More of Victoria’s hard-to-recycle plastics – including soft plastics – will soon be kept out of landfill and turned into new products, following a $4 million investment from the Albanese Government, the Allan Labor Government and industry.
The funding will support four new projects that together will increase plastics recycling capacity by 16,700 tonnes a year, strengthening Victoria’s resource recovery sector while creating jobs across the state’s growing circular economy.
Federal Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt said the investment marked another step forward in Australia’s transition to a circular economy. He said new recycling infrastructure in Victoria would help tackle the ongoing challenge posed by plastics, recovering materials that would otherwise end up in landfill and keeping them in productive use. The projects, he added, demonstrated the Australian Government’s commitment to doubling circularity by 2035 through practical, on-the-ground action.
The projects receiving funding include Pact Recycling in Cheltenham, where the bagMUSTER program will recover and recycle agricultural bags used for seed, fertiliser, pesticides and stockfeed. In Dandenong, APR will upgrade its soft-plastics sorting capacity using infra-red technology developed in Norway to improve the recovery of end-of-life soft plastics. Australian Soft Plastics Recycling in Pakenham will expand its facilities to better recycle low-density polyethylene films such as pallet wrap from supermarket warehouses, while RE4ORM in Barnawartha will upgrade its plant to recover low-density plastics for reuse in manufacturing new recycled products.
The $3.5 million government contribution includes $1.75 million each from the Victorian and Australian governments through the Recycling Modernisation Fund, which provides a one-off boost to Australia’s ability to sort, process and remanufacture waste materials such as plastics, glass, tyres, paper and cardboard.
Victorian Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos said the projects reflected the state’s commitment to a cleaner future. By working closely with Canberra, he said, Victoria was building the infrastructure needed to divert more waste from landfill, protect the environment and create jobs across metropolitan and regional communities. From pallet wrap and soft plastics to agricultural feed bags, the projects would ensure more materials were recovered, reused and kept in circulation.
Across Australia, the Recycling Modernisation Fund represents more than $200 million in Australian Government investment, leveraging close to $1 billion nationally with states, territories and industry. In Victoria alone, the fund is supporting 27 projects with $79 million in joint funding, expected to add 328,000 tonnes of recycling capacity each year and drive more than $226 million in recycling infrastructure investment.
Attorney-General and Member for Isaacs Mark Dreyfus said the funding would help turn some of the state’s most difficult-to-recycle plastics into new products, while supporting local jobs and delivering better outcomes for the community and the environment.
Member for Southern Metropolitan Ryan Batchelor said strengthening recycling and recovery industries was about more than waste management. By backing innovative projects, he said, Victoria was turning waste into opportunity – creating jobs, supporting industry and cutting landfill at the same time.
From today, Round 6 of the Recycling Modernisation Fund will make a further $4 million in joint funding available to businesses, social enterprises, not-for-profit organisations and local councils, with applications closing on 1 July 2026 or once funding is fully allocated.
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