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Shocking Finding in Woolworths and Coles Recycling Scandal as Watchdog Discovers 3,000 TONS of Plastic Bags Hidden in Six Warehouses
- EPA discovered 3,000 tonnes of soft plastics stored in Melbourne warehouses
- The material was kept in storage by one of the largest recycling programs in Australia.
- EPA Executive Director Lee Miezis said the material appeared to come from the interstate highway.
One of Australia’s largest recycling programs that partnered with Coles and Woolworths secretly stored thousands of tons of soft plastics in six warehouses.
The Environmental Protection Watchdog has discovered that REDcycle dumped 3,000 tonnes of the material at various locations in Melbourne.
EPA Executive Director Lee Miezis said much of the plastic appeared to be coming from the interstate.
One of Australia’s largest recycling programs that partnered with Coles and Woolworths secretly stored thousands of tonnes of soft plastics in six warehouses (a REDcycle bin in Coles pictured)
“Our officers are surveying the sites today and we will continue to work hard, using our strongest regulatory powers, until we are confident that we have found all the sites in Victoria,” it said.
‘We will not allow unacceptable risks to the Victorian community or environment from pollution or waste.
‘Although REDcycle operators tipped us off about some of the sites, intelligence from logistics companies and others is helping EPA investigations. If you have any of this soft plastic waste in your warehouse, we need to know about it.’
“For your safety and the safety of your employees, businesses and local community, you must ensure that you comply with our environmental laws.”
It comes after revelations emerged in November that REDcycle had been stockpiling millions of soft plastics.
REDcycle, which has donation bins at thousands of Coles and Woolworths stores across Australia, halted its recycling operations several months ago but has continued to collect soft plastics.
REDcycle collected 5 million pieces of plastic every day in bins at Coles, Woolworths and several other major retailers (a Coles worker pictured)
The recycling program claims to collect up to five million pieces of plastic every day from supermarkets and other partners, including Australia Post.
In an earlier statement, REDcycle said it was storing the collected plastic in a warehouse and would continue to do so until operations restarted.
“REDcycle made the decision to withhold the material on short notice, at great personal expense to the organization.”
“The REDcycle team has been working tirelessly behind the scenes to find other processing solutions and end markets. Potential new opportunities present themselves every day, however it will take time to put them into practice.”