Miles Doing What Matters – New plant highlight recycling jobs

Miles Doing What Matters – New plant highlight recycling jobs

• By 2030, Queensland aims to recover 80 per cent of all waste and achieve 65 per cent recycling rates across all waste types.
• Caboolture gets new mixed recycling plant that will divert 653 tonnes of waste from landfill and creates 12 ongoing jobs.
• $45 million of state funding available for large-scale projects.

A recycling plant at Caboolture is turning glass bottles and polystyrene into building materials with funding partly from the Miles Government.

And next year it will go even further and begin producing masonry blocks from waste aggregate, removing quarried materials from the process.

State Development Minister Grace Grace has visited the Casafico operation at Caboolture which was backed by a $175,000 Queensland and Federal Labor Government investment through the Recycling Modernisation Fund.

The initial stages of operation will divert 653 tonnes of waste from landfill while creating products for the building industry and delivering 12 jobs.

Recycling innovation is at the centre of the Miles Government’s plans for Queensland to recover 80 per cent of all waste and achieve 65 per cent recycling rates across all waste types by 2030.

Casafico has established a new mixed recycling plant which is producing Vetro Uno, a rendering product made from 66% recycled glass, which replaces virgin sand.

By the end of July, the plant will start turning polystyrene into a levelling coat which finishes a building surface before rendering.

By mid 2025, Casafico will also be producing their Tecoblock masonry building blocks from mixed waste.

The Miles Government is further encouraging innovation in the recycling and resource recovery industries through the Queensland Recycling and Jobs Fund.

Under the Recycling and Jobs Fund, $45 million in state funding continues to be available for large scale projects tackling waste in three key areas: commercial and industrial waste, renewable energy technologies, and electrical and electronic products and batteries.

Applicants can apply for financial assistance of up to $10 million (excluding GST), to a maximum of 50 per cent of the total eligible project cost. Initially, $45 million is being allocated to this program.

The $45 million industry program is open until funding is exhausted. For more information including funding guidelines, visit www.statedevelopment.qld.gov.au/industry/critical-industry-support/resource-recovery/recycling-and-jobs-fund-industry-development.  

The Albanese Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund is accelerating Australia’s circular economy so that when a product is no longer required for its initial purpose, it is either reused, recycled or remanufactured.

On completion, projects announced under the Recycling Modernisation Fund, across all jurisdictions, are expected to add 1.3 million tonnes of processing capacity every year, diverting valuable materials from landfill for reuse, and supporting new jobs.

When combined with co-investment from all states and industry, the Recycling Modernisation Fund will give a $1 billion boost to Australian recycling.

Quotes attributable to Minister for State Development and Infrastructure Grace Grace:

“This government has a vision for Queensland to become a zero-waste society, where waste is avoided, reused, recycled, and remanufactured to the greatest extent possible.

“We have heard industry’s concerns that achieving some of Queensland’s 2030 waste diversion targets continues to be a significant challenge and that’s why this $45 million in funding will go towards projects tackling waste in three key areas: commercial and industrial waste, renewable energy technologies, and electrical and electronic products and batteries.

“This funding will provide critical assistance to industry to grow its reprocessing and recycling capacity and prevent solar panels and other materials ending up in landfill.

“It also has the potential to address big issues such as solar panel waste – a growing problem in Queensland, which leads the country in rooftop solar panel adoption.”

Quotes attributable to Assistant Minister for Regional Development and Senator for Queensland, Anthony Chisholm:

“Queenslanders want to do their part to reduce landfill waste and recycle household products, our Recycling Modernisation Fund will help them and their local communities to do just that.

“This is great news for the environment, but it’s also great news for the economy. For every job in landfill, there are 3 jobs in recycling.

“We’re backing 24 proposed recycling projects across Queensland, which will create 740 jobs and process an extra 364,000 tonnes of waste. This project is just one of the more than 30 projects completed so far through our $250 million fund.

“Queensland is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We want to protect the state’s future for the generations to come and that takes all levels of government working together to develop solutions like this project.”

Quotes attributable to Mr Riccardo Mucci, Managing Director, Casafico Queensland

“We’re thrilled to have been able to establish our mixed recycling plant thanks to the Commonwealth and State Governments’ investment towards a sustainable future.

“Our Vetro Uno product is suitable for use in both commercial and residential buildings, and this facility's front wall is made from it.

“We’re glad our facility is not only diverting waste from landfill, but also helping create jobs and boost the Queensland economy.

Further information:

• The Queensland Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy sets ambitious targets to divert more waste from landfill and increase recycling.
• The Queensland Resource Recovery Industries 10-Year Roadmap and Action Plan provides a framework to accelerate this transition and develop Queensland’s resource recovery industries.

ENDS

Media contact: Kim Sweetman 0457 600 237