Plastic Waste & Recycling in Australia

Yes, the history of plastic recycling in Australia leaves a lot to be desired. But given how the US is handling the pandemic, we’re not sure what lessons we should take from our American friends, and fortunately, plastic recycling is an area in which we also seem to be doing better!

The first thing to stress is that we should always first REDUCE, then REUSE, and then as a last resort, RECYCLE. Looking at how we limit single use plastics in our daily life is hugely important. That’s why you need to take steps to remember your shopping bag, say no to a straw, bring your reusable coffee cup and only buy loose fruit and veggies.

The next thing we agree with is that virgin plastic is cheaper than using recycled plastic, especially now with the low price of oil. And this is why it is so important to find out who is using recycled plastic so that you can let them know you appreciate them paying the extra, by buying their products. Check what Unilever is doing and look for the products that have recycled packaging when you go shopping.

We also agree that the little number on the bottom of plastic containers, contained within that chasing arrow symbol, is misleading. That is why it is so great that in Australia, companies are progressively adopting the Australasian Recycling Logo, which provides easy-to-understand recycling information when you need it most. It removes confusion, saves you time and reduces contamination. 

Another great success story is our soft plastics recycling system with REDcycle. You can drop off clean soft plastics at most supermarkets across Australia. These plastics are then used to make park furniture, garden supplies and high-quality asphalt. But sadly, only 22% of Australians know they can recycle their soft plastics - that's criminal! Please, talk to your friends and family and help spread the word about how ridiculously easy it is. And of course we need to drive the market for these products. Imagine if all councils, schools and businesses committed to a percentage of their procurement budget having to be spent on products made from recycled materials. Contact your local council and school to encourage them to purchase products made from recycled materials.

When China refused to accept our plastic waste from 2018, it resulted in some plastics going to landfill. But this has had some positive impacts. With less competition for the plastic, local recycling plants could buy it at a more favourable price, which has helped to support our own recycling industry. And the government and industry realised we can no longer export our waste. Unsorted mixed plastics exports will be banned from July 2021 and cleaned and sorted plastics from July 2022. 

The Australian Government has recently announced that it will invest $190 million into a Recycling Modernisation Fund that will generate $600 million of recycling investment and drive a billion-dollar transformation of Australia’s waste and recycling capacity. They expect that more than 10,000 jobs will be created and over 10 million tonnes of waste will be diverted from landfill to the making of useful products as Australia turbo charges its recycling capacity.

Cleanaway (who collect kerbside recycling and plastics from the NSW Return and Earn scheme), Pact Group (who make plastic containers) and Asahi (who sell beverages in plastic containers) have announced they are building a $45 million recycling plant in Albury to recycle PET. This is expected to recycle the equivalent of 1 billion PET plastic bottles (600ml size) each year.

It’s important to be aware that great things are happening. We will bring you positive stories over the next few weeks, including more on the Australasian Recycling logo and who is using recycled plastics. Stay tuned!