Sustainable building materials manufacturer saveBOARD is establishing its first Queensland facility on the Gold Coast after receiving over $1.7 million in grant funding from the state government.
The new facility will transform waste, such as coffee cups and used beverage cartons, such as juice poppers and soft plastics, into high-performance building materials.
The project will collect materials from Queensland’s popular Containers for Change Program, along with other packaging waste, turning them into building boards for construction.
The grant was awarded through the Queensland Recycling Modernisation Fund (QRMF), which is intended to support new projects aimed at diverting waste plastics, glass, paper, cardboard, and tyres to be manufactured into new commercial products.
The grant program is a joint initiative spearheaded by the Federal and Queensland governments, raising a combined investment of $40 million to create new or expanded facilities, create new jobs in the state, and boost manufacturing projects that use recycled materials.
“To power Queensland’s circular economy, we need cutting-edge waste management and recycling like this new facility which will remanufacture packaging into building materials,” said Federal Minister for the Environment Tanya Pilbersek.
“The Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund is turbocharging Australia’s circular economy so that instead of sending waste to landfill, we give it a valuable second life,” Pilbersek said.
Meaghan Scanlon, Queensland’s minister for the environment, said the QRMF will enable the state to divert more than 150,000 tonnes of waste away from landfill per year, increasing the amount of recycled content in manufacturing.
The project will also help Queensland achieve its goal of diverting 80 per cent of waste from landfill and recycling 65 per cent of the materials by 2030.
“Once operational, all projects under the RMF are expected to create a total of more than 300 good, new recycling industry jobs,” Minister Scanlon said.
saveBOARD CEO Paul Charteris said the new Queensland facility will provide an opportunity for Queenslanders to help transform the construction industry.
“saveBOARD, backed by our industry partners Tetra Pak, SIG Combibloc, Freightways and Closed Loop, will transform common packaging waste into high-performance building materials and reduce waste to landfill,” said Charteris. “This partnership will create a stable domestic end market for used beverage cartons, soft plastics and coffee cups and grow the circular economy.
