His Excellency Meaghan Scanlon, Minister of Environment and Great Barrier Reef and Minister of Science and Youth Affairs

According to an innovative pilot program launched by the Queensland Government during the National Recycling Week, scraps of PVC pipes and fittings used in the construction industry can avoid becoming landfills.

Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon stated that the Palaszczuk government has provided US$26,000 to the Master Plumbers Association of Queensland (MPAQ) to support a six-month trial of a construction plastic recycling program.

Ms. Scanlon officially launched the program at Labrador Reece Plumbing Store today.

The program is managed by MPAQ and the Australian Plastics Industry Piping Association (PIPA) in collaboration with Iplex, Reece, Tradelink and Vinidex.

It will use collection bins at seven participating locations in southeast Queensland to provide methods for collecting and recycling PVC scraps, while auditing and recording waste.

"Our vision is to make Queensland a zero-waste society driven by a circular economy-reducing waste, recycling and reusing resources," said Minister Scanlon.

"Initiatives such as the Construction Plastics Recycling Program can play an important role in achieving this goal.

"With a collection station in the southeast, the construction industry will more easily transfer PVC scraps from landfills and recycle them. This is good news for the environment, and it is good for the bottom line of the company and resource recycling." 

Penny Cornah, Executive Director of MPAQ, said that MPAQ and PIPA are very grateful to the Queensland Government for their support of the project.

"We know that PVC can be recycled up to 7 times without significant quality degradation," Ms. Cornah said.

"The pilot has not only promoted the recycling of PVC and the determination of the amount of PVC scraps produced on construction sites, but also raised awareness of the sustainable development advantages and the properties of plastic pipes with a service life of more than 100 years."

"If the plan can finally be implemented in Queensland and Australia, then the benefits are obvious, whether it is the responsible transfer of PVC scrap from landfills to new recyclable long-life pipelines."

Ms. Scanlon said that the construction plastic recycling program is a clear example of the "circular economy" movement.

The participating locations under the plan are:

•Beenleigh Climate Action Center for Plumbing Industry

• Caboolture Hospital

• The Star Casino Site Gold Coast

• Labrador Reece Plumbing Shop

• Highlight the prospect of Parala

• Queen's Wharf Brisbane Development (Towers 1 and 2)

• Woolloongabba Tradelink Store

“Among them, Labrador Reece Plumbing Store and Woollongabba Tradelink Store can accept PVC scraps from other locations, which means that other construction companies themselves can participate in the recycling of their PVC scraps. I encourage them to do so,” Ms. Scanlon said.

To learn more about the construction plastic recycling program and what can and cannot be recycled, please visit www.mpaq.com.au/pvc.

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