Thirty projects across Tasmania will share in more than $10 million in government funding aimed at keeping waste out of landfill and building a stronger circular economy.
The grants, announced through Round 3 of the High Priority Infrastructure Grants Program, are expected to divert more than 64,000 tonnes of material from landfill each year.
Environment Minister Guy Barnett said the funding was being reinvested from the landfill levy into practical projects that reduce waste, recover resources and create jobs.
“We’re reinvesting the landfill levy into practical projects that reduce waste, recover valuable resources and create jobs for Tasmanians,” he said.
The $10 million in government funding is also expected to unlock an additional $5 million in investment from the private sector and local councils, bringing the total to $15 million.
Among the successful recipients is The Udder Way, based at Perth south of Launceston, which received $495,500 to establish Tasmania’s first net-zero, closed-loop manufacturing and recycling facility for reusable dairy kegs.
Managing director Ed Crick said the grant would allow the company to install Australia’s first electric roto moulding oven, replacing gas-powered manufacturing with hydropower and solar energy.
“Currently the kegs are manufactured using gas, so we’re gonna be able to transition to using the hydropower from Tasmania, as well as assisted by solar here, to manufacture our kegs right here in Perth,” he said.
Crick said the kegs are designed to last 10 to 15 years and can be ground down and remanufactured into new kegs at the end of their life.
Around 70% of the company’s kegs are exported, with clients including Bloomberg, Google and JP Morgan in London.
Davina Gregory-Dunsmuir, acting CEO of the Waste and Resource Recovery Board Tasmania, said the investments were supporting innovation and helping small Tasmanian businesses unlock global potential.
“This is exactly the kind of strategic initiative that helps support small, emerging Tasmanian businesses to really unlock the global potential,” she said.
A full list of successful recipients is available at wrr.tas.gov.au.
