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Drop it off: soft plastics

Soft plastics can’t be recycled by placing them in your yellow bin, but they can be recycled by dropping them off to the dedicated soft plastic recycling bins located at the front of all metropolitan Woolworths stores in South Australia.

In partnership with Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia, these soft plastics will be recycled into new products such as building materials and food grade packaging, helping to create a circular economy.

If you can't access one of these locations, soft plastics should only be placed in your red/blue landfill bin – never in your yellow recycling bin or green organics bin.

If a soft plastic product is certified compostable, that is, it has the AS-4736 Australian Standard 'seedling' logo (pictured below) printed on it, then it is safe to go in your green organics bin, and shouldn't be placed in a soft plastics recycling. These bags are designed to break down in a commercial composting facility.

If you’re not sure if your plastic is a soft plastic, you can try the ‘scrunch test’. Scrunch the item up and if it stays scrunched, it’s a soft plastic. If it pops back into shape and doesn’t shatter, it’s a rigid plastic that can be recycled  through your yellow bin.

Before taking soft plastics to a drop-off point, be sure to remove any food or other items like bread tags. If the plastic is dirty, give it a quick clean and dry it off.