As Victoria struggles to manage its kerbside recycling, a sustainable recycling glass plant has switched on its machines to make up to 800 tonnes of high-grade sand a day.
The glass recycling plant has begun operation in Laverton North alongside a high recycled technology asphalt plant at Alex Fraser's latest $20 million integrated hub.
The company is able to produce construction sand from about four million bottles at the plant, even after the glass has been mixed with other recyclable materials.
Alex Fraser managing director Peter Murphy said the plant could separate glass from impurities, and process it into recycled sand to comply with VicRoads specifications.
"Our new glass recycling plant is capable of producing 200,000 tonnes of recycled glass sand per year - equivalent to a billion bottles; effectively putting an end to glass waste stockpiles and landfill in Victoria," he said in a statement on Friday for its official launch.
While the other plant can produce half a million tonnes of sustainable asphalt per year and is already supplying to major projects across the state.
"This energy efficient plant is capable of producing high-quality asphalt mixes, made almost entirely of recycled materials," he said.
It's hoped the hub will help tackle Australia's recycling crisis which forced local councils to send recycling to local landfill after China stopped accepting foreign waste last year.
Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings called for Infrastructure Victoria to see what is needed to develop waste-to-energy projects and resource recovery from organic waste, late last month.
The request came after the discovery of a dozen illegal waste sites in Melbourne's north and toxic factory fires involving waste stockpiles.
The fires sparked a parliamentary inquiry, which in May was told four illegal waste storage sites found in Melbourne were run by Bradbury Industrial Services.
