Shellharbour Mayor Chris Homer at the Soft Plastic Recycling Drop-Off. Photo: Shellharbour City Council.
Illawarra residents have shown such overwhelming support for soft plastics recycling that Soft Plastics Recycling Drop-Off Days are returning across all three council areas, with thousands of kilograms already saved from landfill during a trial of the scheme.
Run in partnership with the Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation (ISJO) and Kiama, Shellharbour and Wollongong councils, the trial was held between November last year and February this year.
During the first round of events, 1366 Illawarra residents dropped off their soft plastics, helping collect and save 2400 kg from landfill, proving strong interest in sustainable waste solutions.
In Kiama, 193 people dropped off an impressive 856 kg at its waste and recycling facility, while Shellharbour’s second event in February had 242 people who brought in 613 kg.
ISJO and the three councils are reviewing the results of the trial to explore whether a permanent soft plastics recycling solution could be set up in the Illawarra Shoalhaven.
In the meantime, three Drop-Off Days have been identified for September and October.
Shellharbour City Mayor Chris Homer said the return of the event reflected the community’s shared commitment to protecting the local environment.
“We’ve listened to our locals and it’s clear there’s strong support for bringing this back,” Cr Homer said.
“This is about doing the right thing for our environment and making it easy for everyone in our community to get involved.
“It’s a simple way we can all help protect what makes Shellharbour special.”
Illawarra residents are encouraged to start collecting their soft plastics now and bring them along on the day.
Residents can drop off clean, dry and empty soft plastics in a large plastic bag for easy handling.
Accepted items include plastic bags; biscuit and snack wrappers; chip packets and silver-lined snack wrappers; fresh and frozen food wrappers or bags; pasta, bread, and rice bags (plastic and woven types); cling wrap, bubble wrap and snap lock zip bags; document sleeves, mail satchels and carrier bags; and cereal liners and plastic pet food bags.
Soft plastics make up about seven per cent of red-lid bin contents by mass, but due to their low density take up much more space in landfill.
For this next round of collections, all soft plastics will be baled and stored at Flagstaff in Wollongong before heading to a Soft Plastics Engineered Commodity Facility run by IQRenew near Taree.
There, the plastics are processed into pellets, flakes or shreds that can be used to manufacture new products such as bags, FOGO caddies, buckets and fence posts
These drop-off events are part of a trial supported by Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia, which has shown strong interest in expanding recycling opportunities in local communities.
ISJO is also keeping an eye on the national Soft Plastics Taskforce, which is working with Coles, Woolworths and ALDI to trial in-store collection points.
There’s also a proposal on the table to extend that trial until 31 July, 2026, which is under review by the ACCC.
Upcoming drop-off events include Shellharbour Council on 14 September at Albion Oval car park in Ash Avenue, Albion Park Rail; Wollongong Council on 25 October at Towradgi Park car park in Moray Road Towradgi; and Kiama Council on 8 November at Minnamurra Waste and Recycling Facility. All events are from 8 am to noon.
To find other soft plastics recycling events across the Illawarra Shoalhaven region and learn more, visit the ISJO website.
