Product Improvement Program evaluation
In January 2018, China’s National Sword Policy drastically limited the sorts of recyclable materials accepted, affecting Australia’s ability to export recovered plastics, paper and cardboard, glass and other solid wastes.
It was estimated that the new policy would affect, on average, 619,000 tonnes of material generated in Australia annually (WMAA), approximately one third of which could be attributed to NSW, which equates to 204,000 tonnes per year.
In response, less than six months later the EPA launched the Product Improvement Program to help support local government and industry to improve NSW’s domestic recycling capability.
Overall, 84,795 tonnes of the recyclable material affected by the National Sword Policy in NSW was redirected by the program's grants, closing the gap created by 42%.
At the close of the program, 108,301 tonnes per annum of additional processing capacity had been installed, with 23,444 tonnes of ‘spare’ annual capacity. With full capacity improvements realised, the program has the potential to bridge the gap of materials impacted by the National Sword Policy by 53%.
Over $9.1 million was awarded to 22 projects to enhance recycling infrastructure and innovation for recycling plastics, paper and cardboard, glass or problem wastes1 in NSW. The variety of grants indicates equity in the assessment process, with grants for different size organisations ranging from $20,000 to $1 million.
"Receiving the grant from NSW EPA gave us the confidence to invest further in infrastructure so we can expand in future."
The aim of the program was to better locally manage the recycled material NSW could no longer export to China by:
- improving the quality of recycled materials produced by materials recovery facilities (MRFs) to better supply local and international markets and reduce the amount of unrecyclable material waste
- increasing the amount of waste materials recycled and divert additional waste from landfill
- increasing the capability and capacity to recover and reprocess waste materials
- increasing the manufacture of products with recycled material
- pursuing innovation to increase recovery of problem wastes.
How was the program evaluated?
Projects ran from 2018 and were all completed by 2023. The program outcomes were evaluated by First Person Consulting between April and July 2024. Documents were reviewed and feedback was obtained from internal staff, technical review committee members, advisory consultants and grantee organisations via interview.
What were the program strengths?
Support from the program has laid a robust foundation for recycling in NSW, and significant potential for continued improvement in the sector.
- Domestic recycling capacity boost: The program supported vital upgrades to NSW’s recycling sector. The program delivered an additional 139,140 tonnes of improved quality, or additional processing or manufacturing of recyclable material per year in NSW.
- Strategic timing: The timing of the program was crucial in addressing challenges from export restrictions on recyclable materials and providing real support for the recycling industry. One of the first states to respond to China’s National Sword Policy (which came into force in January 2018), the program was designed extremely quickly and launched in June 2018, less than six months later.
- Cost effectiveness: The program achieved excellent value for money, leveraging $13 million in co-contributions for $9.1 million awarded, accelerating sector growth.
- Relationship-building: Positive working relationships between NSW EPA and recyclers facilitated smooth delivery and successful completion of projects, as well as a foundation for future collaboration.
- Supporting manufacturers: Through the program, NSW EPA assisted the manufacture of products with recycled content for the first time, including for well-known brands, promoting more widespread use of and boosting markets for recycled materials in Australian manufacturing.
What were the outcomes?
The program significantly bolstered the NSW recycling industry by funding diverse infrastructure and innovation projects across multiple waste streams and processing stages. The program achieved remarkable results that will provide ongoing benefit to NSW.
Key achievement:
- 84,795 tonnes of recyclable material impacted by the National Sword Policy in NSW was improved, re-directed and/or re-managed by program grants, which represents approximately 42% of the material that was originally exported to China.
Other achievements include:
- Improved sorting: The funding saw three Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) upgraded – two smaller regional and one large metropolitan. Key benefits of the upgrades include:
- Contamination rates reduced from up to 14% to 1.4–3.5% (and higher sale prices for sorted materials)
- 46,000 tonnes of higher quality (less contaminated) recyclable material generated
- More than 25,000 tonnes of material diverted from landfill each year
- Reduced landfill fees
- Improved safety and working conditions for staff.
- Advanced processing: Investments increased the capacity to process and reprocess recyclable material in NSW by over 46,000 additional tonnes each year. This included various materials, but especially:
- Over 14,000 tonnes (equivalent to 820,000 wheelie bins)2 of plastic processed for recycling per year
- Over 18,000 tonnes (equivalent to 180,000 wheelie bins) of glass processed for recycling per year
- Boosted manufacturing: These grants enabled more Australian-sourced recycled material to be used in products, including:
- More than 22,000 tonnes (equivalent to 220,000 wheelie bins) of recycled glass manufactured into products
- Over 10,000 tonnes (equivalent to 620,000 wheelie bins) of recycled plastic manufactured into new products
In addition to diverting recyclable waste from landfill, recycling typically saves energy and carbon pollution compared with using virgin materials. For example:
- Using recycled plastic uses ~66% of the energy of new plastic production.2 So, the processing and re-manufacture of plastics supported by the program (24,969 tpa) saves the amount of energy used by over 67,000 NSW homes each year.
The infrastructure improvements and support provided by the funding will provide ongoing benefit to NSW year after year.
Example: Five-fold increase in HDPE plastic processing
With the support of a grant, one company that recycles plastics quintupled their capacity to process food-grade recycled HDPE – the plastic used to make milk, juice and water bottles (soft drink bottles are usually made from PET). With the resulting material, they now make milk bottles with 50% recycled content.
"One of the highest levels of recycled content in a HDPE milk bottle anywhere in the world, so that's been a big success … millions of bottles."
Example: Processing 100% bulk polystyrene
With the support of a grant, one regional council now processes 100% of bulk polystyrene from their local government area and surrounding shires. The expanded polystyrene is turned into the raw material used to manufacture new products.
"The key outcome for us was to reduce material to landfill. We have a finite life left in our landfill and it was a key contributor to landfill space and doesn't break down."
What are the legacies of the program?
The program has laid a solid foundation for the future of recycling in NSW. With ongoing support and innovation, the sector is poised to overcome current challenges and continue its growth and transformation.
- Environmental impact: The program’s initiatives, such as improving recycling infrastructure and reprocessing capabilities, will have lasting effect on reducing landfill and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Economic benefits: By boosting the recycling industry and creating demand for recycled products, the program stimulated an investment of over $13 million by industry and created approximately 65 jobs during the construction phase. These investments in infrastructure and technology will improve waste management efficiency and sustainability.
- Future growth: Capacity is still higher than actual production in some cases, so further improvements are possible in future.
- Market influence: Demonstration that recycled materials can be successfully integrated into mainstream products sets the stage for broader industry adoption.
What did we learn?
The program identified several ongoing challenges across the sector:
- Market development: Stronger end markets for recycled products are needed to ensure sustainable growth and demand.
- Problem waste streams: Priority problem issues such as plastic film, tyres, mattresses, treated timbers, nappies and e-waste require targeted efforts to address. Collaborating with targeted businesses and researchers may help address technical gaps in managing these problem wastes.
Geographic spread of the projects across NSW
