Recycling boss calls on supermarkets, brand and government to help after 'pausing' scheme

A company that recycles soft plastics handed in at Australian supermarkets said it needs help to continue operations after it was revealed they'd been stockpiling recyclables in warehouses.

Customers have expressed disappointment after learning vast amounts of soft plastic - like food packaging or bags - had not been sorted and passed on for recycling by REDcycle.

Sydney mum Sharonne Lipman said she was upset to hear the news, having regularly saved all her soft plastics to put in bins at Coles and Woolworths.

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"Everything I purchase is wrapped in plastic," Lipman said.

"This was my one way of minimising plastic in landfill.

"So to hear it's not doing what it should be doing, is devastating."

REDCycle CEO Liz Kasell said so much material had been dropped off at the supermarkets that they were needing to empty bins up to 15 times a day, and called for greater support to continue the scheme.

The firm sorts and passes on plastics for them to be recycled into things like road surfaces and plastic fences, but they have not been keeping up with demand.

"We are experiencing a huge challenge now because, thanks to the pandemic and everyone being at home and generating a lot of plastic packaging, we have seen increases of over 350 per cent in our network," Kasell told Today.

REDcycle announced last night it would be halting the program after the Sydney Morning Herald reported the material had been stored in warehouses instead of being passed on to companies that could reuse it.

One company that took the plastic had suffered a drop in demand for recycled goods after COVID-19, while a fire had impacted another, it said on its website.

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Kasell started the scheme 11 years ago after becoming worried about the amount of plastic being sent to landfill.

She said it was now being run by a "team of mums" and called for greater support to continue its operation, including from the government.

"We want the support of everyone in the supply chain. That means government, brand owners, supermarkets," Kasell said.

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Environment Minister, MP Tanya Plibersek, said the government had set aside $60 million to increase soft plastic recycling, along with $1 million for the Australian Food and Grocery Council to develop more sustainable solutions for their soft plastics.

"Big companies like Coles and Woolworths generate a lot of this material, they should be responsible for helping to recycle it," Plibersek, said.

Coles confirmed customers can't currently use REDcycle soft plastic bins.

"We are committed to our Together to Zero waste ambition and are working with government, industry and sustainability partners to find a long-term solution for soft plastics recycling in Australia," a spokeswoman, said.

Woolworths said it is "disappointed" customers can't use the program.

"We are currently working through a range of options with the Australian Food and Grocery Council, the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, and the recycling industry to support the future of soft plastic recycling," a spokeswoman, said.

The Federal Government's Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water said Australia produces 74 million tonnes of waste per year and only recycles 60 per cent.

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