A US-based recycling company has announced plans to build the largest plastic processing factory in Australia in the New South Wales Central West.
Brightmark is investing $260 million to build the recycling plant in Parkes.
The facility will have the capacity to recycle 200,000 tonnes of waste plastic per year, making it among the largest in the world.
According to the CSIRO, less than 12 per cent of plastic waste was recycled in Australia last year.
Brightmark chief executive officer Bob Powell said almost all plastic in Australia was processed using mechanical recycling, limiting the country's capacity.
"It doesn't break down the molecules so that you can remake plastics," he said.
"You sort of mould and melt them, so it is more limited in its application."
Mr Powell said this left Australia vulnerable to growing waste demands in the region.
"Sixty per cent of plastic waste will come from the Asia-Pacific region by 2025, so if we believe we are going to help solve the problem globally, we better be in Australia," he said.
Construction on the processing plant will begin next year, with the facility expected to be fully operational by 2025.
Advanced technology improves recycling capabilities
The new recycling facility uses chemicals to assist with the breakdown of plastics, enabling them to be returned to their original form.
Rose Read, from the University of Technology Sydney Institute for Sustainable Futures, said the process increased Australia’s ability to recycle plastic waste.
"It means there is a whole range of plastics that previously couldn't be recycled through the mechanical process will now be able to be recycled," she said.
Dr Read said mechanical recycling had prevented Australia from recycling the majority of its waste.
"A lot of your soft plastics like your bread bags and things like that are very difficult to recycle mechanically," she said.
"Plastics that have been mixed up with other different types of plastics are difficult to sort and separate or have some form of contamination on them, previously would not have been recycled."
'Huge opportunity' for Central West
The recycling factory is expected to create 125 jobs during the construction phase and 100 jobs during the running of the site.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said this would provide a stimulus for the local economy.
"This is going to have so many advantages out here in the Central West. There are going to be other towns that will benefit from this kind of investment.
"This is a huge opportunity."
Mr Toole said Parkes's proximity to inland rail networks that connected Sydney and Melbourne made it the "ideal location" for the recycling facility.
