Australian retailers form urgent task force following REDcycle failures

05 Dec 2022 --- Following the pause of REDcycle’s soft plastic collection program due to insufficient and dangerous recycling conditions, Coles, Woolworths and Aldi have drafted an urgent application to form the interim organization called the Soft Plastics Taskforce.

REDcycle was exposed recently for stockpiling the soft plastic it collected, which forced the program to halt and caused a public outcry. Woolworths and Coles were participants in REDcycle’s original scheme and had to pull out once REDcycle ceased its program.

The task force aims to step in where REDcycle left off and reinstate the supermarkets’ soft plastic collection. 

However, even with satisfaction of the soft plastic collection need once again being met, some industry members in Australia are not content with a sole collection scheme, insinuating the interim task force does not solve the real problem and that stockpiling could continue to occur. 

Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi partner to create Soft Plastic Taskforce to replace the soft plastic collection scheme, REDcycle, after taking a hiatus in Australia. “The only way a soft plastics scheme will succeed is if it is a whole-of-life scheme, not simply a collection scheme. This must include clear demand for the recycled material that is made from the product collected through any replacement scheme,” Gayle Sloan, CEO of Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia tells PackagingInsights.

The taskforce’s plan 
The application was promptly approved by The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) after being submitted, seeing a need for soft plastic collection to return in Australia. 

“We have moved quickly to approve the interim application as the suspension of the REDcycle program stopped in-store collections of soft plastic, raising community concerns and an urgent need to address the environmental risk of the existing stockpile and future waste,” says Mick Keogh, the ACCC deputy chair. 

The interim authorization allows the supermarkets to develop and implement a short-term solution for the storage, transportation, processing, recycling and management of soft plastics. 

“This interim authorization allows co-operation between the major supermarket retailers for a limited period and for the particular purpose of exploring options for the storage, transport, processing, recycling and management of soft plastics to minimize the volume that may end up in landfill, which is of great benefit to us all.”

“The ACCC expects the applicants to resolve this situation urgently and has placed a number of reporting conditions on them to ensure we are informed of their progress,” Keogh continues. Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia claims the lack of need for soft plastic recycled material is the real issue behind collection schemes. 

The Soft Plastics Taskforce will remain effective until the authorization is revoked or the application for approval is withdrawn. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water will initially chair the task force.

Soft plastic failure or fruition 
The CEO of the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia believes both collection schemes need more solid ground to stand on, assuming there is a lack of demand regarding the post-recycled materials from soft plastics. 

“Evidence to date is that the market alone has not developed this demand. As such, it will be necessary for regulatory incentives, such as creating a product responsibility scheme for those that use and supply these soft plastics to market, mandated recycled content of these soft plastics, and possibly even a virgin tax if producers insist on not using recycled content. No collection scheme alone can deliver all these aspects.”

A higher demand for soft plastic collection at supermarkets than the scheme was initially designed for was a focal point of its destruction. According to Clean Up Australia, Australians use around 70 billion pieces of soft plastics each year, with only 22% of the public knowing they can recycle their soft plastics. 

Another significant challenge REDcycle battled was one of its most prominent recyclers, Melbourne-based Close the Loop, which had a fire at its plant earlier this year. The fire affected the TonerPlas production line, now being rebuilt to be running by the middle of next year. 

Once REDcycle’s recyclers are reinstated in the scheme, it is set to resurface. Therefore, how long the Soft Plastics Taskforce will need to stand interim is pending. REDcycle hopes to restart sometime next year, making the temporary task force’s timeline uncertain.

By Sabine Waldeck