REDcycle Program
Thanks to an innovative new recycling scheme, and just in time for the post-Christmas glut of empty packaging, consumers can now recycle flexible plastics by returning them to more than 370 drop off points at Coles supermarkets in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.
In an Australian first, the plastic that was previously disposed of in landfill will be processed in Australia and sent on to local manufacturer Replas where it will be converted into recycled plastic products for schools and communities.
The scheme, the REDcycle Program, is expected to divert millions of units of post-consumer soft plastics such as bread bags, biscuit packets, frozen food bags, chocolate wrappers and newspaper wrap out of landfill and turn them into a resource for Australian-made products.
The program is the brain child of Elizabeth Kasell, Director of Development at the RED Group, a Melbourne-based consulting and recycling organisation. It's designed to provide a solution to a previously unrecognised problem - what else can we do with the thousands upon thousands of tonnes of fully-recyclable flexible plastic that accumulate in households across Australia on a daily basis?
Helping consumers to play their part in a sustainable future
"These days it's very easy for consumers to play their part in recycling waste such as aluminium cans, plastic bottles, paper, cardboard, and glass," Kasell explains. "Most councils will accept these items at kerbside, and recycle bins are popping up in public places such as shopping centres and parks.
"But until now, there's been no similar recycling opportunity for flexible plastics such as bread bags, frozen food bags, confectionary packets and shopping bags. The REDcycle Program is the missing link in the chain."
Keeping plastic packaging out of landfill can be as simple as 1, 2, 3...
Here's how it works.
The REDcycle program invites consumers to gather together all their empty bread and cereal bags, frozen food bags, plastic shopping bags and old reusable bags and other soft plastics that aren't able to be recycled at home.
Consumers can take them to their nearest participating Coles store next time they visit and drop them into the REDcycle Bin.
The RED Group will collect the plastic packaging, carry out some initial sorting and processing at the RED Group facility, then deliver it to Replas to be recycled into amazing new products.
The REDcycle Program has already been trialled in 115 Coles stores across Melbourne, with extremely positive results. In the 12-month period between September 2011 and September 2012, more than 9 million units of shopping bags and food packaging was collected, processed and converted into new products.
Where does the plastic packaging go?
Replas is an Australian manufacturer that converts waste plastics to high-quality new products such as sturdy outdoor furniture and signage ideal for use in parks and other public places.
The plastic is heated and moulded to create outdoor furniture and signage suitable for school, commercial and local council use.
The resulting recycled plastic products are extremely robust and low maintenance. They won't crack, splinter or rot, attract mould or insects, and will never need painting.
Working together
The REDcycle Program is a voluntary, industry-led initiative and a true product stewardship model where everyone involved in the life cycle of a product - manufacturers, distributors and consumers - choose to share responsibility for the best end-of-life outcome.
In a genuine example of corporate stewardship and collaboration, key brand owners such as Arnott's, Birds Eye, Cadbury, George Weston Foods, Goodman Fielder, Kellogg's, Kimberly-Clark, Kraft, McCain and SunRice are supporting the program and actively demonstrating their commitment to a better and more sustainable outcome for their own packaging.
Additional program partners Amcor, the Australian Food and Grocery Council and the Australian Packaging Covenant are equally passionate about the REDcycle program and have invested playing their role in the development of this new opportunity for soft plastic recovery.
Jacquie Fegent-McGeachie, Sustainability and Social Responsibility Manager at Kimberly-Clark ANZ (KCA) believes that organisations working together across supply chains, industries and sectors is vital to solving all sorts of sustainability issues, including recycling flexible plastic packaging.
"At KCA, we are diverting 95% of all our manufacturing waste from landfill through collaboration with our partners and suppliers," she explains. "When we were approached to partner in the Red Recycle program, we were only too happy to participate as it builds on our efforts and further demonstrates that one man's trash is another man's treasure."
The gift that gives twice
Coles Store Development and Operations Director Stuart Machin said Coles was delighted to roll out a program that tackled the long-standing challenge of "soft plastics" and had such far-reaching benefits for the environment.
"In little over 12 months in Melbourne alone, Coles' customers have ensured 9 million plastic packaging items has been diverted from landfill as part of our trial. So by rolling this program out locally and across the nation, the potential benefits are enormous," he said.
"One of the best aspects of this collaborative program is that it gives twice - firstly by helping reduce landfill and then by developing recycled furniture which can be put to great use in schools and other areas of the community."
It's a concept that sits well with Kasell's mission to create opportunities for waste recovery that are integrated into the everyday activities of consumers and the processes of commercial industries.
"The REDcycle Program would not be possible without the support of our partners, and most importantly, the great efforts on the part of Australian consumers," she confirms.
For more information about the REDcycle Program, please visit www.redcycle.net.au.