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The resilient floorcovering market in Australia has grown steadily over the last two decades, driven by a demand for economical, versatile and innovative design as well as durable flooring solutions, particularly new products such as Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT) and Hybrid or rigid core products.
Australia today consumes over 29 million square metres of resilient floorcovering products each year, the vast majority manufactured offshore and imported into the country. Managing end-of-life resilient flooring materials domestically is challenging, with most product ending up in landfills. Nevertheless, there is growing recognition that a resilient industry is one that upholds its social licence to operate— that is, it meets the long-term approval of the supply chain, government, customers and the public. Members of the ResiLoop scheme recognise the need to meet expectations beyond product functionality and aesthetics, including sustainability performance and contributing to a circular economy. Advancing a circular economy for resilient flooring products means not only improving how we source raw materials and manufacture the products — aspects well covered by third party ecolabel schemes such as Best Practice PVC, Global Green Tag and GECA — it also means retaining resources in productive use for as long as possible. This means improving upfront product design to enable long service life, repairability, reuse or repurposing, and ultimately, recyclability. It is about moving away from a linear “take-make-waste” approach in the industry to thinking about — and taking responsibility for — a wholistic, circular system where ‘waste’ is virtually designed out and parties along the supply chain collaborate to retain resources in use, reduce their environmental footprint and optimise value. |
"By investing in a unified industry scheme and leveraging consolidated R&D efforts, we can drive meaningful change while simplifying waste management for installers, specifiers, and builders" Matthew Schipano Signature Floors |
How the Scheme Came About
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The Australian Government has sought to implement policies to design out waste and pollution, keep materials in use and foster markets to achieve a circular economy by 2030. This has included policies to stimulate research and investment to expand Australia’s capacity to sort, process and remanufacture key recycled materials as well as regulations to restrict certain waste exports including plastics.
To advance its industry sustainability strategy, in early 2022, the Australian Resilient Flooring Association (ARFA) was awarded a grant from the Australian Government through the National Product Stewardship Investment Fund (NPSIF) to develop a product stewardship scheme for resilient flooring. Over the course of a year, ResiLoop conducted a series of activities that included proof of concept trials, business model development, global industry consultations, and literature reviews. This informed the design of the scheme which was released to stakeholders on 31 May, 2023. For more information about the formation of the scheme, please visit our Resources Hub to see our Scheme Design Reports |
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Funding
The Scheme is funded by a product levy applied to the below categories of Our Members ’ resilient flooring products.
The levy is designed to be passed through the value chain, with the end consumer ultimately paying it as part of the installed flooring price. The levy amount has been calculated to represent a low-cost impact for the consumer. The funding raised through the levy supports the management of material collections for recycling, industry engagement and our research and development efforts to explore additional opportunities for utilising this valuable material, traditionally considered waste. This funding enables us to increase the volume of waste we can recycle by identifying more end uses for our materials and expanding our collection services to other states. |
If all the floors of the average-sized new home in Australia were fully covered in ResiLoop Member products, the levy would add just $21 to the cost*. Yet it makes a real difference to the scale of recycling we can achieve. *Based on 232.3 sqm being the average size of new homes in Australia, per Australian Bureau of Statistics data (2021-22). |
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Governance
ResiLoop Limited is incorporated as a not-for-profit public company limited by guarantee. ResiLoop's management and operations are governed by an elected Board of Directors and a Constitution.
Our Board Our board consists of both elected representatives from ResiLoop Members and independent directors. The Member representatives bring a wealth of experience and expertise from within the flooring industry. Their deep understanding of the sector, along with their strong commitment to advancing sustainable practices, ensures that ResiLoop remains at the forefront of circular economy initiatives. In addition, independent directors with specialised knowledge in related fields such as supply chain management. sustainability, and innovation contribute a broader perspective. The Board's collective expertise guides ResiLoop through complex challenges and drives our strategic objectives. Learn more about our Board of Directors here Our People Our Advisory Panel Our Advisory Panel is composed of 12 experts in waste recovery, logistics, recycling, local manufacturing, the circular economy, material science/chemistry, stakeholder engagement, and consumer behaviour change. This collaboration provides vital guidance to the Board on strategic and practical solutions to shape our efforts to address floor covering waste in Australia. Their expert input may cover aspects such as
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Supported by leading suppliers
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Contact: [email protected][email protected]
1.02 Junction Business Centre, 22 St Kilda Rd, St Kilda VIC 3182 ABN 90 670 562 795