Page 10 - Packaging News magazine March_April 2023

NEWS
Aus-first carton recycling facility opens
PACKAGING WASTE INNOVATOR save- Board has opened its first beverage carton recycling facil-
ity in Australia, located in Warragamba, in Sydney’s south- west. It has the capacity to process up to 4000 tonnes of materials per year and employ up to 12 staff.
This project marks the first collaboration between carton manufacturers Tetra Pak and SIG Combibloc in Australia and falls under the umbrella of the Global Recycling Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (GRACE), as well as being a joint initiative with saveBoard and its partner Freightways.
The $5.5m facility is the first of its kind in the country to manufacture construction products entirely out of used bev- erage cartons, which would have ended up in landfill. The facil- ity’s development was supported by the Australian government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund and the NSW government’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative.
Cartons processed at the facil- ity are sourced largely from container deposit scheme feed- stock, recycled and processed on site using high-tech equipment
imported from Czech Republic and Germany. Recycled paper sheeting converted and supplied by Opal and 80 per cent recycled plastic sheeting converted and supplied by Convex form part of the finished product.
The process is as follows: all collected materials (including car- tons, caps and straws) are shredded in an industrial blender. The shred- ded material is then compressed using heat as the bonding agent, eliminating the need for glues or other chemical additives. The board is coated with a thin facing material, and cut to size.
The resulting product is a sturdy, lightweight alternative to conven- tional plasterboard, plywood or particle board, which itself is also 100 per cent recyclable.
CEO and co-founder of save- Board Paul Charteris said at the facility’s opening ceremony: “It’s exciting to finally be open- ing the first saveBoard facility in Australia, supporting the circular economy to make a real impact to the environment and climate change. This facility will enhance the construction industry’s drive towards more sustainable con- struction practices, while also
Above: CEO of saveBoard, Paul Charteris, explains the process.
Right: VIPs press ‘go’ on new facility line.
showing consumers the importance and value in recycling and opting for recyclable products in their day-to-day lives.”
Andrew Pooch, manag-
ing director of Tetra Pak Australia and New Zealand com- mented: “We’re incredibly proud to be part of this sustainability journey alongside saveBoard, as we look at even more innova- tive ways we can convert carton packaging waste into useful appli- cations, and contribute to a strong circular economy.
“By partnering with saveBoard, we’re showing that innovation in
recycling comes in many forms, and consumers can see first-hand how they can contribute to a more sustainable future.”
The launch of this facility marks an important step in developing the infrastructure needed to sup- port carton recycling in Australia. saveBoard will open another recy- cling facility in Campbellfield, Victoria in late 2024. ■
Soft plastics labelling in question
THE SUSPENSION OF the REDcycle soft plastics collection program has rendered misleading the ‘return to store’ labelling on hundreds of branded SKUs and thousands upon thousands of products.
‘Return to store’ is the instruc- tion communicated via the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) for soft plastics packaging. It was verifiable when the REDcycle collection scheme was in place, and will be once again when a collection scheme is fully rein- stated, as per the new Roadmap to Restart. But in the meantime, if there is no return to store option, this is a misleading claim, and
one that ACCC will not be able to ignore in the longer term.
APCO, the owner of the ARL that is now widely used by brand owners and supermarkets on their own brand labels, said it will be working with stakeholders to resolve this issue.
“APCO recognises the concerns of brand owners around on pack labels and looks forward to working
with the supermarkets, Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to agree on key actions and timing in this area now that the roadmap has been finalised,” Chris Foley, APCO CEO said.
A Coles spokesperson said: “To avoid significant volumes of addi- tional unnecessary waste going directly to landfill, as well as impose undue costs, Coles Own Brand suppliers are continu- ing to use packaging designed and printed prior to the collapse of the REDcycle program. We have informed our customers
through various channels that the REDcycle program is no lon- ger operating. We are working with industry and governments to help find a solution to soft plastics recy- cling in Australia.”
Woolworths concurred that avoiding unnecessary waste going to landfill was its priority, with a spokesperson saying, “A lot of product for packaging was produced well before REDcycle’s collapse so we need to work through all of that packaging, which has quite a long lead time in terms of production and, of course, no one wants to see pack- aging go to waste.” ■
10 ❙ MARCH – APRIL 2023
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