Almost 6,000 households have joined the City of Ballarat's soft plastics recycling pilot, demonstrating strong community support for improved recycling and waste reduction.
The kerbside 'scrunchable' soft plastics recycling collection program, which launched in July last year, is part of a national pilot program managed by Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia, which was previously established by the Australian Food and Grocery Council.
Since July 2024, more than 90,000kg of soft plastics have been collected and diverted from landfill across the nine participating councils of the national pilot program.
The soft plastics that residents recycle are being included in a circular solution to turn them back into quality products, as part of plans to develop a long-term circular system for soft plastic packaging waste.
The pilot program has space for more households to participate, so it's not too late for more residents to get involved.
City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Tracey Hargreaves said the strong level of participation reflects the community's willingness to adopt more sustainable practices.
"We have been thrilled with the response to the trial," she said.
"It is clear that residents are eager to see better recycling options, and we thank everyone who has taken part so far."
While a decision has not yet been made on the future of the soft plastics program, it will continue for the foreseeable future.
A survey will soon be emailed to participating residents to gather their feedback on the program. This will help to understand what worked well, what can be improved and the benefits of the program for the community.
The City of Ballarat will then review the feedback and outcomes of the program before providing a further update to residents in the coming months.
Soft plastics can only be recycled in the supplied orange bags and should be empty and dry. The orange collection bags are made in Australia from 100 per cent recycled plastic.
Scrunchable soft plastics include bread and cereal bags, frozen vegetable packets, lolly wrappers, bubble and cling wrap as well as plastic toilet paper wrap. You can also look for the former REDCycle logo or the Australian Recycling Label 'Return to Store' or 'In-store Drop-off' logo.
The supplied orange bags can contain up to 1kg of soft plastics. When the orange bag is full and tight like a basketball, residents can secure it with a double knot and place it in their fortnightly yellow-lid recyclables collection bin.
To register for the soft plastics kerbside collection visit ballarat.vic.gov.au/property/waste/recycling-ballarat or call Customer Service on 5320 5500. After registering, residents can pick up their orange bags from one of the designated locations.
Please remember to keep all other recycling items loose in your bin and never put loose soft plastics directly into your yellow-lid recycling bin. Loose plastics can damage collection trucks and recycling machinery.
The Ballarat Waste app puts local waste and recycling information right at your fingertips. Download the app via the App Store or on Google Play.
