Following recycling contractor REDcycle's announcement that it was pausing collection of consumer soft plastics from supermarkets, many households have been left wondering what to do with their plastic waste.
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What happened?
The REDcycle bins that sit at the front of Coles and Woolworths supermarkets are familiar to any eco-conscious shopper, acting as a disposal point for household soft plastics for a decade.
On Wednesday, REDcycle said in a statement collection had to be paused and provided no suggestion of when the service would resume.
"Consumer recycling of soft plastic has grown exponentially in recent years, with a 350 per cent increase in plastic returned since 2019," the statement said.
"However, due to several unforeseen challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, REDcycle's recycling partners have temporarily stopped accepting and processing soft plastics."
The REDcycle program provided the only consumer-facing soft plastic recycling for the majority of Australian households.
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What can I do with my soft plastics now?
ACM understands a small number of councils are currently running trials, though the vast majority of Australian households still have no access to soft plastic recycling through their council collection.
The Victorian Government has also proposed the introduction of soft plastic recycling into household kerbside council collection services.
But until a solution has been found, REDcycle has advised consumers to put soft plastics in with regular household rubbish.
If you're really keen, and have space, you can store your plastic waste until a solution has been found.
Sustainable alternatives to plastics
The best way to tackle the problem on an individual level is to reduce the amount of soft plastics you acquire.
This could involve making snacks at home that you would normally buy in plastic packaging - such as biscuits and chips - but this can be time consuming.
Australians are familiar with taking a large reusable shopping bag for all groceries, but you can also bring smaller bags to use for fruit and vegetables when buying them again.
Or invest in the one-off cost of material, machine washable fruit and vegetable bags
When buying packaged food, consider if there's a plastic-free option - such as loose leaf salad for instance - and go with that instead. Buy in bulk where possible.
Bringing your own containers to the butcher to transport meat products is also an alternative and check if there are any grocers in your area that allow customers to bring their own containers for dry goods. Many smaller or independent grocers have this option but it can be costlier than major supermarkets.
