The Malinauskas Government has provided $100,000 to help expand the Fleurieu Milk Company's innovative milk keg initiative that is reducing the need for plastic milk containers in cafes and restaurants.
The reusable milk keg and glass bottle model is slashing the number of plastic milk cartons used in the local hospitality industry with 128,000 less plastic bottles used since it was first rolled out in October last year.
The funding will be used will upscale the reusable milk filling system via an enhanced digital platform and traceability tracking system.
The upgrades and expansion of the program is expected to see 1000 kegs delivered weekly, saving 9000 plastic milk containers weekly, or about 500,000 annually.
The funding boost comes ahead of the phasing out of more single use plastic products from 1 September 2024.
Surveys have shown overwhelming public support for banning single use plastics which are a significant source of pollution including to our waterways.
The Circular Economy Market Development Grant (CEMDG) program is one of Green Industries SA's funding programs which aims to unlock the potential of the circular economy by supporting developing markets for circular products and materials, including for problematic and emerging waste streams, and promoting increased adoption of circular design, business models and practices.
$380,000 funding was awarded this year to six successful projects, supporting businesses to deliver circular business models, other projects funded include:
- Bedford Group: melamine coated particleboard circular manufacturing investigation ($41,360)
- John Holland Guidera O'Connor: PVC loop ($50,000)
- Next Gen Waste Co: circularity for agriculture and aquaculture plastics waste on Eyre Peninsula ($60,000)
- Transmutation: Environmental Product Declaration ($19,841)
- Valley Precise Global: Polymer Economic Recovery Grocery Basket ($100,000)
The Circularity for Agriculture and Aquaculture Plastics Waste on Eyre Peninsula project aims to find local circular solutions for problematic end of life plastic waste arising from the agriculture and aquaculture industries on Eyre Peninsula by working with industries to co-design, prototype and remanufacture circular products meeting the needs of industry end users.
About $2 million has so far been awarded to develop more circular markets for industry, councils, and organisations. Visit Green Industries SA Circular Economy Market Development Grant program for more information.
As put by Susan Close
South Australia is a recognised national leader in state's transition to a more circular economy and continues to support circular economy market development.
South Australian business, industry and organisations are increasingly looking at new ways of doing business via circular economy business models, practices and circular products and materials.
Since 2018 more than $2 million has been provided to develop and test more circular practices that can be scaled up, repeated, and easily adopted by other South Australian businesses.
Seeing the Fleurieu Milk Company closing the loop on their resources is going to have an immediate benefit for the environment and for a more circular economy.
As put by Nick Hutchinson, General Manager Fleurieu Milk
In October 2023, we launched our reusable milk keg and glass bottle model for purchasing fresh milk to addresses the very high volumes of plastic waste in the dairy industry.
We've reduced the need for over 128,000 plastic milk bottles with our kegs, each one featuring a QR code, so our customers can track how many plastic milk bottles they've avoided.
Recognising the potential of reusable glass bottles in the dairy industry, we are gathering data on their usage to understand their environmental impact better.
This grant funding will enable the development of a 'Fleurieu Milk Co. app', allowing consumers to monitor their reduction in single-use bottles and earn rewards for sustainable practices.
As put by Director of Adelaide Zoo, Dr Phil Ainsley
As a conservation charity, Zoos SA is proud to be leading the way in sustainability and collaborating with Fleurieu Milk Company and Quality Catering on this mission.
Plastic pollution poses a huge threat to all species and by eliminating plastic milk carton waste here at Adelaide Zoo we can have a direct impact on protecting local habitats of our native species.
Unfortunately, in the wild, Australian natives are at serious risk of extinction. Every effort to keep native habitats free of plastics, such as the caps and rings from plastic milk bottles that often end up in marine environments and picked up by native birds, is incredibly important.
In 2022, Zoos SA was named a plastic-free champion for eliminating key single use plastic including straws, non-certified compostable coffee cups and lids, cutlery, plates, and it's great to be building on this momentum with Fleurieu Milk Company's milk taps at Adelaide Zoo.
As put by Sarah Prime, Founder of Next Gen Waste Co
We are extremely grateful that Green Industries SA saw our vision and got behind us.
GISA have been real enablers of Next Gen Waste Co, and I can see clearly how the Circular Economy Market Development program will empower our people and processes to transition the business from R&D through to proof of concept and beyond.
What I think is most powerful about this program is that it drives the production of tangible outcome – it's about commercialising concepts that will have a genuine environmental, social and economic benefit – so for rural communities where agriculture and aquaculture are the main source of employment and enterprise, the opportunity to co-design their own products from what are currently waste streams, could be a gamechanger on multiple levels.
