Latest news with #plasticrecycling
ABC News
2 days ago
- Science
- ABC News
Farm plastic waste recycling options a 'leap forward for sustainability'
Tonnes of plastic farm waste is being turned into new products with the development of recycling techniques by the agricultural industry and engineering researchers. Each year, Australian farms go through an estimated 110,000 tonnes of plastic waste, but recycling options for soft plastics and twine in particular are limited. Key players in Australia's grain industry unveiled a plan earlier this year to stop 45,000 tonnes of agricultural bags from going to landfill or being illegally incinerated. Researchers at a regional Victorian university have also helped to develop a machine to melt down synthetic hay binding twine and repurpose it into building products and furniture. An industry-led, not-for-profit program to collect and recycle plastic agricultural bags is underway in Victoria with plans to expand it in the coming years. The bagMUSTER scheme is similar to the program used for chemical drums, allowing farmers to return their used soft plastic bags to stores for recycling. CropLife Australia chief executive Matthew Cossey helped develop the program and said the bags used for fertilisers, seeds, grain, stock feed, and pet food are turned into new agricultural products. "It's a huge leap forward for farm recycling," he said. "When a farmer buys a product in the bagMUSTER program, they'll be able to return it to the retailer, and then it will be collected and fully recycled. It's as simple as that. Plastic cords used to bind hay, straw and other crops are often seen piling up in farmers' sheds, contaminated with soil, animal waste and other residues. Most of the twine ends up in landfill or is burnt on farms. La Trobe University researchers in Bendigo have helped develop a machine to melt and re-form the twine into useful, durable products. Engineering Associate Professor Ing Kong said the twine could be turned into garden planters, outdoor furniture, and construction materials such as decking or fence posts. "There has been no incentive to recycle bale twine because it is a single-use, bulky and contaminated product with dirt, small rocks and such," Dr Kong said. "But this particular machine, invented by Rtech, can actually take a significant amount of contaminate and still process it." Dr Kong said the melting machine was much more cost-effective than comparable machines and was designed so it could be used on-farm. "It can be owned and installed easily by anyone, it's economical, and takes up a small space," she said. "If a farmer has a constant amount of plastic waste, they can recycle it on site into 1-metre cubes, and have the waste ready to be manufactured either locally or exported." Australian Seed Federation chief executive Katherine Delbridge said the disposal of plastic waste had long been a pain for farmers. Ms Delbridge said the cost of disposing seed bags into landfill was prohibitive for many farmers. "Because there hasn't been a supply chain for this plastic before the frank matter is people have been burying and burning this plastic on-farm." Agsafe general manager Alicia Garden welcomed the advancements in recycling but said there was still a long way to go. "About 15,000 tonnes of soft plastic recycling is available across all industries per year — consumer, mining, agriculture. It's a really constrained bottleneck," she said. "Regulatory change about 18 months ago means that we can't use recycling facilities overseas; we have to recycle here in Australia. Ms Garden said developers were now looking at ways to recycle other plastic waste on farms, such as silage wrap. "There is a dedicated facility [for that] being built in Albury, which we expect will be online late this year or early next year," she said.
Sky News
4 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Recycling firm seeks Impact with £3m IW Capital investment
A plastic recycling business which counts Nestle, the Swiss consumer goods giant, among its backers, will this week unveil a multimillion pound capital injection from one of its key shareholders. Sky News understands that Impact Recycling, which uses a complex process to separate mixed plastic waste into 'high-purity' output, has struck a deal to secure £3.3m from existing venture capital backer IW Capital. Impact Recycling, which has received a grant from the government agency Innovate UK and a £7m loan from Nestle, counts the NHS as a major customer at its Glasgow site, where it recycles medical plastic waste. The company is also backed by LG Chem, Korea's biggest chemical company, reflecting the growing demand among global industrial groups for more sustainable environmental solutions to their manufacturing processes. IW Capital's latest investment comes during a period of significant regulatory change, including in the form of the EU's Plastic Packaging and Plastic Packaging Waste Directive, which mandates 35% recycled content to be used in any plastic packaging by 2030. That figure will rise to 60% by 2040, posing a major industrial challenge. David Walsh, CEO of Impact Recycling, said: "With strong demand from global partners and our licensing model gaining traction, we're well-positioned to scale our operations." The new capital is to be used in part to expand Impact Recycling's operations to new markets. "Impact Recycling exemplifies the kind of business we're proud to support-deeply innovative, commercially proven, and playing a critical role in the future of sustainable materials," Alan Armstrong, chairman of IW Capital, said.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Toyoda Gosei Launches Horizontal Recycling Technology for Plastic Automotive Parts
Lower CO2 with plastic recycling from end-of-life to new vehicles KIYOSU, Japan, May 22, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. (TOKYO:7282) has developed a new technology to recycle high-quality plastic from end-of-life vehicles (ELV) in order to meet the growing demand for recycled plastic in the automotive industry against strengthened environmental regulations.1 This technology will contribute to decarbonized, circular economy through its use in various vehicles models starting with the Toyota Camry.2 In the recycling of waste plastic, it has been difficult to obtain plastic with performance equivalent to that of new material due to impurities or other factors, and so waste plastic has generally been burned to recover heat (thermal recycling) or reused for purposes with lower required performance (downcycling). Toyoda Gosei has developed a recycled plastic with performance equivalent to that of new material even with 50% ELV plastic (polypropylene). To achieve this, Toyoda Gosei has collaborated with Isono Co., Ltd. to procure quality raw materials for recycling and leveraged Toyoda Gosei's original material modification technology, meeting the quality standards for automotive parts for practical application. This technology accelerates horizontal recycling for reuse in the same parts and contributes to CO2 reduction.3 It is the first time in the world4 that recycled plastic containing 50% ELV plastic is used in interior parts such as glove boxes that require impact resistance. Toyoda Gosei is advancing recycling plastic and rubber with decarbonization as a key aim, based on its medium- and long-term 2030 Business Plan. Going forward, Toyoda Gosei aims to expand applicable products, such as those associated with vehicle design, and will move ahead with the improvement of recycled plastic. 1 In the European Commission policy to strengthen environmental regulations (ELV directive), the use of recycled plastic is expected to be mandated in new vehicles sold from 2031 onward. 2 Manufactured in Japan, used on the Camry launched in Europe and other parts of the world since 2024. 3 Use of this recycled plastic leads to a CO2 reduction of up to about 40% when used in parts manufacture (depends on product size and other factors; calculated using IDEA developed by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) 4 As of April 30, 2025; Toyoda Gosei survey View source version on Contacts Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd. Contact: Public Relationsinquiry@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Starmer praises six-year-old Netley plastic recycling campaigner
A six-year-old boy who collected more than 2,500 sweet tubs to save them from landfill has won support from Prime Minister Sir Keir in the House of Commons chamber waved and smiled at Teddy, from Netley in Hampshire, as his achievement was raised earlier by MP Paul Prime Minister's Questions, the Conservative asked Sir Keir whether he agreed that "you are never too little to make a big difference".Sir Keir told Teddy, who was in the public gallery with his mother Laura, that his achievement was "incredible" and a government minister would meet the family to discuss the future of plastic tub recycling. Teddy spent two years collecting the tubs, which are typically sold with chocolates, sweets, or crackers Prime Minister's Questions, Paul Holmes, the MP for Hamble Valley, said: "Teddy is a self-professed eco warrior on a mission to change the world."He started out by saving thousands of plastic chocolate and sweet tubs from landfill because they're not currently recyclable."Will the Prime Minister commit to asking his minister for local government to meet Teddy and myself to discuss how we make these tubs recyclable."And does he agree with me that no matter how small you are, you are never too little to make a big difference?" Sir Keir welcomed Teddy and his mother, as MPs waved and smiled at the public said: "Many of us struggle for a whole lifetime to make an impact on government policy."Teddy is already having an impact and I'll make sure that he gets to speak to the relevant minister."The six-year-old, whose hero is Sir David Attenborough, collected the tubs as part of Greene King's Tub2Pub charity appeal, which takes collections to a plastic reprocessing previously said: "I'd heard we can't recycle these tubs in our normal recycling bin but I wanted to change that so I can save the world."We have one planet and we need to look after it." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
