The federal government has announced it is investing $14.9 million into nine projects worth over $40 million under Round 10 of the Cooperative Research Centre Projects (CRC-P) initiative.
According to Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews, the projects demonstrate the great industry opportunities that come from taking care of the environment.
“By strategically investing in our waste management and recycling sector, we’re supporting Australian manufacturers to develop and commercialise cutting-edge technology that creates opportunities for new jobs and exports,” Andrews said.
“We know strong collaboration between industry and researchers is key to creating a resilient, competitive and highly skilled manufacturing sector, and that’s exactly what these CRC-P grants are going to do.”
One of the projects, Great Wrap, will use its $210,000 to convert food waste into a compostable plastic stretch wrap for both the food and shipping industries, and is expected to divert up to 150,000 tonnes of food and plastic waste from landfill each year.
Another project will see Advanced Circular Polymers use its $2 million to develop and commercialise an AI-enabled autonomous sorting system for plastic recycling. This will see the company increase its capacity by 42,000 tonnes per year, while also diverting almost 17,000 tonnes of plastic residue from landfill.
“Not only will these projects deliver significant benefits by improving Australia’s waste management capabilities, they will also grow Australia’s capacity to generate high-value recycled commodities,” added Andrews.
Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said there has never been a more important time to support innovation in recycling technology and infrastructure.
“This CRC support for remanufacturing and product innovation, along with our investments in new infrastructure through the Recycling Modernisation Fund are key to reaching our national target of an 80 per cent recovery rate across all waste streams by 2030,” Ley said.
This round of funded projects will leverage a further $25.2 million of cash and in-kind contributions from 46 project partners.
A list of successful applications can be found here.
