Melbourne film lab keeps a tonne of film plastic out of landfill

As film photography continues its resurgence, one Melbourne lab is proving that sustainability can be more than just a marketing buzzword.

After four years of quietly collecting and recycling used film canisters, Melbourne-based Ikigai Film Lab has reached a significant milestone, diverting more than one metric tonne of film plastic from landfill through what it describes as Australia's first film community recycling initiative.

The Williamstown North lab says the achievement is roughly equivalent to keeping 180,000 35mm film containers out of the waste stream.

The initiative began in 2022 after the lab identified a problem familiar to many film photographers. While film canisters are technically recyclable, their small size means they often slip through industrial sorting systems and end up in landfill, even when placed in household recycling bins.

Rather than waiting for a broader solution, the lab built its own.

Today, the program operates through a network of 26 collection points around Australia, allowing photographers, retailers and film labs to drop off used film plastics free of charge.

According to Ikigai, the entire process happens under one roof. The lab collects, sorts, shreds and remanufactures the plastics in-house, separating materials by type and colour before turning them into new products.

Recycled plastics have been repurposed into items including cutting boards, film holders and prototype products.

Founder Peter Davison said the project was built without government grants, outside investors or private backing.

"Most film canisters that go into recycling bins still end up in landfill, so we stopped waiting for someone else to deal with it and built the system ourselves," Davison said.

"No grant, no investor, no marketing budget. Just four years of doing the work. One tonne is proof that a small independent lab can build real circular infrastructure for the community it serves."

The lab also says its recycling operations are powered by solar energy and that all material received through the program is recycled and repurposed rather than sent to landfill.

Founded in 2016, Ikigai Film Lab started as a small venture importing film from Japan and has since grown into one of Australia's largest film processing labs and online film retailers.

You can find out more about them here.