Woolworths has officially expanded its in-store soft plastics collection program to more than 700 supermarkets across five Australian states, marking a major step forward in the recovery of supermarket-based soft plastics recycling following the collapse of REDcycle in 2022.
The renewed scheme, which initially launched as a pilot across five Victorian stores in early 2024, now allows customers to return clean and dry household soft plastics, including bread bags, chip packets, frozen food packaging and cereal liners, through dedicated collection bins located at participating stores.
According to Woolworths, approximately 40 million pieces of soft plastic packaging, equivalent to more than 310,000 kilograms, have already been collected and processed through the program. The retailer says collected materials are being converted into products, including in-store wall panelling, building materials and selected Woolworths own-brand bread bags containing 30 per cent recycled plastic.
The program is being supported by Australian recycling partners with Woolworths also collaborating through Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia (SPSA), alongside major brands such as Mars and Nestlé to help rebuild Australia’s soft plastics recycling infrastructure.
The relaunch follows significant scrutiny of Australia’s soft plastics recycling system after the collapse of REDcycle left thousands of tonnes of material stockpiled nationally. Since then, regulators and industry have worked to restore consumer confidence while expanding local processing capacity and improving transparency across the recycling supply chain.
For food and packaging businesses, the expanded collection network signals increasing industry momentum towards circular packaging systems and recycled-content packaging outcomes. It also reinforces the growing importance of Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) guidance, stewardship participation and design-for-recyclability considerations as retailers continue investing in packaging recovery initiatives.
