The news that thousands of tonnes of soft plastic waste had been piling up in warehouses and not getting recycled last year was a devastating blow for many Australians who felt misled by the convenience of shopping bags and packaging labelled ‘100% recyclable.’

Despite the controversy surrounding the collapse of the REDcycle program in late 2022, questions have recently been raised in regards to why Coles and similar supermarkets like Woolworths are still promoting their soft plastic recycling program on their packaging despite its questionable collapse.

On Sunday, a shopper uploaded a photo on Reddit of a pack of Imperfect Mangoes from Coles, which still stated that their plastic wrap is '100 per cent recyclable through your local Coles'.

'(It’s been) over three months since the collapse of REDcycle, and Coles is still promoting unnecessary packaging as recyclable,' they wrote in the now-deleted post.

Some users agreed and said the retailer was probably banking on ‘greenwashing’ or passing off their service as eco-friendly.

But considerably, others saw the tight spot Coles and competitor Woolworths are in with REDCycle down and out.

‘There’s probably a warehouse full of the unused wrappers,’ one commenter said. ‘What did you want them to do? Throw them out because REDcycling got cancelled?’

‘Just leftover packaging, probably. Not everything’s a conspiracy mate,’ a second added.

Major supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths are being questioned why they still have their recycling services indicated on goods months after a common partner shuttered. Image Credit: Flickr

Supermarkets respond

In response, a spokesperson for Coles confirmed that packaging indicated as recyclable is still being used.

‘To avoid significant volumes of additional unnecessary waste going directly to landfill, as well as impose undue costs, Coles Own Brand suppliers are continuing to use packaging designed and printed prior to the collapse of the REDcycle program,’ they said.

‘We have informed our customers through various channels that the REDcycle program is no longer operating. We are working with industry and governments to help find a solution to soft plastics recycling in Australia.’

A spokesperson for Woolworths said something similar and stressed that doing away with the current stock of packaging, which had been printed in advance, would be wasteful.

In the months since REDCycle’s shutdown, Coles and Woolworths stores have posted notices to their customers of suspended soft plastic collection schemes and assurances that they’re working on finding alternatives.

What’s going on with REDCycle, anyway?

In breaking news, REDCycle has been declared insolvent by the NSW Supreme Court.

Insolvency is when a business can no longer afford to pay debts due, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

The decision came after it was made apparent that the company, also known as RG Programs and Services Pty Ltd, had failed to pay storage fees for the thousands of tonnes of plastic it was found to have stored in warehouses.

A liquidator has been appointed to take over REDCycle, according to reports.

As of writing, REDCycle has yet to reflect the update on its website.

The last development was posted on February 9, when the company said, ‘High-value downstream processing solutions are emerging, and we are working closely with those stakeholders.’

Source: YouTube/Sky News Australia​

The development also comes just at the heels of Coles and Woolworths offering to work through the estimated 12,000 tonnes of recyclable materials in the warehouses REDCycle stowed their collected plastic.

Over the matter, the two supermarkets were served Clean-Up Notices by the Environment Protection Authority in New South Wales and Victoria in early February.

This doesn’t mean that recycling will be back on track as far as the retail giants and the insolvent company are concerned.

A liquidator was reported to be taking over REDCycle after the NSW Supreme Court declared the company insolvent. Image Credit: Seniors Discount Club

According to reports, Coles and Woolworths will sort through the stockpile and see what could still be used for recycling, with the rest potentially finding their way to landfill.

‘To date, the supermarkets have not been given access to the stockpiled material. They will need to assess whether any of the soft plastic has degraded to an extent where it is no longer suitable for reprocessing,’ a representative for the retailers said.

‘Coles and Woolworths will work to recycle as much of the material they are given as possible.’

The retailers are said to be pouring in $1 million each for the joint undertaking.

Key Takeaways

• Questions have been raised over whether Coles and Woolworths should still be promoting their suspended soft plastic recycling programs.
• Some consumers feel that continuing to use packaging with a false statement is 'greenwashing'.
• Spokespersons for the retailers confirmed the retailer was continuing to use packaging produced before the collapse of REDCycle.
• REDCycle has just been declared insolvent by the NSW Supreme Court.
• Coles and Woolworths have offered to take responsibility for thousands of tonnes of recyclable materials from their collection programs found stashed by REDCycle in various warehouses.

In the meantime, you might want to read about what your options are with Coles and Woolworths’ soft recycling programs still on hold.

So, what are your thoughts on this? Do you think that the shopper has a point?

Should supermarkets like Coles and Woolworths make it a point to update their packaging?

Let us know in the comment section below!

 

[oilsfromoz]

"The retailers are said to be pouring in $1 million each for the joint undertaking."

"Pouring" is a bit of an overstatement when compared to their massive profits

 

[Thecheesequeen]

Better to use the already-produced wrappings than to discard them. And how are they supposed to dispose of them, since the REDcycle system is defunct?

 

[Ma-to-3]

The person who posted this is a moron raising this. What well run business doesn’t order in bulk, it’s going to take time use the packaging still branded with REDcycle. And the government should be standing up and finding a solution. I hate putting soft plastic in my rubbish bin for land fill.

 

[Keswickian]

All that soft plastic, plus a lot of other rubbish, could be incinerated and converted to electricity in a facility known generically as a "waste-to-energy" plant. Singapore has been doing it for years and I believe has at least 2 or 3 such plants operating. I've said it before but our utterly useless Government should get their A into G and build some here. I'm sure the Singaporeans would be happy to build some for us if we can't do it ourselves!