Australasia’s largest end-to-end PET recycling facilities

Circular Plastics Australia (PET) is a joint venture between Pact Group, Cleanaway, Asahi Beverages and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners.

Introduction

Our first facility, in Albury, New South Wales, commenced operations in December 2021. Our second facility, in Altona North VIC, commenced operations in December 2023.

Each facility will recycle the equivalent of approximately 1 billion 600ml PET plastic bottles each year.

The used plastic feedstock (PET bottles and containers) recycled by the plants is collected through Cleanaway’s Material Recovery Facilities (MRF) and Container Deposit Schemes (CDS).

The food-grade recycled PET (rPET) produced by these facilities is used to produce new beverage bottles for Asahi Beverages and Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, and new food and beverage packaging for Pact Group’s customers.

Our Impact

Between our two new facilities we have more than double the amount of locally sourced and recycled PET (rPET) produced in Australia – from around 30,000 tonnes currently to more than 70,000 tonnes per annum.

The Albury project was made possible with the assistance of almost $5 million from the Environmental Trust as part of the NSW Government’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative funded from the waste levy, with the support of the Department of Regional NSW and the Australian Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund.

The Altona North project was supported by a $6 million grant through the Recycling Victoria – Recycling Modernisation Fund, which is delivered by Sustainability Victoria under the Australian Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund and the Victorian Government’s circular economy plan, Recycling Victoria: a new economy.

40k

PET plastics recycled

40K tonnes of PET plastics recycled per annum

79%

Decrease in CO2

79% decrease in CO2 emissions by using recycled PET (rPET) vs virgin PET *

*https://packagingeurope.com/study-confirms-excellent-carbon-footprint-of-recycled-pet/

400
mw

Megawatt solar farm

400 megawatt solar farm installed at the NSW facility

35k

Rainwater tanks installed

5x 25K litres rainwater tanks installed at NSW facility

Circular Plastics Australia (PET) – How it works

Consumers recycle via kerbside and CDS and Cleanaway collects and sorts

Circular Plastics Australia (PET) process and pelletise into food-grade recycled plastic resin

Asahi Beverages, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners and Pact Group remake the recycled resin into new packaging

The packaging is sold to consumers in Australia and New Zealand, creating a circular economy

How it works

Watch how Circular Plastics Australia is transforming the local circular economy.

Look for these brands that will contain Circular Plastic Australia recycled plastic

Consumers have an important role to play in building Australasia’s circular economy by recycling correctly and, by purchasing products in packaging made from locally recycled content.

Asahi Beverages

In January 2022, Asahi Beverages unveiled a new sustainability agenda as we use our significant scale to create a more sustainable future for Australia and New Zealand. A key focus of this strategy is Sustainable packaging, with the goal of transitioning to 100% eco-friendly materials for all our PET bottles by 2030. Eco friendly means either 100% recycled content, compostable or biobased plastics.

Locally recycled plastics from Circular Plastics Australia will help us achieve this and close the loop on plastics locally in Australia. Frantelle will first begin sourcing from Circular Plastics Australia in 2022, followed by key brands in Cool Ridge, Schweppes, Solo, Sunkist and Pepsi Max.

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

7 out of 10 of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners’ bottles in Australia are already made from recycled content, but we have plans to go much further. In 2020, we announced a set of ten bold sustainability ambitions. A key priority of these ambitions is to close the loop on packaging, for example, by designing for 100% recyclability and implementing pack-to- pack recycling solutions in Australia.

Our vision is for our bottles to be part of a closed loop where they are used, collected, and given another life. Our investment in Circular Plastics Australia (PET) will allow us to make progress towards this vision, reducing the need for imported rPET and virgin plastic and helping create new jobs for Australians. It is a significant milestone on our sustainable packaging journey, and we are proud to be involved.

Look for these Asahi Beverages brands that will be Remade in Australia

Pepsi Max, Schweppes (Zero Sugar Lemonade), Sunkist (Zero Sugar), Solo (Zero Sugar) and Cool Ridge (Spring Water).

These brands will be sourcing rPET from Circular Plastics Australia (PET) from 2023.

Look for these Coca-Cola Europacific Partners brands that will be Remade in Australia

Coke, Diet Coke, Coke (No Sugar), Fanta, Fanta (No Sugar), Sprite, Sprite (No Sugar), Pump, Mt Franklin and Mt Franklin Lightly Sparkling range.

Get in touch

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