Coles and Woolworths have teamed up to explore a recycling solution for RedCycle’s soft plastic stockpile after its collapse last November.
An investigation by Sydney Morning Herald revealed that the soft-plastic recycling scheme left millions of bags and soft-plastic items “secretly stockpiled” in warehouses for months without being recycled.
Although RedCycle hasn’t responded yet, the supermarkets have extended an offer to safely store the collected materials, in accordance with necessary safety requirements of relevant state environmental protection agencies (EPAs), until they are processed.
Brad Banducci, Woolworths Group CEO, said: “We were very disappointed to learn that RedCycle hasn’t been recycling the soft plastics they collected from our stores, and we are working to make it right.
“Coles and Woolworths have taken this step to provide reassurance to the public that the soft plastics they took the effort to deposit in RedCycle’s bins won’t be unnecessarily sent to landfill.”
Matt Swindells, Coles’ chief operations and sustainability officer said the retailer is “deeply disappointed by the unrecycled stockpiles” as collectively Coles and Woolworths have paid more than $20 million to RedCycle over the last decade to recycle plastics.
A multi-million dollar Soft Plastics Recycling Contribution Fund, provided by both Coles and Woolworths, will assist in the storage and management of the stockpiled material.
Australian Retailers Association CEO, Paul Zahra, commended the move and added: “The commitment by two of the country’s biggest grocery competitors for a worthy cause is a fantastic demonstration of leadership and the success that can be attained from collaboration around sustainability efforts.”
In a LinkedIn post, the CEO & founder of eco startup Single Use Ain’t Sexy, said the situation is a “further reminder of how important it is that we use less plastic in the first place and invest in the circular economy, rather than relying on recycling.”
