Australia Plastic Recycling Market Size, Share, By Recycling Process (Mechanical Recycling, Chemical Recycling, And Biodegradable), By Application (Packaging, Building & Construction, Automotive & Transportation, Electrical & Electronics, Textiles, And Others), And Australia Plastic Recycling Market Insights, Industry Trend, Forecasts to 2035.

Australia Plastic Recycling Market Insights Forecasts to 2035

• Australia Plastic Recycling Market Size 2024:  3.32 Million Tonnes
• Australia Plastic Recycling Market Size 2035:  4.73 Million Tonnes
• Australia Plastic Recycling Market CAGR 2024: 3.27%
• Australia Plastic Recycling Market Segments: Recycling Process and Application

Australia plastic recycling market includes all the economic activities related to collecting, sorting, processing, and reusing plastic waste that has been created from residential, commercial, or industrial sources throughout Australia. The plastic recycling market involves both mechanical and chemical processes to recycle plastic waste into raw materials that can be developed into finished goods such as construction materials, packages, clothing, etc. Environmental consciousness and increased regulation are driving demand for plastic recycling, and spurring the desire to create a circular economy with plastic products.

The plastic recycling in Australia are backed by government support, including the Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) and associated programs under the National Plastics Plan, which together aim to stimulate investment in recycling infrastructure and technologies across the country. About 13% of plastic waste consumed in Australia was recycled in 2023-24, despite rising awareness and infrastructure growth. This recycling rate highlights the significant gap between plastic consumption and material recovery, and underscores the urgency behind policy and investment efforts to strengthen recycling systems.

As technology advances, Australia’s plastic recycling providers are now using technologies to recycle more efficiently using technology including advanced sorting and automated processing systems such as artificial intelligence systems. Exploring mechanical and chemical recycling solutions for complex and mixed types of plastics is a very important step towards ensuring all plastics are diverted from landfills and put back into use through recycling. Among other things, these new technologies will help improve the quantity and quality of the materials collected during recycling operations so they can be used in new applications such as creating food-grade recycled plastic and producing closed loop packaging systems.

Market Dynamics of the Australia Plastic Recycling Market:

The Australia plastic recycling market is driven by the rapid urbanization, rising disposable income, stringent regulatory frameworks, increased plastic recycling technologies, higher recycling rates and reduction of single-use plastics, increased corporate responsibility under government plans, expanding domestic recycling capacity, rising environmental awareness among consumers and businesses, rising investment in recycling infrastructure and innovation further propel the market growth.

The Australia plastic recycling market is restrained by the complicate sorting and recycling processes, reducing efficiency and profitability, limitations in recycling capacity for certain plastics, inconsistencies in data reporting and measurement of recycling rates, and high cost of adopting advanced recycling technologies.

The future of Australia plastic recycling market is bright and promising, with versatile opportunities emerging from increasing the recycling capacity for domestic materials, especially those that are currently difficult to recycle such as soft plastics, as well as advancing new technology such as chemical recycling, will greatly increase the number of materials and their applications available for products. Improving policies such as extended producer accountability would provide businesses with stable sources of recycled resin; integrating formal systems with community-based collection would create economic benefits and encourage more recycling within the country as well as globally.

Market Segmentation

The Australia plastic recycling market share is classified into recycling process and application.

By Recycling Process:

The Australia plastic recycling market is divided by recycling process into mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, and biodegradable. Among these, the polyethylene terephthalate segment held the largest revenue market share in 2024 and is predicted to grow at a remarkable CAGR during the forecast period. established infrastructure, cost-effectiveness, high efficiency plastics, well established infrastructure, lower environmental impact, and demand for sustainable materials in packaging drive its adoption, all contribute to the mechanical recycling segment's largest share and higher spending on plastic recycling when compared to other recycling process.

By Application:

The Australia plastic recycling market is divided by application into packaging, building & construction, automotive & transportation, electrical & electronics, textiles, and others. Among these, the packaging segment dominated the share in 2024 and is anticipated to grow at a remarkable CAGR during the forecast period. The packaging segment dominates because of high volume of single-use plastics from the food sectors, strict government regulations, and growing consumer demand for sustainable and circular packaging solutions in Australia.

Competitive Analysis:

The report offers the appropriate analysis of the key organisations/companies involved within the Australia plastic recycling market, along with a comparative evaluation primarily based on their product offering, business overviews, geographic presence, enterprise strategies, segment market share, and SWOT analysis. The report also provides an elaborative analysis focusing on the current news and developments of the companies, which includes product development, innovations, joint ventures, partnerships, mergers & acquisitions, strategic alliances, and others. This allows for the evaluation of the overall competition within the market.

Top Key Companies in Australia Plastic Recycling Market:

• Cleanaway Waste Management Limited
• Visy Industries Australia Pty Ltd.
• Pack Group Holdings Ltd.
• Orora Packaging Australia Pty Ltd.
• Amcor plc
• Re.Group
• Pro-Pac Packaging Ltd.
• Ace Recycling Group Pty Ltd.
• Australian Recycled Plastics Pty Ltd.
• Detmold Group
• Australia Sunlight Group Pty Ltd.
• Bingo Industries
• Austsing Enterprise Pty. Ltd.
• Defy Design
• Circular Seed
• Others

Recent Developments in Australia Plastic Recycling Market:

In December 2025, iQRenew & Coles/Woolworths Soft Plastic Facility, Australia’s first large-scale soft plastics recycling facility officially opened on the NSW Mid North Coast to process household soft plastics collected through new supermarket trials.

In July 2024, the federal government announced a $20 million investment in a new state-of-the-art soft plastic recycling facility in Kilburn, South Australia. Led by Recycling Plastics Australia, the plant was designed to handle the post-REDcycle surge in soft plastic waste.

Key Target Audience

• Market Players
• Investors
• End-users
• Government Authorities 
• Consulting and Research Firm
• Venture capitalists
• Value-Added Resellers (VARs)

Market Segment

This study forecasts revenue at the Australia, regional, and country levels from 2020 to 2035. Decisions Advisors has segmented the Australia plastic recycling market based on the below-mentioned segments:

Australia Plastic Recycling Market, By Recycling Process

• Mechanical Recycling
• Chemical Recycling
• Biodegradable

Australia Plastic Recycling Market, By Application

• Packaging
• Building & Construction
• Automotive & Transportation
• Electrical & Electronics
• Textiles
• Others