Mackay Regional Council first to use Polyrok in Qld
Mackay Regional Council has become the first organisation in Queensland to use Polyrok. Council recently conducted a test pour on Thursday, March 10. Polyrok aggregate is made from recycled soft plastic and is incorporated into concrete in place of mineral aggregate.
Using state-of-the art technology, Replas has developed the Polyrok product in conjunction with RMIT using the soft plastics placed in REDcycle bins located outside Coles and Woolworths supermarkets.
The Wonder Recycling Rewards program has donated three and a half tonnes of Polyrok to use in future community infrastructure projects, which focus on children. This Polyrok was made using bread bags collected by school children in 2021.
Christine Fung, Head of Marketing and Category for Goodman Fielder Australia commented, “Across the Wonder Recycling Rewards Program, over 1000 schools, including Walkerston State School, which is located in Mackay Regional Council, helped to collect more than 6,036 kilograms of soft plastics in 2021; the equivalent to 1.7million bread bags that might otherwise have ended up in landfill.
These soft plastics have been used to create Replas play equipment and Polyrok. We are excited to work with Mackay Regional Council on creating a circular economy, which benefits the local environment and community.”
Mackay Regional Council Mayor Greg Williamson said this was a significant coup for council as it looks to drive toward a sustainable future.
“Polyrok is a great end use for soft plastics that would otherwise go to landfill or end up in our oceans. These three and a half tonnes of Polyrok represent 830,000 plastic bags,” Mayor Williamson said.
Mayor Williamson congratulated the students at Walkerston State School who collected plastic bread bags in 2021 as part of Goodman Fielder’s “Wonder Recycling Rewards”.
“Every bag that our community can collect in programs like this one, and at the REDcycle collection points, means fewer soft plastics go to our Materials Recovery Facility, where they need to be separated out, creating processing delays and increasing our landfill costs.
“Walkerston State School students have done a commendable job in being a part of the solution for soft plastic waste,” he said.
Mackay Regional Council was awarded the lion’s share of the original 6.4 tonnes of Polyrok on offer given Mackay’s significance as a turtle breeding location.
“As a council, we are committed to being a reef guardian, and by using this amazing product we are able to play a role in reducing the number of plastics that are ending up in our oceans and causing harm to our turtles,” Mayor Williamson said.
For information on registering for the Wonder Recycling Rewards in 2022 visit https://wonder.com.au/
The video of the Mackay Regional Council Mayor, Greg Williamson and students at Walkerston State School is here.