Mondelez to invest in Australian plastic recycling plant

Mondelez International has invested in a recycling technology business in Australia, alongside packaging manufacturer Amcor.

The Oreo and Milka brands owner has partnered with the Switzerland-headquartered Amcor to invest an undisclosed amount into Licella, which will build one of the first “advanced recycling” facilities in the country.

Based in Sydney, Licella developed the patented Catalytic Hydrothermal Reactor (Cat-HTR) platform. The Cat-HTR is a hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) technology – the next generation of advanced recycling, according to Mondelez.

HTL chemically transforms a range of waste plastics into “a high-quality oil, a direct substitute for fossil oil”, the snacks giant. In doing so, it allows a circular economy for plastic that would otherwise go to landfill and helps drive towards net zero carbon.

The new facility, called Advanced Recycling Victoria, is anticipated to initially process about 20,000 tonnes per year of end-of-life plastic, with plans to scale up to 120,000 tonnes per year.

Through Amcor, Mondelez expects to have access to recycled content from the site to meet much of its Australian soft plastic packaging needs, reducing its need for virgin plastic in Australia.

By 2025, Mondelez wants all of its packaging to designed to be recyclable. It is targeting a 5% reduction in its use of virgin plastic and a 25% cut in virgin rigid plastic by the same, compared to a 2020 baseline.

Just Food