EPA Victoria finds at least six warehouses with 3,000 tonnes of soft plastics after REDcycle suspended

‘It is believed additional sites could exist across Victoria and the country,’ state environment protection authority says

Coles store

At least six warehouses containing 3,000 tonnes of soft plastics have been found in Victoria as part of an Environment Protection Authority investigation into the now-suspended REDcycle program.

The state EPA said on Friday the stored soft plastics – which pose a fire risk – had been found across six Melbourne sites after the REDcycle program ceased a month ago. There was potentially a seventh site in Wodonga in regional Victoria, the authority said.

A notice issued to the scheme’s operators led investigators to the six warehouses managed by logistics companies in Melbourne’s western and northern suburbs.

“The soft plastics found in the Melbourne warehouses are thought to have come from outside of Victoria … it is believed that additional sites could exist across Victoria and the country,” the EPA said in a statement.

The authority’s chief executive, Lee Miezis, said officers were still inspecting sites “and we’ll continue to work hard – using our stronger regulatory powers – until we’re certain we’ve found every site in Victoria”.

“Although the operators of REDcycle did tell us about some of the sites, intelligence from logistics companies and others is assisting EPA’s investigations,” he said. “If you have any of these soft plastic wastes at your warehouse, we need to know.”

Comment was sought from REDcycle.

In early November, the company blamed unforeseen circumstances for its decision to suspend its soft plastics recycling scheme, which involved collecting waste from Coles and Woolworths stores.

“Consumer recycling of soft plastic has grown exponentially in recent years, with a 350% increase in plastic returned since 2019,” a REDcycle spokesperson said at the time.

“However, due to several unforeseen challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, REDcycle’s recycling partners have temporarily stopped accepting and processing soft plastics. This combination has put untenable pressure on the REDcycle business model.”

REDcycle provides the only consumer-facing soft plastic recycling for the majority of Australian households.

<gu-island name="TopRightAdSlot" props="{"isPaidContent":false,"adStyles":[{"name":"1bvr6fr","styles":".ad-slot__scroll{ntttfont-family: GuardianTextSans, Guardian Text Sans Web, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;ntttfont-size: 0.75rem;ntttline-height: 1.35;ntttfont-weight: 400;nttt;nnttt/*nttt * Child elements (e.g. ) can use this variablenttt * to set the thickness of their underline.nttt *nttt * The thickness for each font type and weight is definednttt * in the underlineThickness object.nttt */nttt–source-text-decoration-thickness: 2px;ntt;height:24px;max-height:24px;background-color:#F6F6F6;padding:0 8px;border-top:1px solid #DCDCDC;color:#707070;text-align:left;box-sizing:border-box;; position:relative;&.visible{visibility:initial;}&.hidden{visibility:hidden;}}.ad-slot__close-button{display:none;}.ad-slot__scroll{position:fixed;bottom:0;width:100%;ntttfont-family: GuardianTextSans, Guardian Text Sans Web, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;ntttfont-size: 0.75rem;ntttline-height: 1.35;ntttfont-weight: 400;nttt;nnttt/*nttt * Child elements (e.g. ) can use this variablenttt * to set the thickness of their underline.nttt *nttt * The thickness for each font type and weight is definednttt * in the underlineThickness object.nttt */nttt–source-text-decoration-thickness: 2px;ntt;height:24px;max-height:24px;background-color:#F6F6F6;padding:0 8px;border-top:1px solid #DCDCDC;color:#707070;text-align:left;box-sizing:border-box;;;}.ad-slot:not[data-label-show=’true’]::before{content:”;display:block;height:24px;visibility:hidden;}.ad-slot[data-label-show=’true’]:not(.ad-slot–interscroller)::before{content:attr(ad-label-text);display:block;position:relative;ntttfont-family: GuardianTextSans, Guardian Text Sans Web, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;ntttfont-size: 0.75rem;ntttline-height: 1.35;ntttfont-weight: 400;nttt;nnttt/*nttt * Child elements (e.g. ) can use this variablenttt * to set the thickness of their underline.nttt *nttt * The thickness for each font type and weight is definednttt * in the underlineThickness object.nttt */nttt–source-text-decoration-thickness: 2px;ntt;height:24px;max-height:24px;background-color:#F6F6F6;padding:0 8px;border-top:1px solid #DCDCDC;color:#707070;text-align:left;box-sizing:border-box;;;}.ad-slot__adtest-cookie-clear-link{ntttfont-family: GuardianTextSans, Guardian Text Sans Web, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;ntttfont-size: 0.75rem;ntttline-height: 1.35;ntttfont-weight: 400;nttt;nnttt/*nttt * Child elements (e.g. ) can use this variablenttt * to set the thickness of their underline.nttt *nttt * The thickness for each font type and weight is definednttt * in the underlineThickness object.nttt */nttt–source-text-decoration-thickness: 2px;ntt;text-align:left;position:absolute;right:3px;top:-22px;padding:0;border:0;}"},{"name":"1tjr8si","styles":"&.ad-slot–fluid{min-height:250px;line-height:10px;padding:0;margin:0;}"}]}”>

Leave a comment

Plastic Education