The Queensland government has launched the $10 million ReMade in Queensland (ReMiQ) program, which will help local manufacturers recover, recycle, and reprocess more sustainable products.
Local manufacturers can receive funding between $50,000 and $2.5 million to spearhead projects that increase the reuse of existing recycled material streams in manufacturing or enable diversification to remanufacture new waste streams.
The program is part of the state government’s $1.1 billion Recycling and Jobs Fund and will serve as a targeted round of the Made in Queensland program.
ReMiQ aims to aid local small to medium-sized manufacturing and recycling businesses in adopting remanufacturing processes that reduce waste and energy costs, reuse materials that might otherwise end up in landfills and convert the materials into new manufactured goods.
The ReMiQ program is expected to drive the manufacturing sector’s delivery on the Queensland Government’s Waste Management and Resource Recovery Strategy, which aims to recover 80 per cent of all waste and achieve 65 per cent recycling tastes across all waste types by 2030.
“A circular economy maximises the value of our products and materials by reducing waste and pollution, reducing precious materials going to landfill, and mitigating greenhouse gas and carbon emissions,” said Acting Minister for the Environment and Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Innovation Grace Grace
“By assisting manufacturers recover, recycle and reprocess materials into more sustainable products, ReMade in Queensland is another significant step towards a circular economy for our great state,” she added.
Direct investment in businesses through the implementation of modern advanced technologies and processes will also help create the manufacturing jobs of the future, the Queensland government said in a media release.
“These grants build on our Government’s investment in Made in Queensland grants, Manufacturing Hubs Grants and Manufacturing Energy Efficiency Grants. This means local Queensland businesses are benefiting from more than $145 million in direct investment from this Government. Importantly, our investments in these programs have created and supported more than 7000 jobs across Queensland,” Minister for Manufacturing Glenn Butcher.
The ReMiQ program will accept expressions of interest from Queensland companies from 16 January to 19 February.
Guidelines are now available on the Department of Regional Development, Manufacturing and Water’s website.
