Soft-plastic recycling to start again in May - but only in Auckland

Tuesday, 30 April 2019

Recycling soft plastics for the future

New Zealanders hoarding soft-plastic wrappers, bags and packets can soon recycle them again, but only in Auckland.

The Love NZ Soft Plastic Recycling programme was cut last year when it became inundated with too much plastic.

Auckland resident Monica Leach is one person who's ready for the scheme's return - she has five massive bags of soft plastic she's been saving for its comeback.

For five months, many sent their plastic to landfill while the country's soft plastic recycling scheme was put on hold.

'[I've been] waiting, waiting, waiting for supermarkets to provide soft plastic recycling bins!'

**READ MORE:

Soft plastic bins will soon be back in some stores in the Auckland region.

* A big zero: Was the soft plastic recycling scheme a waste of time and money?

* Plastic stockpile at 400 tonnes and now moulding

Last year, soft plastic from New Zealand was being sent to Australia to be processed, but the company accepting it became inundated and stopped taking it.

* New Zealand's old plastic bags will be made into fence posts for farms

* Call to recycle more farm plastic waste**

Auckland resident Monica Leach collected these bags of soft plastic while the scheme was postponed.

About 400 tonnes of plastic stored in depots across the country was going nowhere after Australian manufacturer Replas stopped accepting soft plastics collected in supermarkets last year.

From May 20, soft-plastic bins will be at a reduced number of 37 stores - including Countdown, The Warehouse and Huckleberry - in the Auckland region.

Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme chairman Malcolm Everts said they were pleased to be re-starting the service.

'When we suspended collections late last year, we said we needed to re-shape the model to match how much we collect, with New Zealand's local capacity to process soft plastic materials – we can no longer rely on offshore processors.

'We are taking a phased approach with a reduced number of stores.'

Once collection volumes were established, they would look at extending services in the Waikato and/or Wellington regions, he said.

'We are also aware of other local waste reduction and processing initiatives which may allow for further extensions of our service in the future.'

During its hiatus, the scheme processed an estimated 12 million individual pieces of plastic packaging at New Zealand processors, Future Post and 2nd Life Plastics, that would have otherwise gone to landfill.

'These two processors use soft plastics to make fence posts, cable covers and garden edging.

'Both Future Post and 2nd Life Plastics are great examples of Kiwi ingenuity and we are working with them and our members to increase demand for their products.

'This is also an area that councils and government departments can support through their own procurement.'

Many Kiwis were actively seeking ways to reduce their plastic or to re-use their plastic bags and they wanted to support that, he said.

Greenpeace oceans and plastics campaigner Jessica Desmond said it was encouraging to see that the plastic waste would be dealt with onshore.

'It's simply not acceptable to ship it overseas for other communities to deal with.'

However, the piecemeal approach to the country's plastic problem was not going to cut it, she said.

'We need the Government to implement a comprehensive plan to deal with plastic pollution at the source.

'We cannot recycle our way out of this, we have to focus on a reduction based approach.'

Soft-plastics recycling

2015 - Soft-plastics recycling introduced to some New Zealand cities

2018 - Melbourne-based recycling manufacturer Replas becomes inundated and stops accepting New Zealand's plastic recycling

November 2018 - New manufacturer Future Post announces it can take some soft plastic recycling

December 2018 - Scheme postponed, stockpile hits 400 tonnes

May 20, 2019 - Recycling ready to start again