New partnership to ease soft plastics problem

Published on 27 March 2023

soft plastics

Kingston residents will once again be able to recycle soft plastics thanks to a partnership between Kingston Council and APR Plastics, following the collapse of the REDcycle program.

Soft plastics can be handed over at five handy drop-off points across Kingston.

Kingston Mayor Hadi Saab said Council had acted to create this option for our community to promote recycling and minimise the amount of waste sent to landfill.

“We know many people in our community want to do the right thing and were disappointed that they could no longer recycle soft plastics at their local supermarket,” Cr Saab said. 

“We’re proud to partner with Dandenong South business APR Plastics to offer a short-term option to make sure plastics are recycled rather than dumped in landfill where they can take up to 500 years to completely break down.”

Kingston residents can drop off soft plastics at the following locations:

  • Council Offices - 1230 Nepean Highway, Cheltenham (8.30am-5pm weekdays)
  • Waves Leisure Centre, Highett (during centre opening hours)
  • Clarinda Community Centre (9am-5pm weekdays)
  • Patterson Lakes Community Centre (9am-5pm weekdays)
  • Aspendale Gardens Community Centre (during centre opening hours)

The drop-off points are intended to be in place until the supermarket soft plastic recycling scheme resumes.

“Landfill space will run out in Melbourne’s south-east and eastern suburbs by 2025, so we must do everything we can to reduce our waste.  We can all play a part by reducing, reusing, and recycling.”

Mayor Saab said leadership was needed from industry and all levels of government to develop a sustainable ongoing recycling program. 

“I look forward to working with the other levels of government and our supermarkets to establish permanent solutions.

“Thank-you to all our residents who have continued to separate their soft plastics since the suspension of REDcycle’s soft plastics recycling program and we look forward to seeing you at one of our drop-off points soon.”

Find out more on soft plastics.

Update 19 April 2023

Well done Kingston!

So far, we’ve picked up eight skips of soft plastics for recycling from our five new drop-off locations.

We know a lot of you have had a backlog of soft plastics in your pantry and our new bins are filling up fast. 

We’ve arranged extra pick-ups to clear the bins sooner and are working hard to continuously improve the service to make it as easy as possible for you to recycle.

Congratulations on such a successful start! 

 

 

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