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Queensland recycling plant focuses on glass, waste aggregate - Australian Manufacturing Forum

Staff Reporter

2–3 minutes

A recycling plant at Caboolture, Queensland is turning glass bottles and polystyrene into building materials and next year will go further and begin producing masonry blocks from waste aggregate, removing quarried materials from the process.

Queensland State Development Minister Grace Grace visited the Casafico operation at Caboolture which was backed by a $175,000 Queensland and federal government investment through the Recycling Modernisation Fund.

The initial stages of operation will divert 653 tonnes of waste from landfill while creating products for the building industry and delivering 12 jobs.

The Managing Director of Casafico Queensland Riccardo Mucci said the company was thrilled to have been able to establish its mixed recycling plant thanks to Commonwealth and State government investment.

Mucci said: “Our Vetro Uno product is suitable for use in both commercial and residential buildings, and this facility’s front wall is made from it.

“We’re glad our facility is not only diverting waste from landfill, but also helping create jobs and boost the Queensland economy.”

Queensland has plans to recover 80 per cent of all waste and achieve 65 per cent recycling rates across all waste types by 2030.

Casafico’s new mixed recycling plant is producing Vetro Uno, a rendering product made from 66 percent recycled glass, which replaces virgin sand.

By the end of July, the plant will start turning polystyrene into a levelling coat which finishes a building surface before rendering.

By mid 2025, Casafico will also be producing their Tecoblock masonry building blocks (pictured) from mixed waste.

The Assistant Minister for Regional Development Senator Anthony Chisholm said: “We’re backing 24 proposed recycling projects across Queensland, which will create 740 jobs and process an extra 364,000 tonnes of waste.