B & C Plastics to generate additional $10m in annual revenue by recycling

A Queensland couple in the plastics manufacturing sector have pivoted their business towards recycling and the circular economy and it’s paying off for them financially.

THE couple behind a growing plastics manufacturing business are ramping their focus on the circular economy with recycling of the much maligned product taking up an increasingly larger part of their operation.

B & C Plastics chief executive Royston Kent, who owns to the Meadowbrook-based company with wife Wendy, said about four years ago they set a goal to become the “go-to manufacturer” for recycling/circular economy.

A 30-year veteran of the plastics industry, Mr Kent said recycling now represented 20 per cent of their business and was set to grow exponentially over the next five years.

“Forecasts for the next five years show us recycling in excess of 5500 tonnes of landfill-bound products and manufacturing circular industry products, generating an additional $10m per annum of revenue,” he said.

Wendy Kent said green business solutions were a “passion” for the couple.

“We love being outdoors and in the environments and we have a real passion for looking after the environment,” she said.

“Every time a truck goes out and it’s full of recycled components I feel amazing.”

Originally from the UK, Mr and Ms Kent, who first met at school when they were 16, arrived in Australia in 1998 and bought B & C Plastics 16 years ago.

Mr Kent admits it has been a learning experience.

“When we started the business we had very little to no business acumen to be completely honest. We thought it was a good idea and some people said we had entrepreneurial flair so we took the plunge,” he said.

“It’s taken a number of years too build that acumen and we’re still learning.”

Wendy and Royston Kent, co-owners of B & C Plastics at their Meadowbrook factory.

The award-winning company is a plastic injection moulding business with a design-led innovation framework working on product development, industrial design, prototyping, 3D printing, CNC machining, manufacturing and 3PL distribution, including assembly.

The company’s client list reads like a who’s who of Australian business and includes

Virgin Australia, Telstra, Lendlease, Jetstar as well as those in the medical and defence industry.

Currently about 80 per cent of their customers require products made from virgin polymer and engineering grades of plastic materials.

“When we do this we apply our design for end-of-life philosophy to the product and know how the material could be recovered and what it could be manufactured from it at the end of life,” Mr Kent said.

On the recycling side of the business a major shift for B & C Plastics came when they became part of the paint pail Project Earth pilot.

In conjunction with Dulux paint pails were collected, wire handles are removed and recycled, then the pail is chipped and shredded into a pellet compound, which is put into an injection moulding machine and heat is used to create a paint tray.

Mr Kent said the pilot came just when the business had a strategic shift to attract more customers committed to a circular economy.

“Dulux came to us with a waste stream which they wanted to divert form landfill. We didn’t have the answers straight away but we started the research and development journey,” he said.

“To be able to divert potentially thousands of tons of plastic from landfill, and design and develop new products is true circular economy, developing a product which can be used in the same industry.

“It’s allowed us to be very specific on who we are as a business. We want to be 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.”

Plastic buckets read for recycling.

Mr Kent said every week they were being contacted by businesses of all sizes focused on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) strategies.

“We’re helping businesses understand that their waste streams should be recognised as a value stream and that is commercially viable with the right collaborative partnerships,” he said.

“The next few years is going to be an interesting journey. We see recycled material becoming a real commodity. 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.”

Recycling plastics is not the only financially sound green business practise the company indulges in.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland’s ecoBiz program helped them to increase efficiencies and save money on water, waste and energy.

Wendy Kent said the business accessed the program in 2019, helping them to cut water and energy use by 10 per cent and waste by 45 per cent within the first year.

“It all started with data and the last 12 months of bills – water and electricity consumption as well as waste,” she said.

“Based on that we had a coaching session and were given some ideas on how we could cut down which is invaluable for a business. “We’ve saved a lot of money, which obviously is a good thing and we’ve saved so much waste going into landfill. We’ve cut down on our power and water so it’s an incredible journey we’ve been on with ecoBiz.