Hamilton waste innovator saveBOARD opens Tetra Pak recyling facility in Sydney

From left: Paul Charteris (saveBOARD), Kathy Giunta (director of Circular Economy Programs, NSW EPA), Nathaniel Smith (MP for Wollondilly), Matt Gould (mayor of Wollondilly Shire Council) and Andrew Pooch (Tetra Pak Australia and New Zealand). Photo / Supplied

Hamilton-based packaging waste innovator saveBOARD just opened a special recycling facility in Warragamba, Australia, west of Sydney.

Following the model of its Hamilton plant in Te Rapa, the new Australian facility turns beverage carton packaging waste like Tetra Pak containers and coffee cups into sustainable building materials saving soft plastics and mixed fibre from landfill.

It is Australia’s first beverage carton recycling facility which can process up to 4000 tonnes of used materials each year and employs up to 12 local staff to operate the plant.

SaveBOARD chief executive and co-founder Paul Charteris says the new $5.5 million facility supports the circular economy and has a positive impact on the environment and climate change.

“This facility will enhance the construction industry’s drive towards more sustainable construction practices, while also showing consumers the importance and value in recycling and opting for recyclable products in their day-to-day lives,” Charteris says.

SaveBOARD, which opened its first New Zealand recycling facility in Te Rapa in June last year, has the Asian Pacific distribution rights for waste-to-building material technology developed in the United States where it has been widely used for more than a decade.

Australia's first saveBOARD facility is located in Warragamba, near Sydney. Photo / Supplied

The Hamilton and Australian plants produce an alternative to conventional plasterboard, plywood or particle board by reprocessing liquid paperboard beverage containers, including aluminium-lined aseptic packages and non-aluminium-lined containers together with material from industrial processes.

The saveBOARD process uses heat and compression to bond the materials together which eliminates the need for glues or other chemical additives. This building material is 100 per cent recyclable as it is possible to recover the offcuts and end-of-life boards to remanufacture them into new board products.

The Hamilton facility has a maximum production capacity of 200,000 construction boards a year and diverts a total of over 1000 tonnes of waste (Tetra Pak, soft plastics, mixed fibre) from landfill.

SaveBOARD products have so far been used in Kāinga Ora housing projects, as a feature wall in Contact Energy’s corporate head office in Wellington, as construction hoardings by Auckland building company Naylor Love, in Woolworths Australia stores, and in KFC Australia takeaway outlets.

SaveBOARD chief executive Paul Charteris shows off the building material made from recycled beverage carton packaging. Photo / Supplied

The Australian facility was supported by the Australian Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund and the New South Wales State Government’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative.

Managing director of Tetra Pak Australia and New Zealand, Andrew Pooch, says he was “incredibly proud” to be part of the sustainability journey as the company looks at more innovative ways to convert carton packaging waste into “useful applications” and contribute to a strong circular economy.

“This is part of our ongoing sustainability commitment, as we look to enable more packaging to become 100 per cent recyclable or reusable, in line with the 2025 National Packaging Targets,” Pooch says.

“By partnering with saveBOARD, we’re showing that innovation in recycling comes in many forms, and consumers can see first-hand how they can contribute to a more sustainable future.”

The new Australian beverage carton packaging recycling facility. Photo / Supplied

SaveBOARD is quickly gaining support across the ditch as the Victorian State Government already contributed $1 million for a second Australian saveBOARD facility in Campbellfield, Melbourne, which is set to open in late 2024.

The Australian plant is a collaboration between Tetra Pak and SIG Combibloc in Australia under the umbrella of the Global Recycling Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (GRACE). It is also a joint initiative with saveBOARD and its supporters Freightways and Closed Loop.

To find out more about saveBOARD visit their website.