RECYCLE, UPCYCLE ACTION AND INACTION

The Australian Government has welcomed an offer by Woolworths and Coles to take joint responsibility for the stockpiles of soft plastics that have accumulated as a result of the suspension of REDcycle. 

Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek said it was a positive example of retailers taking responsibility for the lifecycle of products that they have sold and shows that the Government’s Soft Plastics Taskforce is making progress. 

Woolworths and Coles are taking responsibility for the stockpiles that exist but more work is needed before recycling collection for soft plastics can start again.

REDcycle. suspended collections in November 2022. At the time it was Australia’s largest soft plastic collection program, however it faced a series of processing and recycling issues. This was compounded by a fire shutting down its largest recycling facility.

SEE https://wastemanagementreview.com.au/genox-recycling-plant-helps-fast-track-move-to-plastic-recycling/

Genox recycling plant helps fast-track move to plastic recycling

D&M Waste Management started in 2001 as a bulk waste transport business, with current General Manager, Daniel Taylor, taking over in 2012. The business has since evolved to become a leading player in the waste management industry and has more recently made the move into the recycling arena.  ..... The company has several contracts with local government authorities throughout Perth and the north-west of Western Australia for bulk verge waste collection including green waste, general waste and recyclables..... Daniel says while the move into plastics recycling was something the company had been considering for a while, it was fast-tracked by the national export ban on waste high-density polyethylene (HDPE) plastics in 2021. The ban coincided with the launch of the Federal Government’s Recycling Modernisation Fund, which D&M successfully obtained. This funded a significant part of the Genox recycling plant that the company purchased.....“We were extremely grateful for the financial support we received from the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, which allowed us to enter the recycling market quicker than we anticipated,” Daniel says. .... The Genox brand has been distributed and supported exclusively by Applied Machinery since its entry into the Australian market. Today more than 300 companies in Australia have Genox equipment installed, making it one of Australia’s leading suppliers of recycling machinery