMF’s regional and remote funding round.
“The Morrison Government is determined to overcome the city-country divide and ensure that regional communities can reap the same benefits of recycling their waste into valuable new products as their city counterparts,” Assistant Minister Evans said.
“These communities often have to send their waste long distances for recycling, making it harder to create opportunities for local recycling and remanufacturing.
“This means our RMF investments in new recycling infrastructure can make transformational differences to these communities – delivering local circular economies and creating and keeping jobs in the region.”
The Morrison Government is driving a $1 billion transformation of our waste and recycling industry to turbocharge domestic recycling so we can process in Australia materials that were previously sent overseas.
The $190 million Recycling Modernisation Fund investment, and measures to support Australia’s ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Waste Policy Action Plan, will create approximately 10,000 new jobs all around Australia over the next 10 years.
The Recycling Victoria Infrastructure Fund is part of the Victorian Government’s $515 million investment to deliver the biggest ever transformation of the state’s waste and recycling industry. This includes $380 million to deliver Recycling Victoria: a new economy, the state’s 10-year plan to reduce waste, create jobs in new industries and drive more value from our resources.
