Australia’s biggest recycling problem could be solved by a new plastic-crushing invention that has been trialled at six supermarkets overseas.
From old chip packets to bread bags, soft plastics are valuable materials that can be processed into anything from wall panels to seats. But unfortunately, most end up dumped in landfill.
Currently, the only option for Aussie shoppers who want to recycle soft plastics is to drop them off at a Woolworths store — a process that is pretty old-school and labour-intensive.
Customers place their plastics in an open receptacle, which fills up four or five times a day. Then staff members have to allocate time to bundle up the waste and then store it back-of-house until collection.
Sydney-based Manco Engineering Group has developed a new high-tech bin, the Manco SP240, that it believes can solve the problem.
At Waste Expo in Melbourne this week, the company was showcasing its features, including an internal compactor to crush plastics and sealed walls for safety and odour suppression.
Aussies could recycle in more convenient locations
The design means the bins don’t need to be emptied regularly, and staff don’t need to be available to maintain them.
Logan Black was showcasing Manco’s high-tech bins at Waste Expo in Melbourne. Source: Yahoo News Australia
Manco organises the collection and transfer of the waste to recycling centres.
And locations with few or no staff could host them, including libraries, council community centres, or waste recycling hubs at sports grounds — similar to the container deposit scheme outlets.
Its product development manager Logan Black confirmed that the bins have been trialled and expanded in New Zealand by Foodstuffs, which operates major supermarkets like New World and PAK’nSAVE.
He’s now in talks with the industry in Australia about beginning a local rollout.
He describes the bins as a modernised version of the existing solution.
“This is the future,” he told Yahoo News.
“It’s a cleaner process, it looks better, and it means fewer headaches for stores.”
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Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia has managed the nation’s soft plastics recycling scheme since the independent REDcycle program collapsed in 2022 after revelations it had been stockpiling waste.
While the federal government had promised to advance the program and mandate that manufacturers and retailers pay for its recycling and disposal, it backflipped on this commitment in September.
The bins can stand alongside other recycling facilities like container deposit scheme machines. Source: Manco
The current voluntary scheme receives the lion’s share of funding from Woolworths and Coles, and it is supported by Aldi, Metcash (IGA) and close to 40 manufacturers.
Due to funding shortfalls, the program has been restricted to drop-offs at Woolworths and to limited trials of kerbside collection.
Frozen dessert chain Yo-Chi has complained that recycling is even tougher for businesses because they have to take their soft plastics directly to processors.
Manco would install bins at central hubs to maximise community access and organise collection, thereby lessening the responsibility of supermarkets and councils.
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Logan believes people want to do the right thing and recycle soft plastics, they just need the process to be made simple, and they need hubs close by.
“Give people the outlet, and they will use it,” he said.
“Then we can take care of the waste from start to finish.”
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