Melbourne's west is now home to Australia's first soft plastics and e-waste recycling facility that will create the vital materials we need to make roads and buildings more durable and sustainable across the state.
Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos today opened the $2.5 million recycling plant in Tottenham which turns hard-to-recycle items into a new concrete material, backed by a $500,000 investment from the Allan Labor Government, building on the $16.5 million package to find new ways to keep e-waste out of household rubbish and landfill.
The CDRC Global facility will process soft and hard plastics found in e-waste into an environmentally friendly product called RESIN8 that can be used in concrete, masonry bricks, blocks, pavers and asphalt. RESIN8 also has unique thermal insulation properties that bolsters the longevity and energy efficiency of buildings it's used in.
At full capacity the facility will process around 6,650 tonnes of hard and soft plastics each year - the equivalent of around 330 garbage trucks - and produce 8,300 tonnes of RESIN8.
RESIN8 is being trialled by Hobsons Bay Council, where 1,350 kilograms of soft plastics will be turned into asphalt for a local road project.
The Labor Government is looking at more opportunities to use RESIN8 in upcoming major infrastructure projects -helping to divert more e-plastics, soft plastics and a range of other hard to recycle plastics from landfill while boosting the sustainability of Victoria's roads and buildings.
In Victoria, e-waste can be taken to nominated council drop off points or local transfer stations. The project will also process soft plastics collected and stockpiled through the RED Cycle program.
Projects like this are helping us reach our target of diverting 80 per cent of waste from landfill by 2030 as part of $515 million investment to transition to a thriving circular economy Victorians can rely on.
For more information about e-waste drop off locations visit your local council website.
As stated by Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos
"This is a major step forward in diverting plastic and e-waste from landfill that will transition our state towards using more sustainably recycled products."
As stated by Member for Laverton Sarah Connolly
"It's great to see Victorian businesses finding new ways to deal with complex problems like soft plastics and e-waste while also creating more sustainable solutions for our building industry."
As stated by CRDC Australian Managing Director Shane Ramsey
"We are thrilled that Australia's first full-scale RESIN8 facility is now operational - transforming used plastic into innovative, eco-friendly building materials for Australia, creating a circular economy solution."
