Woolworths, Coles, Aldi’s task to reboot REDcycle soft plastics recycling program update
Supermarkets Coles, Woolworths and Aldi are under pressure to reboot a critical recycling program for Aussie shoppers. Here’s why.
Environment
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The supermarket coalition tasked with rebooting Australia’s soft plastic recycling has until July 22 to come up with a solution, so shoppers have a place to send their waste other than landfill.
The Soft Plastics Taskforce is made up of the three major supermarkets, Coles, Aldi and Woolworths, who have until July 22 deadline to collaborate, before they could fall in breach of Australian Competition and Consumer Commission competition law.
The taskforce formed in November 2022 to address the fallout from the collapse of recycling group REDcycle, which had been secretly stockpiling thousands of tonnes of plastic instead of sending it for recycling.
The supermarket members of the Soft Plastics Taskforce said Australia was in need of more recycling providers.
“The plan is to continue to grow the collection program,” a spokesperson said.
“The biggest challenge still remains – there are simply not enough soft plastic recyclers up and running yet to support nationwide collections.”
In February, the taskforce began a pilot program across twelve Melbourne supermarkets. The new scheme diverts a tonne of plastic from landfill each week, with each store collecting 65 per cent of the comparative plastic haul from late 2022 under REDcycle.
Plastics from the trial program are managed by waste group Center for Regenerative Design & Collaboration, and are supplemented with leftover material from the REDcycle stockpiles.
This recycling scheme will be supplemented by recycling company Close The Loop when its reopened Melbourne facility is cleared to receive weekly deliveries of soft plastics.
Soft or scrunchable plastics include plastic bags, cling wrap and bread bags.
The ACCC could extend the taskforce if no solution is found, but a mandated disbandment would likely force a shutdown of the new scheme. The ACCC is currently actively considering the Taskforce’s application for reauthorisation.
An expansion beyond the pilot is not expected until late 2024 or 2025, and will be region-specific.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water estimates Australians use 70 million pieces of soft plastic annually, of which a vast majority is not recycled.
On Friday, the DCCEEW committed to new environmental targets and detailed a national packing regulatory scheme, which will prevent manufacturers from using plastics Australian recyclers are incapable of reusing.
It is also looking to prevent the use of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in plastic packaging.
“The Australian Government’s reform of packaging will see businesses take responsibility for the 6.7 million tonnes of packaging, including soft plastic packaging, that they place on the market,” a DCCEEW spokesperson said.
“These reforms will deliver a system where packaging will need to be designed to be recovered, reused, recycled, and reprocessed wherever possible.
“The Australian Government has also committed $60 million to boost processing capacity for hard to recycle plastics such as soft plastics.”
February estimates suggested 11,000 tonnes of plastic was hidden at 44 REDcycle stockpile sites discovered by environmental bodies and supermarkets.
Coles and Woolworths took carriage of these stockpiles once REDcycle was declared insolvent and have consolidated them down to ten storage sites.
Private waste companies are also entering the plastic recycling market.
Federal waste management body Cleanaway is collaborating with Petroleum refinery body Viva Energy on its own reuse scheme.
Originally published as Woolworths, Coles, Aldi’s task to reboot REDcycle soft plastics recycling program update
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