The Government today launched in Wellington a scheme to recycle soft plastics such as shopping bags as part of a national partnership with the retail sector and packaging industry.

“This soft plastics recycling scheme is the next logical step for households in reducing waste. We have made huge progress, with most households now recycling paper, cardboard, glass, metal cans and hard plastic containers. Soft plastics which are used with shopping bags, frozen vegetable bags and hundreds of other products will now be able to be collected, re-manufactured and re-used,” Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

The initiative is funded through grants of $700,000 to the Packaging Forum and $510,000 grant to Astron Plastics Group from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund.

“The extra challenge with soft plastics is finding a practical way of collecting them and keeping them clean enough for re-use. This scheme of locating recycling services at 51 Countdown, New World, Pak’nSave, Moore Wilson’s and The Warehouse stores across Wellington is modelled on a successful programme in Australia.”

The Packaging Forum grant has enabled the establishment of this recycling service at The Warehouse, Pak ‘n’ Save, New World and Countdown stores across Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch and now Wellington. The Astron Plastics Group grant helped establish a new dry-cleaning facility in Auckland that will recycle soft plastics and reduce the requirement to import virgin plastic polymers.

“In Australia this scheme operates through the Coles Group and has saved thousands of tonnes of plastic going to landfill. This innovative and collaborative approach has proved successful in other locations around New Zealand and I’m looking forward to seeing Wellingtonians embrace it,” Dr Smith says.

“The longer-term objective is for 70 per cent of New Zealanders to have access to a drop-off facility for soft plastics within 20 kilometres of their home.”