{"id":945072,"date":"2026-10-29T10:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T10:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/945072\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T10:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T10:52:14","slug":"aussie-bin-invention-the-future-of-supermarket-soft-plastics-recycling-around-the-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/945072\/","title":{"rendered":"Aussie bin invention ‘the future’ of supermarket soft plastics recycling around the world"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia’s biggest recycling problem<\/a> could be solved by a new plastic-crushing invention that has been trialled at six supermarkets overseas.<\/p>\n

From old chip packets to bread bags, soft plastics are valuable materials that can be processed into anything from wall panels to seats.<\/a> But unfortunately, most end up dumped in landfill.<\/p>\n

Currently, the only option for Aussie shoppers who want to recycle soft plastics is to drop them off at a Woolworths store<\/a> \u2014 a process that is pretty old-school and labour-intensive.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/p>\n

Sydney-based Manco Engineering Group has developed a new high-tech bin, the Manco SP240, that it believes can solve the problem.<\/p>\n

At Waste Expo in Melbourne this week,<\/a> the company was showcasing its features, including an internal compactor to crush plastics and sealed walls for safety and odour suppression.<\/p>\n

Aussies could recycle in more convenient locations<\/p>\n

The design means the bins don’t need to be emptied regularly, and staff don’t need to be available to maintain them.<\/p>\n

\"Logan<\/p>\n

Logan Black was showcasing Manco’s high-tech bins at Waste Expo in Melbourne. Source: Yahoo News Australia<\/p>\n

Manco organises the collection and transfer of the waste to recycling centres.<\/p>\n

And locations with few or no staff could host them, including libraries, council community centres, or waste recycling hubs at sports grounds \u2014 similar to the container deposit scheme outlets.<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

He’s now in talks with the industry in Australia about beginning a local rollout.<\/p>\n

He describes the bins as a modernised version of the existing solution.<\/p>\n

“This is the future,” he told Yahoo News.<\/p>\n

“It’s a cleaner process, it looks better, and it means fewer headaches for stores.”<\/p>\n

Supermarkets lumped with Australia’s recycling problem<\/p>\n

Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia has managed the nation’s soft plastics recycling scheme since the independent REDcycle program collapsed in 2022<\/a> after revelations it had been stockpiling waste.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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The bins can stand alongside other recycling facilities like container deposit scheme machines. Source: Manco<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Due to funding shortfalls, the program has been restricted to drop-offs at Woolworths and to limited trials of kerbside collection.<\/a><\/p>\n

Frozen dessert chain Yo-Chi has complained that recycling is even tougher for businesses<\/a> because they have to take their soft plastics directly to processors.<\/p>\n

Manco would install bins at central hubs to maximise community access and organise collection, thereby lessening the responsibility of supermarkets and councils.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“Give people the outlet, and they will use it,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Then we can take care of the waste from start to finish.”<\/p>\n

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