Waste projects awarded $20M in CRC grants

The Federal Government has invested almost $20 million in a series of waste reduction and resource recovery projects, as part of round eight of the Cooperative Research Centre grants program.

Industry, Science and Technology Minister Karen Andrews said the projects highlight the economic opportunities inherent in waste and recycling.

“Not only are these projects helping to ensure Australia has a more sustainable and prosperous future by reducing the impact of plastics on our environment, they are also opening further opportunities for new jobs,” she said.

“This funding will support Australian businesses and researchers as they forge new markets to limit the use of plastics and create recycled products.”

Among the grants is $2.9 million to develop a plant in Victoria that transforms plastic waste from the rectification work of hazardous building cladding into recycled shoes and prefabricated building elements.

“Once they reach the end of their life, the shoes and building products can again be recycled, showing the circular economy of waste and recycling,” Ms Andrews said.

“This project demonstrates an enormous opportunity from using the waste materials as a result of replacing hazardous building cladding.”

According to Environment Minister Sussan Ley, the grants underline the Federal Government’s commitment to growing Australia’s recycling capacity and ending problematic waste exports.

“We know from working with industry that there are some amazing ideas to build on, and these CRC-P grants help foster Australian innovation in what is a key area for our environment and our economy,” she said.

Other successful recipients include: 

$3 million to create green micro-factories to turn recycled waste plastics into engineered products.

$2.7 million to transform plastic waste into lightweight prefabricated building products.

$2.5 million to develop a mobile plastic recycling container facility for remote and Indigenous communities.

$2.4 million to further test and develop a recycled plastic construction solution to be exported to global markets.

$1.9 million to grow the production of diesel from landfill waste.

$2 million to further develop technology that converts waste contaminated plastic into feedstock for remanufacturing plastic.

$1.8 million to scale-up patented bio-polymer technology, enabling the recycling of commingled and contaminated waste plastics without the need to sort the waste stream.

$650,000 to increase the re-use of HDPE plastic.

Applications for round nine of the CRC-P grants will open 13 February and close 19 March.

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