NSW businesses are being encouraged to apply for a grant under a new $60 million national program to transform plastic waste into valuable products.
The Australian Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) Plastics Technology stream will boost existing recycling infrastructure and uncover new methods of processing plastics that are difficult to recycle.
NSW businesses can apply for grants of between $1 million and $20 million per project.
There will be a focus on projects that take hard-to-recycle plastics, including soft plastics like shopping bags, bread bags and cling wrap, and recirculate them back into the economy in a safe and sustainable way.
NSW Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe spoke about why a project such as this is so important for the environment.
“NSW generates around 800,000 tonnes of plastic waste every year, but only 10 per cent is currently recycled. This is significantly below recycling rates for all other types of waste,” she said.
“By recycling plastic, we’re not only limiting impacts on the environment, but we can also transform waste materials into valuable assets,” Sharpe said.
Projects can include new infrastructure or improvements to existing machinery, equipment, technology and processes.
This program will help NSW drastically reduce its reliance on plastic and progress towards NSW’s target of tripling the recycling rate by 2030.
For further information on the program and application process visit the NSW Environment Protection Authority .