The recycling plant will help increase the amount of locally sourced and recycled PET in the country by 66% from around 30,000 tonnes to more than 50,000 tonnes per annum
Nearly 40 people will be hired to operate the facility around the clock. (Credit: Pact Group)
Australia has opened a new A$45m ($33m) PET (polyethylene terephthalate) recycling plant in Albury, New South Wales that can process one billion plastic bottles per annum.
Claimed to be the largest PET recycling plant in Australia, the facility will help minimise the country’s plastic waste by recycling the equivalent of approximately one billion PET beverage bottles every year.
The recycling plant was built as a joint venture partnership between Pact Group, Asahi Beverages, Cleanaway Waste Management, and new partner Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP).
It will also help increase the amount of locally sourced and recycled PET in the country by 66% from around 30,000 tonnes to more than 50,000 tonnes per annum.
The construction and installation of the plant created about 225 jobs. Nearly 40 people will be hired to operate the facility around the clock.
The facility will recycle near 30,000 tonnes of PET per annum to become recycled raw material to manufacture new beverage bottles along with other food and beverage packaging in the country.
In addition, the plant will provide environmental benefits, including minimising the country’s dependence on virgin plastic and recycled plastic imports.
The recycling facility, which will be partly powered by solar energy, will include a water treatment unit and rainwater tanks that will reuse and recycle water on site.
Each member of the joint venture, which is operating as Circular Plastics Australia (PET), provided knowledge and expertise to build the plant.
Cleanaway, through its collection and sorting network, will provide the plastic to be recycled, while Pact will operate the facility and offer technical and packaging expertise.
The recycled plastic from the plant will be purchased by Asahi Beverages, Pact, and CCEP use the material in their packaging applications.
The JV is also constructing a second PET plastic recycling plant in Melbourne, which will also have the capacity to recycle the equivalent of approximately one billion PET beverage bottles per annum.
Construction on the A$50m recycling facility is scheduled to commence next month and be completed in 2023.
Australian Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said: “Pact Group made a $500 million commitment at our first national plastic summit in 2020 and they, along with their JV partners Cleanaway, Asahi Beverages and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, have made that a reality today.
“This demonstrates commitment to our national packaging targets when the supply chain and government work together.”