Recycling Plastics Australia enters voluntary administration

Recycling Plastics Australia has entered voluntary administration, jeopardizing 60 jobs in Adelaide and a US$40 million government-backed soft plastics recycling project. The Kilburn-based company, which processes mixed rigid plastics into feedstock, appointed KPMG administrators on 31 August 2026.

The collapse threatens an advanced mechanical recycling facility designed to handle 14,000 tonnes of soft plastics annually. This project had received A$20 million from the Australian Government in July 2024 via the Recycling Modernisation Fund.

Industry leaders have attributed the collapse to failed national packaging reforms. Suzanne Toumbourou, CEO of the Australian Council of Recycling, stated that the administration reflects a year of warnings regarding the unsustainable financial trajectory of the plastics recycling sector. The Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia described the event as an ‘inflection point’ for the industry.