Australian entrepreneur Priyanka Bakaya aims for new recycling facility in Australia by 2019

The fire destroying SKM Recycling facility in Melbourne last year has paved the way Australian entrepreneur Priyanka Bakaya to open a new recycling facility in Victoria within two years.

Bakaya is the founder and chief executive of Renewlogy, a clean energy company which aims to keep plastic out of landfill by converting plastic waste into fuel.

The company has had the financial backing of major US investors including AOL founder and billionaire Steve Case, and venture capital firm Lightspeed Ventures, which has backed Silicon Valley companies including Snapchat.

Renewlogy is working with Melbourne venture capital firm Trimantium Capital to raise a $50 million fund to finance its global expansion.

The company already has a facility operating out of Salt Lake City in Utah, and will have another operational in Canada by next year.

Bakaya, who was speaking to Fairfax Media at last week's Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Hyderabad, India, says they want to work with a local player that provides waste services, to open a facility in Victoria by 2019.

"Renewlogy is currently exploring setting up one of its facilities with Resource Resolution, led by Ian Bertram, in Girgarre, Victoria," she says.

"Resource Resolution is located at the former Heinz Factory site, and they currently accept off-spec food products from various manufacturers.

"The goal for the site is to recover the organics portion through a bio-digester that can send electricity back to the grid, and recover the plastics portion into fuels such as off-road diesel, using Renewlogy's process. Read more