The ACCC has issued a new scheme proposing collection of soft plastic packaging from consumers for recycling purposes. Food and grocery giants Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, Nestlé, Mars and McCormick Foods are already on board.

What could this mean for consumers?

The scheme will be run by Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia (SPSA). This is following the collapse of the REDcycle program in 2022, after it was revealed that approximately 11,000 tonnes of soft plastics collected from supermarkets across Australia, were stockpiled rather than processed and recycled. The SPSA will implement systems to collect and recycle soft plastics from consumers, as an estimated 70 per cent of soft plastic packaging is transferred from business-to-consumer.

Additionally, the scheme will look to manufactures who sell soft plastic wrapped products. When such product is sold to supermarkets, manufactures will have to pay a fee for placing soft plastic “on the market”. This levy will theoretically be what funds the scheme.

Public submissions regarding the proposed scheme are required by Monday, August 25th. We expect to hear more in the following week. Until successfully implemented, the ACCC have authorised SPSA to conduct instore collection of the unprocessed REDcycle stockpile until July 2026.

Image: Image: Shutterstock – Patcharanan

Produced By: Delaney Carter

Featured In Story: Robert Hoffmann

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 20 August 2025