An initial in-store collection pilot is expected to begin in select locations later this year if the existing stockpiles of soft plastics at REDcycle can be cleared before that
Soft Plastics Taskforce outlines measures for restoration of soft plastic recycling in Australia. (Credit: PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay)
Australia’s Soft Plastics Taskforce has listed out the measures required for launching a supermarket soft plastic collection scheme in the country with the Roadmap to Restart.
Comprising supermarket retailers ALDI, Woolworths, and Coles, the taskforce has been assigned the task of coming up with a temporary solution for restoring community access to soft plastic recycling after the REDcycle programme was suspended.
REDcycle was the return-to-store, soft plastics recovery programme in Australia that was introduced in 2011.
According to the current plan of the Soft Plastics Taskforce, an initial in-store collection pilot is expected to begin in select locations later this year if the existing stockpiles of soft plastics at REDcycle can be cleared before that. The programme will be gradually introduced across Australia in 2024.
The taskforce is said to be working on urgently launching the in-store collections. However, it is constrained severely by the limited availability of domestic recycling of soft plastics in Australia that can handle the ‘mixed polymer’ soft plastics that are dumped by shoppers in the bins of supermarkets, said Woolworths.
Currently, it will not be feasible to recycle the amount of household soft plastics gathered in a supermarket programme using domestic infrastructure, said the supermarket company.
The Soft Plastics Taskforce has accordingly laid out the anticipated gradual growth in Australian capacity for recycling soft plastics over the next 12 months, as new operators launch, while existing processors expand.
From late 2023, the taskforce will be able to cope with the newly available processing capacity through a gradual reintroduction of in-store collections. This is to ensure that the amount of household soft plastics doesn’t surpass what can be recycled, which happened with REDcycle.
A taskforce spokesperson said: “For the vast majority of Australian households, the only avenue to recycle their soft plastic waste has been through the REDcycle bins available at Coles and Woolworths supermarkets.
“Restoring public trust in soft plastic recycling is paramount, and the Taskforce will reintroduce soft plastic collections when it can be confident that it will be properly recycled.”