A $12.4 million support package will be put in place for South Australia's recycling industry in response to China's crackdown on taking recyclable material.
The package includes a $5 million loan scheme for projects to increase local processing and $5.8 million in grants to maintain and build on SA's reprocessing infrastructure to handle paper, cardboard, glass, and plastics.
About $800,000 will also be spent on an education campaign to maintain the community's faith in the recycling process and help to reduce contamination levels.
The package is a response to China's National Sword Policy to stringently enforce restrictions on imports of recyclable material resulting in a sharp cut in the amount taken from Australia.
Environment Minister David Speirs says the government has developed a range of measures to foster industry investment in re-manufacturing and local re-use, as well as improved sorting and processing to enhance the quality of recovered materials.
"Since China's policy began the state government has been consulting with key stakeholders to develop this package, which aligns with the recent announcement by ministers at a national level," he said.
"While China's National Sword Policy is a major disruptor to the sector there is also a significant opportunity to drive structural changes to enable a robust and sustainable recycling industry."
The Waste Management Association of Australia welcomed SA's action to transition to new markets for recycled products.
"The importance of this transition has long been recognised by our sector, but following China's National Sword announcements, the need for rapid change has been underlined in a thick black pen," association chief executive Gayle Sloan said.
"It is vital that industry receives funds to improve technology and capacity to process recyclables that previously would have gone elsewhere."
