Close×

A trial for soft plastic recycling collections is currently underway in 12 Melbourne supermarkets. The supermarket members of the Soft Plastics Taskforce, comprised of Coles, Woolworths and Aldi, have been working with industry and government to explore how household soft plastics might be recycled in future.

The taskforce says it is running a six-week trial to collect information to understand the volumes and types of materials being dropped off by customers. For the duration of the trial, customers will be able to deposit their household soft plastics in the collection bins located at the front of the 12 participating stores.

Given industry-wide solutions for soft plastics recycling continue to be explored, this will be a limited trial. The aim of the trial is to inform how to approach a longer-term recycling scheme with the support of the broader industry in future.

The trial aims to help the Soft Plastics Taskforce and industry understand whether a new soft plastics collection system could be successful and the ability of soft plastic recyclers to cope with demand levels.

Due to the fact that there are currently only a limited number of soft plastic recyclers in Australia, some of whom are still in the process of scaling up their operations and are testing their capacity, the taskforce says the trial is only possible across 12 stores currently.

Soft plastics will be collected from each participating store during the trial by a third party, who will then bale and transport the materials to one of the taskforces recycling partners in the local area.

Close the Loop is one of the supporting recycling partners for the program. The company says that soft plastics provided to its facility in Melbourne’s north will be processed “with zero waste to landfill” and used for its engineered asphalt additive TonerPlas or its injection moulding grade of recycled resin rFlex for use in products such as shipping pallets, baskets and shopping trolleys.

The taskforce says it is working with logistics and recycling partners to implement appropriate timeframes to ensure collected soft plastics are recycled in a timely manner, in order to avoid stockpiling. To ensure transparency, each recycling partner will be required to provide data on the material they receive and the recycled material they create with it.

At this stage, the taskforce says it is not possible to set a date when collections will be available in more stores or locations. At present, there are not enough soft plastic recyclers to handle collections from a high number of locations.

Food & Drink Business

Heat and Control has successfully wrapped up FoodTech Forum 2025, a three-week event hosted at its Lelystad facility in the Netherlands. The forum brought together experts from across the globe to explore the latest advancements in sustainable food processing.

Wine Australia has released its five-year Strategic Plan 2025–30, outlining how it will support Australian grapegrowers, winemakers and exporters in navigating current pressures while building a more resilient, profitable and sustainable future. 

Global beverage giant, Suntory, has officially launched its combined Australia New Zealand business, Suntory Oceania, as it unveiled the $400 million Swanbank factory in Ipswich, Queensland. It was more than three years ago that then CEO of Frucor Suntory, Darren Fullerton, outlined the ambitious build and two years since Suntory Oceania was announced. With plans realised, there is now a $3 billion beverage behemoth in the arena, representing the fourth largest in the region with ambitious growth plans in the works.