One of Australia’s biggest paper recycling facilities will be built in South East Queensland with plans to turn 220,000 tonnes of waste paper and cardboard from across Queensland and northern New South Wales into pulp annually for export.

The Federal and Queensland Governments have partnered with Brisbane-based national company AusWaste Recycling to build a $137 million waste paper recycling facility at Brendale.

The Australian Recycled Pulp and Paper Project (ARPPP) is supported by a joint investment of $40 million from the Commonwealth and state Labor governments through the Recycling Modernisation Fund. Industry is also playing a key role, contributing $97 million to the total project cost.

Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, said the new facility will supercharge recycling in Queensland.

“It means that paper and cardboard waste, like egg cartons and cereal boxes, can be sorted and processed in Queensland.

“And this is just one of 24 recycling projects that we are funding across Queensland. These projects are creating 740 jobs and will process an extra 364,000 tonnes of waste. That’s the equivalent to over 27 Story Bridges of waste being kept out of landfill every year.”

The ARPPP will process waste including used packaging, newspaper, coffee cups, milk cartons and office paper into value-added paper pulp for paper mills. 

Queensland Acting Premier and Minister for State Development, Steven Miles, said the ARPPP is waste-paper processing and recycling on a scale never before seen in Queensland.

“By working with industry, we’re boosting local manufacturing and exports by turning waste paper into a valued resource that’s in demand globally by paper mills who rely on recycled inputs.

Construction of the ARPPP is expected to begin in mid 2024 and be completed in mid 2025. This funding is part of a $1 billion boost to recycling infrastructure that will add over one million tonnes of processing capacity across the country every year, keeping valuable materials out of landfill while supporting new jobs.

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