NSW council brings back soft plastics drop off

Shellharbour City Council in New South Wales is inviting the community to take part in another one of its soft plastics recycling drop-offs as part of a trial supported by Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia (SPSA).

The initiative is returning following two successful drop-off events and a strong local demand and growing interest in sustainable waste solutions.

In November 2024, 57 people dropped off 117 kilograms of soft plastics and in February 2025, 242 people brought in 613 kilograms – together, that’s enough to fill more than 100 large wheelie bins.

Chris Homer, Mayor of Shellharbour City Council, said the return of the event reflects the community’s shared commitment to protecting the local environment.

“We’ve listened to our locals, and it’s clear there’s strong support for bringing this back,” said Homer.

“This is about doing the right thing for our environment and making it easy for everyone in our community to get involved. It’s a simple way we can all help protect what makes Shellharbour special.”

The event will be coordinated by staff and volunteers from the Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation (ISJO), who are supporting soft plastics recycling efforts across the region.

Soft plastics make up about seven per cent of red-lid bin contents by mass. Residents can drop off clean, dry, and empty soft plastics in a large plastic bag for easy handling.

Some of the accepted items include plastic bags, biscuit and snack wrappers, chip packets and silver-lined snack wrappers and fresh and frozen food wrappers/bags.

The collected soft plastics will be baled and transported to a Soft Plastics Engineered Commodity (SPEC) facility run by IQ Renew where they will be processed into pellets that can be used to manufacture new products such as bags, buckets and fence posts.

The free drop-off event will be held at Albion Oval Car Park, Ash Avenue, Albion Park Rail on Sunday 14 September 2025.

For more information, visit: www.shellharbour.nsw.gov.au/