The Hon Tanya Plibersek MP, Minister for the Environment and Water

The Hon Lily D'Ambrosio, Victorian Minister for the Environment and Climate Action

 Recycling investment brings new products and jobs to Victoria

The Albanese Labor Government and Andrews Labor Government are combatting climate change and reducing waste while creating new jobs and industries by co-investing in Victoria’s recycling systems.

Federal Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek and Victorian Minister for the Environment and Climate Action Lily D’Ambrosio today announced $14.26 million of funding for new recycling infrastructure projects in Victoria.

The grant funding will give another life to 150,000 tonnes of Victoria’s food and garden waste and  30,000 tonnes of soft plastics.

Seven organic recycling projects will be funded through the Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund, which diverts up to 3.4 million tonnes of food organic and garden organic (FOGO) waste from landfills across Australia every year.

The funding improves the quality of recycled organic products, such as compost, soil conditioners and mulches, by removing material that contaminates them. Six of the seven organic waste recycling projects are in regional areas.

The recycled food and garden waste from these facilities will boost soil quality on farms and help create up to 134 local jobs during the construction phase. 

The Federal Government’s $67 million Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund will leverage over $171 million in total government and industry investment. The Victorian Government has co-invested $5.6 million through the Circular Economy Organics Sector Transformation Fund.

The Governments will also jointly invest $3 million to IQ Renew for a large recycling facility in Altona,  which will recycle 30,000 tonnes of soft plastic into food grade soft plastic and washed flakes of low-density polyethylene, through the Recycling Modernisation Fund.

Australians use around 70 billion pieces of soft “scrunchable” plastics including food wrappers every year, but as little as 4 per cent is recycled with the rest ending up as landfill or litter in the environment.

The funding will get more recycled material into the hands of Australian manufacturers and drive the country’s circular economy.

The grant funding is part of the Victorian Government’s $515 million investment to deliver the biggest transformation and reform of Victoria’s waste and recycling system in our state’s history for a sustainable and thriving circular economy.

More information is at https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/food-waste/food-…;

Further information about Victorian Circular Economy Recycling Modernisation Fund and the Circular Economy Infrastructure Fund at https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/grants-funding-and-investment/

Quotes attributable to the Minister for the Environment and Water Tanya Plibersek:  

“These new Victorian organics recycling projects will help us reach our national target of halving the 
amount of organic waste sent to landfill by 2030 by taking organic waste and turning it into high-quality compost and soil improvers for Australian farmers.”

“We’re not only reducing landfill waste and greenhouse gas emissions, but we are making Victorian 
soils more productive.”

Quotes attributable to the Victorian Minister for the Environment and Climate Action Lily  D’Ambrosio:

“We’ve been leading the way with the biggest recycling system reform in the state’s history and it’s good to have support in Canberra to hit our target of diverting 80 per cent of waste from landfill and  help create a thriving circular economy.” 

“We’re finding new ways to use organic waste in our parks and our paddocks, creating jobs and cutting  emissions as we halve food waste by 2030.”