Inner West Council in Sydney New South Wales is working to expand its practices to reduce soft plastic pollution.
The council voted to continue expanding its plastic recycling program by looking at its current procurement practices to now include recycled plastics in road bases, play equipment and other purposes.
Mat Howard, Deputy Mayor, Inner West Council said this new development allows the council to expand on its existing practices and the types of items that can be responsibly disposed of, including soft plastics.
“Council is leading the way in recycling and waste reduction with the help of our community and have successfully implemented food recycling to every home through our Food and Garden Organics (FOGO) program,” said Howard.
“Council also opened the Inner West Sustainability Hub in Summer Hill, providing residents access to resources, services and information from sustainability focused organisations.”
Howard also called for the support of the program from industry organisations, supermarkets, state and federal government.
“We can’t tackle this issue alone,” he said.
“Council is committed to working with all levels of government and industry to find ongoing solutions for soft plastic recycling.”
The council will formally write to Woolworths, ALDI and Coles to request that the Inner West become a trial site for in-store soft plastic collections.
It will also write to The Hon. Penny Sharpe MLC, Minister for Climate Change, Minister for Energy, Minister for the Environment, and Minister for Heritage, seeking support to trial textile recycling in the Inner West.
For more information, www.innerwest.nsw.gov.au/
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