A new cutting-edge facility has joined the war on waste, with the Australian Government today unveiling the $8 million Bioplastics Innovation Hub in Perth.

The facility will fast-track the production of new 100 percent compostable bioplastics helping to meet the government’s goal of reducing the total waste generated in Australia by 10 percent, per person by 2030.

A co-investment collaboration between CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, and Murdoch University, the Hub will bring together industry and research organisations to address manufacturing needs and identify commercial pathways for compostable plastics.

Bioplastics currently make up just one percent of the market. As global concerns around plastic waste and fossil fuel resources increases, so too does the demand for more sustainable products to be available to businesses and consumers.

WA-based Ecopha Biotechnology, focused on turning food waste into compostable water bottles, is the first industry partner for the Hub.

Technology from Spiegare Consulting and BioRa Biorenewable Alternatives is also being applied, replacing chemical additives used within the moulding and forming process of plastic with environmentally friendly bio-additives.  

More information on the facility, and CSIRO’s research to end plastic waste is available at https://www.csiro.au/en/about/challenges-missions/Ending-plastic-waste. 

Quotes attributable to the Hon. Ed Husic, Minister for Industry and Science:

“Compostable plastic on is on the frontline for the war on plastic waste, and the Bioplastics Innovation Hub will be HQ.

“We’re one of the biggest consumers of single-use plastic in the world, but we only recycle 14 percent of it.

“Converting our food wrappers and drink containers from forever plastics to biodegradable plastics will attack the waste problem at its source.

“If we get this right, we won’t just be removing millions of tonnes of microplastic from our environment. 

“We’ll be tapping into a growing global market for these products, creating a new industry and the jobs that go with it.”