Recycling Plastics Australia enters voluntary administration after supplier insolvency

Recycling Plastics Australia Pty Ltd, one of South Australia’s larger plastics recycling businesses, has entered voluntary administration after the insolvency of a major supplier compounded financial pressure on the company and disrupted its planned operations.

Tim Mableson and Ned Swifte of KPMG were appointed voluntary administrators of Recycling Plastics Australia and Blackburn Inwood No.1 Pty Ltd on 31 August under section 436A of the Corporations Act 2001. Blackburn Inwood was appointed both in its own capacity and as trustee for three related trusts. The administrators have assumed control of the companies and are assessing their financial position and operations.

The appointment follows unsuccessful efforts by management and shareholders to recapitalise the business. The directors have identified the recent insolvency of an unnamed major supplier as a significant factor, saying the development created additional uncertainty in an already difficult operating environment and materially affected Recycling Plastics Australia’s ability to proceed with its plans.

The administrators are seeking interest from potential investors or buyers as they consider whether the business can be restructured or recapitalised. They intend to engage with customers, suppliers, employees, government stakeholders and other industry participants while assessing the available options. Around 60 employees work at the company’s Kilburn facility in Adelaide.

Founded in 2017, Recycling Plastics Australia processes mixed plastics into recycled feedstock and has received substantial government backing to expand domestic plastics-processing capacity. In 2021, it was awarded approximately $8.89 million to upgrade its Kilburn operations with mixed-plastics sorting, grinding, washing and pelletising equipment as part of a $25 million project.

The Commonwealth subsequently committed a further $20 million in 2024 through the Recycling Modernisation Fund Plastics Technology stream toward an advanced soft-plastics recycling project at Kilburn. The project was designed to expand the existing operation so it could process both rigid and soft plastics. Government documents contemplated completion by May 2026, but the administration leaves the status of that expansion uncertain, including the extent to which the new facility has been commissioned and how much of the committed government funding has been deployed.