Supermarkets putting a wrap on plastic
Timaru’s soft plastic waste is being converted into furniture, bollards and children’s playgrounds.
Soft plastic recycling bins were introduced to Timaru supermarkets late last year - New World, both Countdown branches, and Pak ‘n Save, for people to deposit waste such as plastic bags and plastic food wrappers.
The plastic is sent to Australia, where it transformed into usable items.
Soft plastics recycling was introduced to some cities in New Zealand in 2015, and has since been extended to other towns.
REDCycle soft plastics recycling scheme manager Lyn Mayes said the 240-litre bins each held about 5 kilograms of plastic.
‘‘In 2017 New Zealanders dropped off 366 tonnes of soft plastic compared with 107 tonnes in 2016. Volumes are increasing every month. In December 2017, for example, we collected 51 tonnes.’’
In New Zealand the programme is run by The Packaging Forum, Mayes said.
REDCycle then sends the bags to Melbourne-based company Replas, which converts the plastic into products such as bollards, benches, decking, traffic silencers and children’s playgrounds.
Some of the products were available from Replas NZ distributor Metal Art in the Hutt Valley, Mayes said.
‘‘Growing demand for the products manufactured from our soft plastics is important to ensure the economic viability of the programme.’’
Mayes said in the past two years, the scheme had grown in New Zealand to the point where more than 70 per cent of Kiwis could now find a bin within 20 kilometres of their home or workplace.
New World Timaru store manager Amanda Hogan said initially the store filled two to three bins per week, but that increased over Christmas.
‘‘Now we’re doing one to two bins a day ... so there’s been a huge uptake over time.’’
The bins gained more exposure at Christmas with increased foot traffic going past them.