A major expansion at a plastics recycling facility in Dandenong South is using state of the art technology to turn plastics containers into a recycled plastic flake which is used to create plastic for food packaging.
The multi-million facility has been upgraded with optical sorting technology with funding of $6 million from the Allan Labor Government and Albanese Labor Government and has created 28 new jobs.
Martogg, one of Australia's largest privately owned plastics recycling businesses, has invested in new technology that identifies and sorts post-consumer PET bottles and containers.
The containers are granulated and thoroughly washed, producing a high-quality flake that can be transformed back into food grade recycled pellets for use into PET packaging commonly found on our supermarket shelves, like water and beverage bottles, meat trays and packaging for bakery items.
The expansion has resulted in a plant capable of processing 40,000 tonnes of post-consumer PET bottles per year which has enabled Martogg to produce 17,300 tonnes a year of food grade PET flake tonnes a year, or the equivalent of over 800 million PET bottles.
This is one of 13 jointly funded recycling projects completed since 2021, 9 of which target plastics. These projects have increased Victoria's capacity to process an additional 80,000 tonnes of plastics per annum. Martogg's project is significant as it contributes over a quarter of this additional capacity.
As stated by Victorian Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos
"We want to reshape Victoria, where we use recycled materials anywhere and everywhere, from the roads you drive on to the bottles we drink from."
"We're pleased to partner with the Albanese Labor Government on a significant investment in Victoria's recycling economy, creating jobs and building a strong local recycling sector and a strong economy for Victoria."
As stated by Minister for Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek
"I know Victorians want to do their part to reduce their waste, reuse and recycle household products, that's why we are supporting new recycling infrastructure, helping to solve challenges with plastic waste and stop soft plastics from going to landfill, while supporting innovation and delivering jobs."
"It's great to see state governments committed to getting plastics out of landfill and working with industry to see a circular economy for plastics in Australia. This is great for the environment, but it's also great for the economy and jobs growth.
"The Albanese Government is committed to working with states and territories to better support industry and households to manage waste and increase recycling capacity."
As stated by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus
"The Albanese and Allan Governments are working together to boost the local economy and reduce waste by recycling plastics into new products instead of adding it to landfill.
"People in Isaacs care about the environment and want to do their part to reduce waste and protect our environment.
"This $6 million joint investment creates new jobs and opportunities for our community and confirms Dandenong's place as the heart of manufacturing in Victoria."
As stated by Member for Dandenong Gabrielle Williams
"This new technology is turbocharging our ability to locally recycle and reuse plastic from our household recycling bins and our Container Deposit Scheme."
