Soft plastics recycling trial to start in Queensland

The Queensland Government is partnering with Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia Limited to conduct a pilot soft plastics recycling scheme in Queensland.

The government has committed $1 million to the pilot, which will trial new approaches to recycle the waste.

Under the pilot, trial hubs will be established in locations across Queensland to test different ways to allow people to return soft plastic packaging.

Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia Interim Co-Chief Executive Officer Barry Cosier said the funding represents a significant step forward for Queensland’s recycling efforts, enabling trials in communities across the state to actively contribute to reducing soft plastic waste.

“These trial hubs will help the Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia understand the best solutions for both urban and remote regions, making soft plastic recycling more accessible for everyone,” Cosier said.

“It’s crucial to find a solution for soft plastic recycling methods that work for key urban centres as well as regional and remote areas, ensuring that all Queenslanders have the opportunity to participate in sustainable waste management.”

The trials will start in Brisbane before the end of the year, with the Sunshine Coast, Goondiwindi and Cairns to follow in the coming months.

The hubs will trial a variety of collection options over a 12-month period including kerbside yellow-lid bin collections in specific locations; return to store; council drop off locations; and drop off at central points such as container refund points.

Assessment of each collection channel will help inform future decisions on which model or mix of collections provide the best approach for various communities.

The pilots will also help identify potential options for local processing of soft plastics and explore potential end markets for recycled product. This aims to avoid stockpiling and long-distance transport of soft plastics and to help create local markets and job opportunities.

As part of the trial, the government will work with Central Queensland University to process some of the collected material at its test facilities, to assess contamination tolerance levels for various end products.

This will help refine the messaging for consumers about the types of soft plastic packaging that can be collected as well as identify viable end-markets for recovered soft plastics.

Leanne Linard, Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, said the community has made it clear how much it values the ability to recycle soft plastics and wants to see it return.

“We know they also want to ensure it is sustainable in the long term and that’s why it’s so important to discover what works best for Queensland’s varied communities and regions.

“Queenslanders have already returned close to nine billion glass and plastic containers to container refund points under the government’s highly successful container refund scheme.

“Because people are used to bringing their containers to these sites we want to see if this model works for returning soft plastics, among other options.”

She said it was vital that there are cost-effective options for processing the material collected and viable end-product markets.

“Queensland is growing rapidly, and we need to do more to keep waste out of landfill and turn it into useful new products.

“We’re committed to moving towards a circular economy, where as much valuable material as possible is diverted from landfill through reuse, recycling and remanufacturing.”

Many Cairns residents were disappointed when the REDcycle in store collection scheme stopped operating in 2022 and have since looked for ways to recycle their soft plastics, according to Michael Healy, Member for Cairns.

He was delighted that one of the trial sites for the new trial will be in Cairns.

The project is funded through the Queensland Government’s Recycling and Jobs Fund.

For more information, visit: www.statements.qld.gov.au