Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi plan to restart a soft plastics collection and recycling program by the end of the year, but there are major obstacles to meeting their self-imposed deadline.
The supermarkets released their joint “Roadmap to Restart” plan on Tuesday.
However, they are unable to guarantee that recyclers have been found to process more than 12,400 tonnes of plastics stockpiled by former operator REDcycle or that the capacity exists for the program to be restarted.
REDcycle has turned over control of 12,400 tonnes of stockpiled plastics to Coles and Woolworths.
They envision collections being restarted on a pilot basis in select stores in late 2023.
Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi are part of a soft plastics task force that the federal government convened after the collapse of the REDcycle scheme in early November.
However, the task force is severely constrained by Australia’s limited access to domestic soft plastic recycling, which can manage the “mixed polymer” soft plastics deposited by the public in supermarket collection bins.
The plan, which is light on details, is also contingent on clearing the massive backlog created by the failure of the REDcycle program, which the task force estimates could take at least a year to recycle.
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said the announcement was a major step forward for the recycling sector, crediting the Labor government for creating the conditions for the deal to be reached.
The EPA notices allege that Coles and Woolworths directly contributed to the pollution risk by promoting the REDcycle program, allowing their premises to be used as collection points and underwriting the costs of the recycling scheme.
The supermarkets must remove the material from 15 separate warehouses and send it for recycling, disposal in a landfill, or storage at an approved facility for up to one year.
»Coles, Woolworths, and Aldi plan to restart a soft plastics collection and recycling program«
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