• Pact Group bills itself as the largest post-consumer resin recycler in the Southern Hemisphere. (Image: Pact Group)
    Pact Group bills itself as the largest post-consumer resin recycler in the Southern Hemisphere. (Image: Pact Group)
Close×

Astron, Pact Group’s sustainability division, has been accepted into the top tier of membership at the Australian Council of Recycling.

Astron bills itself as the Southern Hemisphere’s largest recycler of post-industrial plastic, and supplies recycled resin to the broader Pact Group for food grade, non-food grade, and industrial applications.

According to Andrew Smith, general manager of Astron, the need for partnership and collaboration in the recycling industry is crucial, and he is pleased at Astron’s acceptance as a Platinum Member of ACOR.

“It’s a message to our stakeholders – customers, government, supply chain partners and consumers that we are strong believers in recycled content manufacturing here in Australia and want to work with all of them to achieve the best results in this growing area.

“We know our customers are increasingly looking to include locally sourced, post-consumer resin in food-grade packaging and we are proud to be rapidly expanding our capacity. It is an exciting time to be involved in this industry,” said Smith.

Peter Tamblyn, president of ACOR, said Astron has a strong commitment to the circular economy, with plants in Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, and a team of more than 350 employees.

“ACOR is serious about providing innovative solutions to grow Australia’s domestic recycling and reuse industry, and that’s why it’s exciting to welcome Astron as our 8th Platinum Member.

“Astron’s innovation and leadership in plastic resin recycling and manufacturing is a perfect fit for ACOR. We are committed to increasing the use of recycled content in the manufacture of new products, and so is Astron,” said Tamblyn.

Food & Drink Business

Entries are now open for the annual Melbourne Royal Australian Food Awards. Open to commercial food producers of all sizes, it is one of the largest programs of its kind. 

Victorian brewery, Bodriggy Brewing Co, is the first brewery in the state to achieve carbon-neutral certification and only the second in Australia to do so. The independent Abbotsford-based brewery achieved certification under the federal government’s Climate Active program.

According to Rabobank data, Australian consumers are facing higher chocolate prices heading into Easter, with retail chocolate prices up 8.8 per cent on the previous year as global cocoa prices soar.