A US-based recycling company is planning to build the largest plastic processing factory in Australia. 

Brightmark says the $260 million recycling plant in Parkes will have the capacity to recycle 200,000 tonnes of waste plastic per year. 

Currently, almost all plastic in Australia is processed using mechanical recycling, limiting the country's capacity, according to Brightmark chief Bob Powell. 

“It doesn't break down the molecules so that you can remake plastics,” he says.

“You sort of mould and melt them, so it is more limited in its application.”

Instead, the planned facility will use chemicals to assist with the breakdown of plastics, so that they can be returned to their original form. 

This could see a range of plastics that cannot be recycled through the mechanical process become recyclable.

Construction on the processing plant is slated to begin next year, with the facility expected to be fully operational by 2025. 

The company says it will create 125 jobs during the construction phase and 100 jobs during the running of the site.