B & C Plastics bringing the circular economy to life - Featured in INQLD

Tens of thousands of plastic paint pails destined for landfill have been recycled into new products designed for the original consumer, with a Brisbane business leading a ‘true circular economy’. Project Earth is just the beginning of what Meadowbrook’s B & C Plastics owners Royston and Wendy Kent expect will drive the future of plastic circular economy in Australia. In conjunction with Dulux, the Project Earth pilot has diverted tens of thousands of plastic paint pails from landfill.  

 “There has to be commercial viability but where we can embrace the circular economy, it makes sense to,” he said. “Most people want to do the right thing and as a business we’re asking questions about how and where we can do things sustainably. We need to use plastics day-to-day but when we do, we focus on how we can make a positive impact using the circular economy, starting with the design, development and manufacture using recycled plastic.” 

“It’s allowed us to be very specific on who we are as a business. We are the go-to company for design and development, but also circular economy products from a post-consumer or post-industrial waste stream.”

“The project has helped define who we are.”

 Dulux Trade Commercial Sustainability Manager Mark Taylor said some businesses could spend up to $180,000 a year to dispose of plastic Duluxpaint containers with large construction companies using up to 40,000 containers per project.

“We created a lot of plastic waste,” Mr. Taylor said. “Sustainability is one of our core values and this project has allowed us to divert waste from landfill and not only save the customer significant amounts of money but turn that pail into something we can sell.”

“The next few years is going to be an interesting journey. We see recycled material becoming a real commodity,” he said. “I feel we will become the partner of choice, the company people look to when they want to improve the value chain. Manufacturing locally adds real value.”

 “We’re really proud of the amount of work we’re doing at the moment in the sustainability space. That’s really exciting for us, something we’re passionate about and believe in strongly.”