Melbourne is now home to Australia’s first soft plastics and e-waste recycling facility, which will create materials to build roads and buildings.
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.
Victorian Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos opened the 2.5 million recycling plant in Tottenham.
“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,” Dimopoulos said.
The facility was backed by a $500,000 investment from the State Government, building on a $16.5 million package to find new ways to keep e-waste out of household rubbish and landfill.
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At full capacity the facility will process around 6650 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 1350kg of soft plastics will be turned into asphalt for a local road project.
“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,” CRDC Australian Managing Director Shane Ramsey said.
The Victorian 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.