Soft plastic recycling comes to Whanganui

The scheme's first bin appeared outside Countdown at Trafalgar Square. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui now has a soft plastics recycling option, with a bin appearing outside Woolworths (formerly Countdown) at Trafalgar Square.

It is part of the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme run by The Packaging Forum - a membership organisation that works on sustainable solutions for packaging.

Scheme manager Lyn Mayes said she was delighted to get it up and running in Whanganui.

“Judging from our Facebook page and emails, a lot of people there have been waiting for this so we’re expecting lots of plastic to be coming through.

“Adding drop-off points in Whanganui means we’re up to 86 per cent of the [country’s] population having access to soft plastic recycling.”

Examples of soft plastics are lolly and chocolate wrappers, chip packets and bread bags - “anything made of soft plastic which can be scrunched into a ball”.

Whanganui’s kerbside recycling service is set to start later this year but will not include soft plastics.

The Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre accepts plastics labelled 1, 2 and 5.

Mayes said the recovery centre would collect the soft plastic weekly and bail it at its Maria Pl facility before sending it to the SaveBoard plant in Hamilton or the Future Post plant in Waiuku.

“The SaveBoard guys take soft plastic and food and beverage cartons and turn it into insulation board,” Mayes said.

“We know that what we collect will be turned into a post or building material within a matter of weeks.”

Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme manager Lyn Mayes.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe said a number of people had approached him about soft plastic recycling so the arrival of scheme was “a nice little win”.

“It’s one of these areas that hasn’t really had a home,” Tripe said.

“I’m very keen on the concept of low waste and anything we can do to move in that direction is a good thing.”

Trafalgar Square shoppers on Thursday morning were generally happy about the new option.

Cleo Ferguson said her friends from Wellington asked why there was no soft plastic recycling in Whanganui.

“Now it’s here and I’m over the moon,” she said.

“I’ve actually got a whole lot to put in there but I forgot to bring it. I’ve just got to get into the habit.”

Paige Van said she used the resource recovery centre and would also use the bin.

“If it’s handy and right there, you might as well.”

Ranjan Richards said the service had been in Auckland for a while.

However, he was not sure whether he would carry all his excess bags to Trafalgar Square.

“I wouldn’t come all the way to Countdown to drop them off.

“If it’s somewhere convenient, like the recycling centre for example, where you normally take everything, then I would use it.”

Two hundred companies have signed up to the scheme, including Woolworths, The Warehouse, Griffin’s and Silver Fern Farms, and membership has tripled in three years.

Whanganui businesses can also become members.

Whanganui Mayor Andrew Tripe says soft plastic is "one of these areas that hasn’t really had a home". Photo / Bevan Conley

“The scheme is 100 per cent funded by industry - by our members. They pay into it and the scheme pays for the collection and bailing,” Mayes said.

“We also pay a fee to our processors because one of the issues that soft plastics has, not just here but around the world, is that there’s no value in it.

“That incentivises them to take more of our plastics so we can increase what we’re collecting. It’s a win-win for us.”

The official launch of the Whanganui scheme is on April 12 at The Warehouse.

Mayes said more bins would soon be installed across the city.

“We aren’t just at retail outlets. Around the country, we have bins at retirement villages and council offices.

“It’s about getting started and building from there.”

She said there were 300 drop-off sites around the country and the scheme collected 705 tonnes last year.

“This year, I’ll be looking at 1200 tonnes of collection.

“It’s not an insignificant amount and all of it is recycled in New Zealand. We know where it’s going.”

Mike Tweed is an assistant news director and multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.