A major upgrade to the plastics recycling facility in Dandenong South is setting a new benchmark for sustainability within the state. Martogg-one of Australia's largest privately-owned plastics recycling businesses-has invested in the latest optical sorting technology that takes waste plastic and recycles it into high-quality material used for packaging food.
This expanded facility annually processes 40,000 tonnes of post-consumer PET plastic into 17,300 tonnes of food-grade recycled plastic flakes. More than 800 million PET bottles are being recycled and then put into production once more to manufacture an array of packaging such as beverage bottles, meat trays, and bakery packaging found in the majority of supermarkets.
This is made possible by the addition of optical sorting technology at this facility that will effectively sort and clean post-consumer plastic containers to ensure only high-quality material is used in the production of food-grade recycled pellets, essential manufacturing components for safe and sustainable packaging solutions.
This also opened up 28 new positions, further contributing to the local workforce and economy. Martogg's investment forms part of a larger plan to expand Victoria's plastic waste processing capacity. Thirteen major recycling projects have been completed across the state since 2021; these have increased the state's overall plastic recycling capacity by 80,000 tonnes per year. Of that amount, Martogg's facility accounts for more than a quarter.
With the growing demand for sustainable packaging, the advanced recycling process within the facility is crucial in enabling plastic waste reduction and fostering the circular economy. By reprocessing plastic waste into high-quality recycled material, it enables the facility to reduce dependency on virgin plastics, hence decreasing environmental impact and promoting resource conservation.