)
In a bid to turn waste into everyday solutions, NSW-based plastics manufacturer Holloway Group has partnered with recycling specialist iQRenew to launch 23 durable recycled-resin products, now rolling out across major retailers, industrial suppliers and councils.
The products, launched under the brand Rawspec, are high-performance materials made entirely from Australian-sourced recycled resin, including post-consumer soft plastics (LDPE) and recycled polypropylene (PP).
LDPE is traditionally difficult to recycle due to its lightweight film structure, which can jam machinery and encounter frequent contamination from food and other waste streams.
Designed and manufactured in Sydney, Rawspec has developed a process to turn hard-to-recycle plastics into durable products at scale.
“For too long, Australians have been told that soft plastics couldn’t be recycled,” said Holloway Group founder and director Matthew Holloway.
“Rawspec proves that’s no longer true, it’s happening now, here in Australia. We’re turning household waste into reliable, high-performance products that people can use every day.”
The partnership began when iQRenew approached Holloway Group with its proprietary soft-plastics resin, developed at its NSW Mid North Coast facility - the first of its kind in Australia.
Holloway then spent 18 to 24 months testing blends of the soft plastics resin with recycled polypropylene to ensure the products were durable, consistent and commercially viable.
“We saw a massive opportunity to bring a range like Rawspec to market and become the first in the industry,” said Holloway.
“This wasn’t a simple substitution; we needed to engineer the right mix of materials so our products would perform as well as virgin plastic equivalents, while remaining 100 per cent Australian-made.”
When Australia’s supermarket soft-plastics scheme fell apart in 2022, the country was left without a mainstream solution for one of its most stubborn waste streams.
According to the ACCC, Australia places around 538,000?tonnes of soft plastics on the market each year. Recycling rates remain extremely low, with only about 6 per cent of soft plastics currently recycled and the vast majority still ending up in landfill.
iQRenew CEO Danial Gallagher noted that the partnership proves that large-scale soft plastics recycling is not only possible but commercially viable.
The iQRenew facility, one of the first of its kind in Australia, now recycles more than double the annual volume once collected through the REDcycle program.
“Australians have been calling for a genuine soft plastics recycling solution,” Gallagher said.
“Through our partnership with Holloway Group, we’ve delivered a new, high-quality material stream that keeps these plastics out of landfill and in circulation, made and used right here at home.”
)
