Soft plastics comp offers chance to win

16 February 2022

Soft plastics consumers and recyclers are in with another chance to win a bundle of eco-friendly goodies by taking Council’s latest recycling survey.

Marking the end of a campaign to get the Bega Valley recycling its chip packets, wrappers and plastic bags, the survey will seek an update on how the community disposes of their soft plastic waste.

Waste Project Officer, Amber Gault said the survey will bookend the awareness campaign, but a focus on getting more people to recycle soft plastics will continue.

“It certainly appears soft plastics recycling has been on the rise since the beginning of the campaign, and we’re hoping the survey results reflect this,” Ms Gault said.

“While this marks the end of the awareness campaign, our commitment to showing the community easy ways to recycle their soft plastics will continue.

“Our free soft plastics collection bags have been a hit, particularly in local schools, and we are continuing to make these available to anyone who wants to pick one up from a library, waste facility or Council’s office in Bega.

“Every child attending a shire school has been given one of our collection bags, and through our ‘Let’s Get it Sorted’ campaign delivered by the Bournda Environmental Education Centre, we are seeing many students now being advocates for recycling in the community and at home.”

Ms Gault said the soft plastics survey will be available online from Wednesday 16 February and four people will be randomly chosen to win an eco-friendly prize.

“Taking this five-minute survey will put you in the running to win an eco-hamper containing useful eco-swaps and books by Jackie French and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall,” Ms Gault said.

“The results will help us target and deliver other education initiatives around recycling and choosing the right bin to keep valuable resources away from landfill.

“A real highlight from this campaign has been offering five recycled plastic benches to local schools. This has been a real, tangible way to show that recycling soft plastics is not only great for the environment, but also capable of providing functional items like benches, bollards and even recycled plastic road surfaces.”

This competition is a component of the Plastic Free FOGO project, funded via the Organics Collection Grants Program as part of the EPA’s Waste Less Recycle More initiative.

To access the soft plastics survey and enter the competition, go to Council’s Have Your Say webpage.

Winners will be randomly drawn and announced on the Bega Valley Waste and Recycling Facebook page after the survey competition closes on Tuesday 1 March 2022.