Partnerships Power Australia’s PFAS Turnaround

A new PFAS alliance brings real treatment scale to Australia and raises pressure for broader industry action

2 Apr 2025

Australia is entering a new phase in its response to PFAS contamination as a partnership between Environmental Group and Reclaim Waste begins operating one of the country’s first large-scale treatment pathways for PFAS-affected liquids.

The collaboration centres on a newly approved facility in Laverton, where Reclaim Waste has started using Environmental Group’s treatment system after receiving clearance from Victoria’s environmental regulator. The approval is viewed by industry participants as an important step in a sector long slowed by technical hurdles and protracted licensing processes.

Environmental Group is supplying the core technology, while Reclaim Waste is providing the operating capacity needed to handle higher volumes. Their combined model offers councils and private operators a commercially viable option at a time when compliance demands and public concerns over PFAS management continue to rise. The development also comes as scrutiny of PFAS, a group of persistent chemicals used in industrial and consumer products, gains momentum globally.

Other companies, including EPOC Enviro, are advancing their own treatment methods, adding competition to an expanding market. But Environmental Group and Reclaim Waste currently stand out because their system is already running at scale. According to one waste-sector executive, technology matters, but “timing often determines which innovations shape the market”.

Despite the progress, gaps remain across the broader cleanup chain. Australia still has limited access to destruction technologies that can deal with PFAS once it has been extracted from liquids. Analysts also expect future standards to become more stringent as scientific understanding evolves and international benchmarks tighten.

Even so, the momentum at Laverton is easing concerns within the industry and signalling that commercial treatment is moving beyond pilot projects. The facility’s operation is being watched closely by regulators and competitors assessing whether similar models could be replicated elsewhere in the country.

With public pressure increasing and environmental expectations rising, more companies are expected to pursue partnerships that combine technology and operational scale. If current trends continue, the sector may be heading towards a period of faster deployment, driven by a mix of innovation, regulatory pressure and growing demand for credible PFAS solutions.