No matter how hard we try to avoid it, it’s uncommon to find ourselves with soft plastics, and most of the time we don’t know how to dispose of these sustainably.
According to Clean Up Australia, Australians throw away about 7,150 recyclable plastic bags a minute, or 429,000 per hour! This staggering figure doesn’t include other soft plastics which include bread bags, biscuit or frozen food bags, confectionary packets… the list goes on.
The REDcycle Program will take your soft plastics and turn these into other products including bollards and sturdy outdoor furniture. Simply take your soft plastics to a REDCycle Program drop off bin at participating Coles and Woolworths supermarkets before they are processed and then delivered to Australian manufacturer Replas where it undergoes an incredible transformation. The RED Group also provides an extensive list of which soft plastics can and can’t be recycled. Have you heard of the scrunch test? For more information, visit our REDcycle Program webpage.
More and more local councils in Victoria are offering soft plastic recycling. The following councils have provided information about their services. If your council doesn’t appear in this list, keep an eye on this page as we continue to update this information.
Plastic recycling in Local Councils of Melbourne
City of Boroondara accept only accept rigid plastics with codes 1 – 7. Bottles should be crushed with the plastic top left on, and placed straight into the recycling bin, and not in plastic bags or these will go to landfill. Any containers should also be rinsed. Residents can download the My Waste app with all the information they need to know about the council’s garbage and recycling services
For more information, visit the City of Boroondara website
City of Whittlesea provide small scale soft plastics recycling bins for staff only. Soft plastic includes shopping bags, freezer bags, cling wrap, bread bags, outer plastic packaging from pasta and biscuits, cereal bags etc.
For more information, visit the City of Whittlesea website
