Australian Recyclers Need More Plastic Waste to Stay Home

Australian recycling companies are facing an unusual problem: they can't get their hands on enough plastic waste to recycle.

Despite factories ready to process hundreds of tonnes more plastic each month, too much recyclable material is being shipped overseas instead of staying local. Some of it leaves through legal exemptions granted years ago. Some may be leaving illegally.

Clive Townsend runs Australian Soft Plastics Recycling in Melbourne, where his team turns clear plastic wrap from supermarket deliveries into pellets used for insulation and sound barriers. His factory could handle 800 tonnes monthly, but he's lucky to get half that amount.

"We can't get enough. We're paying a lot, but it's just not available," Townsend told ABC Australia. In December, his supply dropped so low he had to lay off five workers.

When Australia banned waste exports in 2021, the government granted temporary exemptions to give recyclers time to build capacity. But those exemptions stayed in place longer than expected, and now local recyclers are competing with overseas buyers who can offer higher prices.

The Bright Side

The federal government is finally winding back those export exemptions, keeping more plastic waste in Australia where it can create local jobs and build what Townsend calls "sovereign capability."

Suzanne Toumbourou from the Australian Council of Recycling welcomes the change. She says recyclers have invested heavily in Australian processing facilities and need reliable supplies to make those investments work.

The timing matters more than ever. Global conflicts have disrupted supply chains, proving that countries need their own recycling capacity rather than depending on exports.

For household soft plastics like shopping bags, the news gets even better. After the REDcycle collection program collapsed in 2022, Woolworths is now expanding in-store collection to 700 stores across the country.

More supply means recyclers can invest in new technology to handle trickier materials with labels and adhesives. It means more jobs in an industry that processes waste locally instead of shipping it away. And it means Australia is building the infrastructure to handle its own waste sustainably.

Australian recyclers are ready to do more with less export and more opportunity.