The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released a draft determination proposing to authorise a voluntary, industry-led scheme to collect and recycle soft plastic packaging from consumers.
The scheme would be run by Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia (SPSA) and is intended to expand collection of items such as shopping bags and food wrappers. Initial members announced for the scheme include Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, Nestlé, Mars and McCormick Foods.
ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said: “It is clear that many Australians are concerned about the environmental impacts of soft plastic packaging and want to recycle it.”
The regulator has previously authorised the major supermarkets to work together under the Soft Plastics Taskforce to process the stockpile of material left over from the collapse of REDcycle and to restart in‑store collection pilots until July 2026. The ACCC has now proposed granting SPSA a broader authorisation to take over and expand those efforts.
“We believe the proposed scheme will result in an environmental benefit as it aims to take over and expand the current in-store collection and kerbside pilots for recycling soft plastic packaging, meaning some soft plastics are likely to be diverted from landfill,” Mr Keogh said. He added: “While we know that soft plastic recycling has faced many challenges in Australia, we consider that the SPSA scheme is an important stepping stone to expanding collections and recycling.”
The ACCC said the public environmental benefits of the proposed arrangement outweigh any potential detriment to competition caused by firms collaborating through the SPSA scheme. It is proposing to grant authorisation for eight years and impose a reporting requirement to ensure transparency of the scheme’s performance, along with a condition to prevent exclusive contracts with processors.
Interim authorisation has already been granted to SPSA to allow the sharing of operational information and data so existing Soft Plastics Taskforce arrangements can be transferred to the new body. Submissions on the ACCC’s draft determination are due by 25 August 2025.
Background material cited by the ACCC points to industry data showing more than 540,000 tonnes of soft plastic packaging was used by manufacturers between 2022 and 2023, with only about 6 per cent recovered. Around 70 per cent of that packaging is estimated to be business‑to‑consumer material.
SPSA proposes to fund the scheme through a levy on participants based on the amount of business‑to‑consumer soft plastic they place on the market. In practice that could mean manufacturers and retailers pay into the scheme when they supply packaged products to supermarkets; participants may choose to pass the levy costs along the supply chain, potentially to consumers.
The ACCC noted it is not an environmental regulator and that its role in this instance is to assess whether the public benefits of the proposed competitor collaboration outweigh any public detriment under the Competition and Consumer Act. The proposed authorisation relates to Division 1 of Part IV and sections 45 and 47 of the Act.
The Australian Government is separately progressing packaging regulation reform aimed at reducing packaging waste and building a circular economy for packaging.
