Waste reduction efforts gain $10.5 million through National Product Stewardship Investment Fund
Grants totalling $10.5 million and going to 15 organisations through the National Product Stewardship Investment Fund have been announced.
The funding supports 11 new projects and continues four existing industry-led programs, including a $985,866 grant to the Australian Food and Grocery Council that will help it reprocess 190,000 tonnes of soft plastic packaging per year, or the equivalent of almost 200 billion chocolate wrappers.
“Initiatives like the AFGCs will lift the recycling rates of hard to recycle consumer plastics like chocolate and chip wrappers from around 10 per cent to 65 per cent by 2030. These are the sorts of practical outcomes that will boost consumer confidence when they recycle,” said federal environment minister Sussan Ley in a statement.
“Not only will these initiatives see better outcomes for the environment, they will also create around 600 jobs at a time when many Australians are looking for work.”
According to the environment department’s website, the AFGC project would be completed by April 2023 and would “bring the food and grocery supply chain together” through a national scheme “to enhance the collection and processing of plastic packaging and increase the use of recycled content.”
Other grants include $632,000 to Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation for a product stewardship scheme for used plastic oil containers, and just under a million dollars to Close the Loop to support a cosmetic waste stewardship scheme.
The full list of 15 grant recipients in below.
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Successful grants (source: https://www.environment.gov.au/protection/waste/product-stewardship/national-product-stewardship-investment-fund)
| Organisation | Title | Project description | Grant amount (excl GST) | Completion date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dairy Australia Limited | A Circular Economy for Silage Wrap | This project will assess the requirements for a successful and resilient product stewardship scheme and then, if feasible, run regional pilots before moving to national implementation. | $965,400 | 30/03/2023 |
| Equilibrium OMG Pty Ltd | SeatCare | This project will finalise a design and implement a product stewardship scheme for old, unwanted or obsolete child car safety seats. | $930,000 | 31/03/2023 |
| Australian Bedding Stewardship Council Limited | Launch a national product stewardship scheme for mattresses and bedding | This project will design and implement a product stewardship scheme for used mattresses and used bedding. | $937,700 | 30/10/2022 |
| Australasian Circular Textile Association Ltd | Circular Threads | This project will develop a business case and design a product stewardship scheme to collect, reuse and recycle uniforms and workwear. | $360,510 | 26/01/2023 |
| RM Consulting Group Pty Ltd | National Non-Packaging Agricultural Plastics Stewardship Scheme | This project will develop a business case and complete a scheme design, then run two 6-month pilots in South-East Queensland and Victoria for non-packaging agricultural plastics. | $893,866 | 31/03/2023 |
| Close The Loop Ltd. | Developing a National Cosmetics Circular Economy | This project will develop a cosmetic waste stewardship scheme, including a centralised network to collect, process and recirculate used cosmetic packaging. | $999,019 | 30/06/2022 |
| Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation Limited | A comprehensive product stewardship framework for plastic oil containers | This project will develop a business case, then design and implement a product stewardship scheme for used plastic oil containers. | $632,000 | 31/03/2023 |
| Australian Food and Grocery Council Limited | National Plastics Recycling Scheme | This project will bring the food and grocery supply chain together to deliver a national scheme to enhance the collection and processing of plastic packaging and increase the use of recycled content. The scheme aims to increase the recovery of plastics by an estimated 189,700 tonnes per year. | $985,866 | 31/03/2023 |
| Closed Loop Environmental Solutions Pty Ltd | Simply Cups expansion and enhancement project | This project will expand the Simply Cups product stewardship scheme to all states and territories; while undertaking research to ensure products manufactured from the recycled cups meet industry specifications. | $697,200 | 31/12/2022 |
| Asaleo Personal Care Pty Ltd | Project Divert | This project will establish a new industry-led product stewardship scheme for commercial facilities to recycle used absorbent hygiene product; a considered problematic waste that typically ends up in landfill. | $561,031 | 30/12/2022 |
| Planet Ark Environmental Foundation | National coffee capsule product stewardship recycling scheme | This project will establish a national product stewardship scheme to collect and recycle all brands and types of coffee capsules (pods). | $940,000 | 30/09/2022 |
| Vinyl Council Of Australia | TexBack: PVC-Polyester Textiles Stewardship Scheme | This project will develop the business case and design a national product stewardship scheme for PVC coated polyester textiles. | $349,850 | 30/06/2022 |
| Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association Limited | Business Case to expand MobileMuster | This project will develop a business case to expand the scope of MobileMuster’s e-waste collection to include electronic products that are currently not covered by other product stewardship programs. | $373,200 | 31/01/2022 |
| Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation Ltd – supported by Greenlife Industry Australia | Polypropylene Plant Packaging Recycling Program | This project will design and implement a national, industry-led, plant packaging product stewardship scheme. | $549,000 | 30/01/2023 |
| BioPak Pty Ltd | The Compost Network | This project will enhance and expand the Compost Network, an organic recycling initiative and online platform providing businesses with access to a product stewardship scheme for organic waste and compostable packaging. | $398,000 | 31/12/2022 |
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