SOFT PLASTICS

Australia’s soft plastics recycling at a standstill, or will this change?

The state of soft plastics recycling in Australia is dire, but will there be a positive outcome for it in the coming months?

With REDcycle suspending its program, soft plastics recycling in Australia has been massively impacted. Government, community, industry and partners have come together in setting up a taskforce to find a solution to the predicament, but it’s evident that it will come with its own set of challenges.

REDcycle suspended its collection scheme in November last year, with the company citing “unforeseen challenges, exacerbated by the pandemic” causing REDCycle’s recycling partners to be unable to accept and process the rapidly increasing volume of soft plastics due to lack of immediate access to infrastructure, inadequate processing capacity, and reduced demand for recycled products.

“There was no 350 per cent increase in demand for recycled products to match the supply, in fact, the opposite occurred thanks to market downturns. Then in June 2022, our largest volume offtake partner had a significant fire, resulting in their Tonerplas facility closing for reconstruction for 12 months,” REDcycle said.

This offtake partner is Close the Loop Group. In Australia, Close the Loop Group is the largest user of the post-consumer soft plastics that have been collected through the REDcycle program, in addition to using mixed plastic packaging from other sources.

REDcycle helped revolutionise how Australians consider plastics and recycling, and with it, created a movement

“We have worked with REDcycle for a number of years, taking huge volumes of this highly-contaminated, post-consumer material that form a main ingredient in our asphalt improvement product – TonerPlas, as well as our recycled plastic injectionmoulding resin rFlex,” the company said.

“We believe we are the only company that has been able to process 100 per cent of the material received from REDcycle, in line with our Zero Waste to Landfill brand promise. Despite using the material at scale at our plant, the volumes of material recovered by REDcycle appear to exceed the capacity of any sole business to recycle.

“The use of these materials by Close the Loop is possible due to the novel IP that the business has developed, in order to process the mixed, post-consumer soft plastic waste from sources such as REDcycle that would otherwise be difficult to reuse for new applications.

“Other products using post-consumer soft plastic waste can only use the materials at small percentages due to the poor quality of the feedstock, in addition to a vital lack of end-market buy-back for these types of recycled content items.

“While we are currently upgrading our TonerPlas line, we will be back in full production by July 2023 and will require large volumes of soft plastic material to meet demands for both TonerPlas and rFlex products.”

Elizabeth Kasell, who conceived REDcycle in 2011, agreed that Australia’s circular economy is “not a perfect diagram on a presentation slide”.

“The REDcycle part of the chain was thriving with growing community engagement, meaning greater volumes of soft plastic were diverted from landfill and retained in the circular economy,” she said.

“The downstream links of the chain were unable to keep up. Because this is a maturing system, it rarely, if ever, operates in perfect harmony. To expect this is possible, to maintain this balance at all times, is not only idealistic, but also does a serious disservice to a system that is not failing, but evolving. Since the program pause, we’ve had negotiations with governments, regulators, potential partners, leading manufacturers who all share our vision and recognise the power of the community movement and critical recovery pipeline REDcycle has created.

“REDcycle helped revolutionise how Australians consider plastics and recycling, and with it, created a movement. This legacy and opportunity now need to be grasped with both hands. The price of not doing so is too high.”

What soon followed was the set-up of a Soft Plastics Taskforce (SPT), which has released a Roadmap to Restart, outlining the steps needed to launch a new supermarket soft plastic collection scheme, and the current state of play in the Australian recycling industry.

The SPT, made up of major supermarket retailers ALDI, Coles and Woolworths, has been tasked with developing an interim solution to restore community access to soft plastic recycling following the suspension of the REDcycle program.

Under the current plan, an initial in-store collection pilot is anticipated to launch in select stores in late 2023 – provided that REDcycle’s existing soft plastic stockpiles can be cleared prior. The new program would then be gradually rolled out nationwide next year.

APCO CEO Chris Foley

However, while the SPT is working on launching in-store collections urgently, it said it is “severely constrained” by Australia’s limited access to domestic soft plastic recycling, which can manage the “mixed polymer” soft plastics that are deposited by the public in supermarket collection bins.

“At present, it would not be possible to recycle the volume of household soft plastics collected in a supermarket program using domestic infrastructure. Accordingly, the taskforce has plotted out the projected gradual increase in Australian soft plastic recycling capacity over the next year, as new operators launch, and existing processors expand,” the SPT said.

From late 2023, the SPT is expected to meet the newly available processing capacity with a staged re-introduction of in-store collections so that the volume of incoming household soft plastics does not exceed the amount that can be recycled.

A spokesperson for the SPT previously 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 Soft Plastics Taskforce will reintroduce soft plastic collections when it can be confident that it will be properly recycled.

“The best way to accelerate nationwide access to soft plastic recycling is through continued investment in recycling facilities to bring forward existing plans to expand domestic capacity.”

The SPT added that the current timeline to launch an in-store collection pilot by late 2023 is contingent on the ability to clear REDcycle’s existing stockpiles of soft plastic, which Coles and Woolworths have recently been granted control of.

In addition, it said should new domestic processing capacity be taken up by the estimated 12,000 tonnes of stockpiled material for at least a year, the recommencement of in-store collections will be delayed.

“Accordingly, Coles and Woolworths intend to work through options to export the stockpiles to trusted recycling facilities overseas with the necessary transparency, traceability and government approvals. This would allow access to advanced recycling beyond Australia’s existing domestic capabilities,” the SPT said.

Elizabeth Kasell, who conceived REDcycle in 2011

The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) estimated that less than five per cent of consumer soft plastic was collected by the REDcycle program, with the taskforce recognising the need for a long-term national soft plastic recycling strategy beyond its interim program, which has the potential to significantly increase the proportion of household soft plastic collected.

APCO CEO Chris Foley previously said, “We know that soft plastics is a challenging packaging material for Australia and we have to get better at managing it. This is a short-term glitch in the system largely related to the pandemic coinciding with unforeseen challenges experienced by reprocessing partners.

“Strong, positive moves for soft plastics recycling are on the horizon – capital investment is happening and capacity will soon be coming through.

“While it’s disappointing to see the program be put on hold, this is a good opportunity for Australia’s brand owners and the packaging and recycling industries to pause and reset on how we manage soft plastics.

“This reset will allow Australia to build ongoing sustainable pathways for soft plastics and APCO is working with industry stakeholders to resolve the issue and develop a strong, permanent solution.”

Kasell asked that this focus is transitioned to actionable steps, that not only the largest players are engaged, but the pioneers and innovators like REDcycle, Curbcycle, APR, SaveBoard have a seat at the table.

“Not out of entitlement, but because the experience is rich, there is much work to be done and we know how to roll up our sleeves,” she said.

“Our time on this planet is small, but our impact on it will be much greater. What the future holds for REDcycle remains to be seen, but I know my team and I will always be dedicated to the cause, one that sees our waste become a resource and helps create a better environment for our children.”