The NSW government is being called on to act on the issue of massive stockpiles of plastic potentially headed for landfill under the stalled supermarket REDcycle scheme.
During the week, Coles and Woolworths were ordered by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) to remove more than 5200 tonnes of soft plastic stockpiled at 15 sites across the state.
Greens MP Cate Faehrmann said the government should immediately divert the $800 million it makes annually from the waste levy to dealing with the issue.
She also called on environment minister James Griffin to rule out the plastics ending up in landfill.
“The collapse of REDCycle and the discovery of millions of tonnes of stockpiled soft plastics that are now on their way to landfill has revealed a deeply broken plastics recycling system,” Ms Faehrmann said on Saturday.
“The Minister needs to find a safe storage solution and invest in those businesses that already have soft plastic recycling schemes, to be able to scale them up.”
A spokesperson for Mr Griffin said the EPA would work with stakeholders and explore possible solutions, including placing the waste in landfill or shipping it overseas.
“The stockpiling of soft plastics, which were intended to be recycled through the REDcycle scheme, is concerning and does not meet community expectations,” the spokesperson said.
“We need to take action nationwide to reduce plastic use, especially plastic packaging, and the NSW Government will continue to work with the Federal Government and stakeholders on long term solutions to achieve a circular economy.”
The REDcycle program allowed customers to return soft plastics to their local supermarket for recycling. It was halted in November last year due to issues with recycling partners – leading to roughly three Olympic swimming pools-worth of soft plastics being shelved.
According to a statement by the EPA the way the plastics are stored “from the floor to the ceiling” prevents proper ventilation and creates a risk of fire.
In a statement on Friday, NSW EPA chief executive Tony Chappel said retailers were responsible for addressing the stockpiled waste.
A Woolworths spokesperson said the EPA notice came as a surprise, as REDcycle had “indicated” to the retailer that plans were already in place to deal with the stockpiles.
“We will seek clarity from the NSW EPA on its position in the days ahead,” the spokesperson said.
A new policy plan also unveiled by the NSW Greens on Saturday would see $100 million from the waste levy redirected towards establishing soft plastics recycling schemes.
The party would also mandate procurement targets for recycled plastic content in single use plastics, saying the current government’s failure to do so had left NSW without a market for recycled plastics.
By Duncan Murray in Sydney
