Australia | Leaders in the packaging supply chain have joined forces to further advance a circular economy for plastic packaging in Australia.
Amcor, a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions and Mondelēz International, the company with iconic snack brands Cadbury, The Natural Confectionery Company, Pascall and others, have come together to invest in advanced recycling technology pioneers Licella, in an essential step towards ending plastic waste.
To work towards net-zero packaging waste, Amcor and Mondelēz International have signed investment agreements to help Licella progress with the construction of one of the first advanced recycling facilities in Australia. Licella will use its innovative, Australian-developed Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor (Cat-HTR) technology to recycle end-of-life plastic back into a crude oil substitute suitable to produce new food-grade plastic packaging.
Cat-HTR is an advanced hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) technology that uses hot, pressurised water to continuously recycle end-of-life plastic that would otherwise be sent to landfills.
The new Melbourne facility, Advanced Recycling Victoria (ARV), will initially process approximately 20,000 tonnes per annum of end-of-life plastic, with plans to scale up to 120,000 tonnes per annum. Through Amcor, Mondelēz International will access recycled content from this site to meet much of its Australian soft plastic packaging needs, significantly reducing its need for virgin plastic in Australia.
CEO of Licella, Dr Len Humphreys, said this kind of leadership from industry is needed to help bring Australia closer to more sustainable plastic waste solutions that deliver economic and environmental benefits.
According to the President of Amcor Flexibles Asia Pacific, Mike Cash, Amcor will meet increasing customer demand for recycled content in the region with this investment and take another step closer to achieving its target of 30 percent recycled content across Amcor's portfolio by 2030.
Customers and consumers are increasingly looking to their favourite brands to offer sustainably packaged solutions, but it's also the right thing to do.
According to Darren O'Brien, President of Mondelēz Australia, New Zealand and Japan, the company is committed to taking the lead and responding to its consumers who want their soft plastic wrappers to be recycled repeatedly.
"We set new ground when we sourced the equivalent of 30 per cent recycled content for our Cadbury family blocks, but our ambitions are much greater than this," said O'Brien.
He continued that Mondelēz was on a mission to become the most sustainable snacking company in Australia and New Zealand, and by collaborating with peers and investing in better systems at scale, it's making its business more resilient while creating long-term value for the country and world at large.
