Recycle soft plastics at your local transfer station

Recycle soft plastics at your local transfer station

Published on 12 November 2021

Council is conducting a six month soft plastics recycling trial with local recycling company, Victorian Regional Recyclers.

To recycle your soft plastics simply drop them off at Council’s transfer stations in Kyneton, Woodend or Romsey. This service will be free for all Macedon Ranges Shire residents and businesses.

Soft plastics are plastics that can be scrunched in your hand and bounce back to their original shape, or flexible films such as bubble wrap or cling wrap.

These plastics cannot be recycled through the co-mingled kerbside recycling bin as they get stuck in the trucks and sorting machinery, and can cause costly damage.

Council’s Director Assets and Operations, Shane Walden said that up to 70 per cent of the contents in household general waste bins is made up of soft plastics.

“The more resources we can keep out of landfill, the better for our environment.

“Council is pleased to be able to trial soft plastics recycling for our community who have told us this is an important concern of theirs,” he said.

What can be recycled as part of the soft plastics recycling trial:

Plastic bags including reusable shopping bags (polypropylene), bulk bags, for example rice bags, dry pet food and stock feed bags and bulka bags. Plastic films including bubble wrap, cling wrap and plastic film from grocery items, pallet wrap and shrink wrap. Other plastic items including bread bag tags (collected separately in a clear plastic bag) and plastic bottle caps (collected separately in a clear plastic bag).

Plastics must be completely dry and free of food and other products.

There are some common household items, such as silver lined snack wrappers and bread bags, which are not yet able to be accepted in the soft plastic trial. Council is committed to finding solutions for these items and hopes to add to the list of accepted items as the trial progresses.

View a comprehensive list of what can and cannot be recycled as part of the soft plastics recycling trial.

Items that cannot be recycled through this service may be recycled through the RedCycle supermarket drop-off program or placed in the general waste bin.