Soft plastics recycling Australia – Soft Plastics Recycling Returns to Australia, But Can New Infrastructure Really Fix a Broken System and Stop Plastic Waste Forever 31-12-2025
Soft plastics recycling Australia
Soft plastics recycling is back, but the system looks very different
After years of uncertainty following the collapse of the REDcycle program, soft plastics recycling Australia has officially restarted. New kerbside trials and supermarket drop-off schemes are operating again, backed by infrastructure that did not exist last time.
For households that felt guilty throwing bread bags and chip packets into landfill, this marks a significant shift. But the relaunch also raises important questions. Where does recycled soft plastic actually go? How is it processed? And can recycling keep pace with Australia’s growing plastic consumption?
The reopening of soft plastics recycling is not a simple restart. It is a reset built around new technology, stricter controls, and a renewed focus on end markets.
The missing link that caused REDcycle to fail
The REDcycle collapse in 2022 exposed a critical weakness in Australia’s recycling system. Collection outpaced processing, leaving thousands of tonnes of soft plastics stockpiled with nowhere to go.
What was missing was large-scale domestic processing.
That gap is now being filled by Australia’s first major soft plastics recycling facility, located at Kundle Kundle near Taree on the New South Wales Mid North Coast. Known as the Soft Plastic Engineered Commodity facility, or SPEC, it is operated by resource recovery company iQRenew.
The facility can process up to 14,000 tonnes of soft plastics per year, with plans to scale up to 24,000 tonnes annually. This makes it the backbone of the renewed soft plastics recycling Australia system.
Where the recycled soft plastics are coming from
The Taree facility receives soft plastics from multiple sources. These include supermarket return-to-store programs, council-run kerbside trials, and national pilot projects coordinated by Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia.
Material is currently arriving from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. Woolworths alone has reintroduced soft plastic collection at around 500 stores, creating a steady flow of material into the system.
The facility is also processing the remaining stockpiled waste left behind after the REDcycle collapse. Truckloads of legacy material are still arriving daily, slowly clearing one of Australia’s most visible recycling failures
What counts as recyclable soft plastic?
For consumers, the rules remain relatively simple. Soft plastics are generally accepted if they are scrunchable and do not spring back into shape.
Common examples include:
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Bread bags
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Chip and snack wrappers
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Cereal box liners
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Biscuit wrappers
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Cling film and shrink wrap
Items must be clean and free from food contamination. This is critical for keeping processing costs down and ensuring recycled material can be reused safely.
Inside Australia’s new soft plastics recycling process
Once inside the SPEC facility, bags of soft plastics move along high-speed conveyor belts through a multi-stage sorting process.
Magnets remove metals such as fruit bag clips. Advanced optical sorting technology then identifies and separates plastics based on polymer type and grade. This step is essential because soft plastics are made from multiple materials that cannot be recycled together.
After sorting, plastics are washed and dried before being extruded into flakes and pellets. These pellets are the building blocks used by manufacturers to create new products.
At full operation, the extruders can process up to 750 kilograms of recycled plastic pellets per hour. This demonstrates that soft plastics recycling Australia is now technologically viable at scale.
Giving soft plastics a second life
Recycled pellets from the Taree facility are already being used by Australian manufacturers.
Some are sent to Trendpac on the NSW Central Coast, which has become the first company in the country to trial soft plastic content in bottles. If successful, up to 60 million bottles produced each year at the site could include recycled soft plastics.
This is a major shift for an industry that previously considered soft plastics unsuitable for recycling. It also shows how domestic recycling can support local manufacturing and reduce reliance on virgin plastics soft plastics recycling Australia
Why recycled plastic still costs more
Despite environmental benefits, recycled soft plastics remain more expensive than virgin plastic. Manufacturers report costs that are 10 to 30 per cent higher. soft plastics recycling Australia
These costs come from additional sorting, washing, and processing requirements. Without strong demand signals, many companies struggle to justify switching materials. soft plastics recycling Australia
This is why industry leaders are calling for government procurement policies and mandatory recycled content targets. Without market demand, even the best recycling infrastructure risks being underused.
Turning plastic back into oil through chemical recycling
Not all soft plastics processed at the SPEC facility are mechanically recycled. Some are sent to Licella, another NSW Central Coast company trialling advanced chemical recycling. soft plastics recycling Australia
This process uses hot pressurised water to break mixed plastics down into recycled oil. That oil can then replace fossil fuels in the production of new plastics, creating a closed-loop system that can theoretically be repeated indefinitely.
Unlike mechanical recycling, chemical recycling can produce food-grade plastics. This opens the door for recycled material to be used in packaging that comes into direct contact with food.
Licella plans to scale up with a new facility in Melbourne, expanding Australia’s chemical recycling capacity
Recycling alone cannot solve Australia’s plastic problem
While the return of soft plastics recycling Australia is a major step forward, experts warn it cannot fix the plastic crisis on its own.
Australia uses around 70 billion pieces of soft plastic each year, amounting to more than half a million tonnes. Only about six per cent is currently recycled. The remaining 94 per cent ends up in landfill or the environment. soft plastics recycling Australia
National data shows Australia consumed four million tonnes of plastic products and packaging in 2023–24. Overall plastics recovery, including energy recovery, sits at just 14 per cent. soft plastics recycling Australia
These numbers highlight a hard truth. Even with improved recycling, plastic production continues to rise faster than recovery rates.
The health and environmental limits of recycling
Beyond waste volumes, concerns remain about the health impacts of plastic recycling. Soft plastics contain chemical additives, and repeated processing increases the risk of microplastic pollution. soft plastics recycling Australia
Environmental advocates argue that focusing solely on recycling delays more meaningful action. Reducing plastic production, phasing out unnecessary packaging, and investing in plant-based alternatives may deliver greater long-term benefits.
From this perspective, recycling should be a safety net, not the foundation of plastic policy.
A new chapter, not a clean slate
The return of soft plastics recycling marks a cautious but important milestone for Australia. This time, the system is built on domestic processing, real end markets, and lessons learned from past failures. soft plastics recycling Australia
However, success will depend on more than technology. Demand for recycled products, government leadership, and reduced plastic consumption must all move together. soft plastics recycling Australia
Recycling is back. Whether it becomes a lasting solution or another temporary fix will depend on what Australia does next.
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