Adelaide council recycling projects win $15m in RMF funding

Three joint council waste management authorities in Adelaide will get about $15 million in federal funding to invest in new recycling projects.

The Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) will get $7.92 million to put towards a $12 million paper and cardboard beneficiation plant in Edinburgh able to process more than 40,000 tonnes of fibre from paper and cardboard a year, while the Central Adelaide Waste and Recycling Authority (CAWRA) will get $4.11 million for its state-of-the-art MRF at Kilburn.

This facility will process kerbside recyclables using the latest optical sorting technology to produce clean commodities suitable for developing local markets.

The Southern Region Waste Resource Authority (SRWRA) will get $3.14 million to equip another state-of-the-art MRF at Seaford Heights in Adelaide’s south.

President of the Local Government Association of South Australia (LGASA) Angela Evans said: “It is fantastic to see three major projects developed by council subsidiaries share in more than $15 million of state and federal funding

“These new facilities will give councils greater control over how their kerbside collections are processed, and how and where the recovered materials are ultimately re-used.

“Over time, it’s expected they will also reduce council waste and recycling costs, driving downward pressure on rates while also creating new local jobs.”

The MRFs and the NSWMA beneficiation plant are among eight South Australian projects set to receive $111 million under the Federal Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF).

A glass beneficiation plant near Gawler (proposed by the Orora Group to recycle and produce high-quality glass containers) will receive $8 million in RMF funding. 

The funding announced this week is on top of previously announced RMF funding co-investments by the Federal and South Australian governments and industry for seven other recycling infrastructure projects.

Total RMF funding in SA now amounts to around $116 million.