A Glimpse into Tomorrow: Revolutionising Soft Plastic Management in Australia
Light, strong and versatile, plastic is undoubtedly a miracle material. Still, the question of how to recycle the 70 billion pieces of soft “scrunchable” plastics Australians use annually poses significant waste management challenges.
In 1869, John Wesley Hyatt invented celluloid, the world’s first synthetic polymer. Initially, there were high hopes Hyatt’s invention would save the natural world from human exploitation by synthesising alternatives to materials like ivory and tortoise shell.
But by the 1960s, plastic debris began bobbing up in the oceans. In 1962, Rachel Carson’s book Silent Spring exposed the dangers of synthetic chemicals accumulating in our environment, taking the shine off the initial optimism surrounding plastic.
Projections suggest there will be more plastics than fish in the ocean by 2050. Perhaps the ultimate symbol of plastic’s fall from grace is the Pacific Trash Vortex – a swirl of plastic debris the size of Queensland floating in the Pacific Ocean.
In the 1980s, municipalities observed plastics were not biodegrading in landfills and began recycling hard plastics to mitigate environmental impacts. However, the packaging industry estimates only 16% of plastic in Australia is recycled, and soft plastics are typically tossed in the too-hard basket due to their complexity.
By Alexi Freeman
REDCycle
A proactive chapter began in 2011 when Australia’s pioneering REDcycle initiative invited consumers to deposit soft plastics in collection bins at local supermarkets.
The initiative proved immensely popular, with five million post-consumer plastic items collected daily. For a decade, REDcycle supplied these plastics to Australian manufacturers, including Replas, Close the Loop and Plastic Forests – who recycled them into various applications such as outdoor furniture, road surfaces and garden edging.
However, supply outweighed demand, and in 2017, a fire at the Coolaroo recycling plant put REDcycle in the hot seat for stockpiling soft plastics until favourable market opportunities could be identified.
In 2022, REDcycle ceased operations due to the fire, the lack of commercial markets for products made from recycled materials and the China National Sword policy that set strict contamination limits on recyclable materials.
The discovery of 11,000 tonnes of stockpiled soft plastic at 44 storage locations nationwide prompted the creation of the Soft Plastics Taskforce, including industry members from Coles, Woolworths and Aldi. They aim to restore community access to soft plastics recycling through Australian supermarkets.
National Reduce Program Leader Simon Lockrey recently co-authored a report on governance solutions for soft plastics.
He states ”We need a rethink regarding 'single-use'. Plastic isn't the key issue; it's our linear supply chains and disposable culture that devalue what is a valuable material. We need supply chain transformation, policy courage and societal behaviour shifts."
CRDC Global Facility
In the aftermath of REDcycle’s collapse, the Victorian State Government is stepping up to address the challenge of soft plastics.
They have funded a new CRDC Global Facility, transforming hard-to-recycle materials like soft plastics into eco-friendly concrete called RESIN8, suitable for roads, construction, and major infrastructure projects.
This project contributes to Victoria's target of diverting 80% of waste from landfill by 2030 as part of a $515 million investment to transition to circularity.
Founded in Costa Rica in 2018, the CRDC Global Facility will process soft plastics from 12 Melbourne-based supermarkets and the scrunchables stockpiled through the REDcycle program.
Shane Ramsey, CRDC Australian Managing Director, stated, “We’re thrilled Australia's first full-scale RESIN8 facility is now operational – transforming used plastic into innovative, eco-friendly building materials for Australia, creating a circular economy solution."
Australian Paper Recovery
In 2024, Sustainability Victoria (SV) funded Australian Paper Recovery (APR) to pilot new systems for recycling soft plastics.
APR is developing advanced chemical recycling, converting soft plastics into plastic crude oil. This oil is refined into raw materials matching the quality of virgin plastic, fit-for-purpose to manufacture within a closed-loop system.
SV's investment enables APR to scale its advanced chemical recycling efforts, moving from pilot research to a $3.8 million plant capable of processing 1,800 tonnes annually.
Plasgain
Australian manufacturer Plasgain, supported by SV, will integrate 350 tonnes of soft plastics into the annual fabrication of 5,000 light poles, dubbed “plaspoles”.
Minister for Environment Steve Dimopoulos congratulated Plasgain for its innovation in “turning hard-to-recycle waste plastics into critical products for our construction industry - diverting additional waste from landfill and protecting our precious natural environments.”
Future Prospects
For Australia to make significant strides toward circular management of soft plastics, a new nationwide program must be rolled out as soon as possible, because sending soft plastics to landfills is not harnessing its circular potential.
Future solutions include stricter waste reduction targets, alternative packaging design standards, stakeholder collaboration and further academic and industry research, leading to advanced recycling facilities for soft plastics.
Part of the puzzle also lies in incentivising reuse systems, decoupling the food packaging industry from virgin synthetic feedstocks and developing biodegradable packaging solutions.
Designing higher-value end products may also form part of the solution. For instance, Australian manufacturer Replas processes 3,000 tonnes of soft plastics annually but could increase this to 10,000 tonnes if demand for its recycled design products rises.
There are no hard and fast ways to resolve our soft plastics challenges.
Still, the key to unlocking future solutions lies in recognising that the challenges are numerous and interconnected but not insurmountable.