Soft plastics (basically anything you can easily scrunch in your hand including plastic bags) should not be put in your household recycling bin*.
When soft plastics are incorrectly put in household recycling bins, they can:
Recycling options
Most Australians will have to put soft plastics in their garbage bin until an alternative service is established. However, there are still recycling options available to some Australians.
*This does not apply to councils that have specialised recycling schemes in place which collect soft plastics in recycling bins in separate bags.
Developments in soft plastic recycling
Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia
Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia (SPSA) was formed in 2024, and its Product Stewardship Scheme is in development to provide Australians with renewed access to soft plastic recycling services.
Subject to ACCC authorisation, SPSA plans to collect levies from brand owners (manufacturers) and retailers of consumer products based on the amount of consumer soft plastic they put onto the Australian market associated with the products that they produce. These levies will be used to fund the program and all its elements including collection, communications, processing and best ensuring those materials are available to be used in manufacturing again.
SPSA has started trials at supermarkets and kerbside bin recycling to facilitate the transition to a national recycling scheme.
Note: these options are pending ACCC authorisation and are not advised as current practice unless specified by your council for trial purposes.
Australasian Recycling Label
The Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) released the ‘Check Locally’ Geotag label to replace the ‘Return to Store’ and ‘Store Drop-off' labels used for REDcycle recycling services. The new ‘Check Locally’ label instructs users to check whether recycling options are available in your area.
‘Return to Store’ and ‘Store Drop-off' labels may still be visible on some packaging. This is to avoid unnecessary waste. If you see these labels on packaging, follow the same instructions as ‘Check Locally’ to find recycling options. The ARL search function is designed for only for soft plastic drop off locations and will not show any kerbside trials.
Roll ‘N’ Recycle
Any packaging featuring Roll ‘N’ Recycle labelling directs that it can be rolled into a ‘cylinder’, secured with the supplied sticker, and placed in your kerbside. Roll ‘N’ Recycle has passed the PREP tool assessment when rolled from a two-dimensional item to a 3-dimensional item, deeming it recyclable. Stickers are supplied on packaging to secure the cylindrical shape throughout the collection and sorting process.
For a wider picture of soft plastic recycling available in your area, find your local council page on RNY.
What are soft plastics?
Soft plastics are any kind of plastic item (usually packaging) that can be easily scrunched in your hand.
Common soft plastic items include:
Why recycle?
Plastic waste and pollution are a big problem in Australia and worldwide. It’s estimated five trillion plastic bags are used every year globally – that’s 120,000 bags every second! Each plastic bag may only be used for a few minutes before being thrown away, taking between 15 to 1,000 years to break down.
Soft plastics including plastic bags can easily be blown away from landfills and enter our environment where wildlife can become entangled in the plastic or mistake it for food. When plastics are littered in the ocean, they break down into smaller pieces and are often eaten by fish and other marine animals.
Manufacturing plastics from recycled materials also uses less energy than is required to make virgin plastic products from fossil fuels, which is a big saving for the environment.
The best solution to this problem is to use reusable shopping bags and avoid soft plastics including single-use plastic items wherever possible. While it’s almost impossible to avoid soft plastics completely, small reductions per person can add up to make a big impact.
What happens to them?
Soft plastics that are collected through specialised recycling services are sent to dedicated recyclers/re-processors. They can be physically recycled into plastic materials that can be used to make things like outdoor furniture and road infrastructure. Soft plastics can also be chemically recycled (broken down into their raw components) and used to make new plastics or used as fuel.
Why did REDcycle close?
REDcycle have collected more than 5.4 billion pieces of soft plastic since the program launched in 2011, turning them into new products like shopping trolleys and street furniture. Unfortunately, the program closed on the 9th of November 2022.
Due to several unforeseen challenges, exacerbated by the pandemic, REDcycle’s recycling partners were unable to continue accepting and processing the large amount of soft plastics that were being returned (5 million pieces every day).
Check this page for updates on soft plastic recycling. In the meantime, soft plastics should be put in your garbage bin, unless your council has a specialised recycling service for soft plastics (check with your council directly).
Recycling large quantities
If your workplace or business has large quantities of soft plastics to recycle, visit soft plastics page for businesses to find a suitable drop-off or pick-up service.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are soft plastics recycled?
Soft plastics that are collected through specialised recycling programs are sent to dedicated recyclers/re-processors. They can be physically recycled into plastic materials that can be used to make things like outdoor furniture and road infrastructure. Soft plastics can also be chemically recycled (broken down into their raw components) and used to make new plastics or used as fuel.
Remember, soft plastics like plastic bags, biscuit wrappers, chip packets and bread bags cannot be recycled via your household recycling bin (unless your council is taking part in a recycling program that requires you to put them in a special bag in your household recycling bin). Your council may offer soft plastics recycling to residents via special program, so you should also check with them for any local recycling options.
Should plastic bags be banned?
All state and territories within Australia have introduced bans on most lightweight single-use plastic bags (some kinds have not been banned such as barrier bags for fruit and vegetables) due to their negative environmental impacts.
Most plastic bags are only used for a short time, however, if they find their way into the environment, they may take hundreds of years (or longer) to break down and can cause significant negative impacts to wildlife.
Most Australians do not currently have access to a recycling program for plastic bags and, as a result, a significant proportion of plastic bags end up in landfill or become pollution, especially within the marine environment.
If plastic bags make their way into waterways and oceans, wildlife such as sea turtles and water birds may accidentally ingest them or become entangled, causing significant injury or death. Additionally, like other plastics, plastic bags break down into microplastics, which are easily ingested and can make their way into food chains. Since plastic bags are made from fossil fuels, such as carbon, oil and gas, their production also results in greenhouse gas emissions and contributes to climate change.
How long does a plastic bag take to decompose?
Lightweight single-use plastic bags (thin plastic bags that can be easily ripped) have been estimated to take 20 years to break down. Other estimates suggest plastic bags can take anywhere between 20-1,000 years to break down, depending on thickness and environmental conditions such as sunlight. In the process of decomposition, plastic bags break into microplastics, which pose a significant threat to the environment, wildlife and human health.
How much of the plastic bag can be recycled?
Single-use plastic bags are 100% recyclable, but not via your household recycling bin. Soft plastics such as plastic bags that are put in household recycling bins can contaminate other recycling and get caught in recycling machinery. Plastic bags and other kinds of soft plastics can only be recycled through specialised recycling programs that keep the materials separate and are sent to facilities that have the necessary equipment to recycle them. Check directly with your council to see if there are recycling options available in your area.
