Residents Urged To Place Soft Plastics In Red Bins

There is no denying that plastic is a revolutionary packaging material and that plastic products are a necessity in our everyday lives.

We are becoming increasingly reliant on plastics, however, particularly single-use and soft plastics.

Australia uses around 70 billion pieces of soft plastics annually and Griffith City Council has urged the community to consider ways to avoid or reduce consumption of soft plastics and ensure any soft plastics used are carefully and appropriately disposed of.

Council’s Waste Operations Manager John Roser said soft plastics referred to any kind of plastic item (usually packaging) that could easily be scrunched in your hands.

“It includes items such as plastic bags, bread bags, chip packets, lolly and biscuit wrappers, cling wrap, frozen food bags, pasta and rice bags and bubble wrap,” Mr Roser said.

Recent waste audits and recycling bin inspections undertaken in the Central West consistently show that soft plastics are the most common type of contamination found in yellow-lid kerbside recycling bins.

Contamination refers to materials that cannot be recycled.

Mr Roser said it was important that soft plastics did not end up in kerbside recycling bins.

“Recyclable materials from the yellow lid bins are sent for sorting and processing at a Materials Recovery Facility, also known as an MRF,” Mr Roser said.

“Soft plastics get caught in machinery at the MRF, causing delays, placing waste workers at risk and increasing processing costs.

“When it comes to plastics, only empty hard plastic containers from the kitchen, bathroom and laundry can be recycled, such as milk and juice bottles, shampoo bottles, washing detergent bottles and clear plastic punnets.

“Please do not use a plastic bag liner for your recycling bin, and make sure all your recyclable materials are placed loose in the recycling bin and not in plastic bags.”

One million tonnes of Australia’s annual plastic consumption are single-use plastics and most plastic bags are only used once before being thrown away.

Lightweight soft plastics can easily become airborne litter, impacting our environment and waterways.

Plastic packaging and single-use plastic items make up 60 per cent of all litter in NSW and, by 2050, it is estimated that plastic in the oceans will outweigh fish.

The NSW Government recognises plastic’s impact on the natural environment and human health which is why, in June 2021, the NSW Plastics Action Plan was released, to manage plastic throughout its lifecycle - from generation through to production, supply and reducing plastic waste.

In June 2022, the Government started to phase out single-use plastic items.

Correctly disposing of soft plastics is critical.

• Topics:

• Recycling
• The Environment
• Living and Lifestyle