Woolworths and Coles will fail to recycle a whole bunch of tonnes of soppy plastics from the defunct REDcycle program however say they may nonetheless meet its deadline for relocating high-risk stockpiles.
The main supermarkets got a May 12 deadline to relocate 2500 tonnes of soppy plastics from websites in NSW that the state’s Environment Protection Authority has deemed “high-risk”.
A spokesperson for each supermarkets says they’ve been “working urgently to find a site large enough” for the waste since they took over the stockpiles from REDcycle two months in the past.
“This is a huge logistical undertaking and we’re on track to meet the deadline for relocating the high priority stockpiles in NSW,” she mentioned.
The two main supermarkets have had to make use of greater than 250 truckloads and round 5000 pallets to maneuver the tonnes of soppy plastics to the Bingo Resource Recovery Centre in Orchard Hills after it was authorized as being protected sufficient to retailer the fabric.
However, not the entire materials will probably be despatched to landfill after a whole bunch of tonnes had been discovered degraded previous the purpose of recycling.
Around 400 tonnes will probably be despatched to the tip, representing 3.6 per cent of the nationwide stockpile.
“Unfortunately, we have been left with no choice but to dispose of this soiled material, which represents a small portion of the total stockpile,” the spokesperson mentioned.
“We know this is disappointing, and it is sadly a consequence of REDcycle’s stockpiling over an extended period.”
Woolworths and Coles have confirmed that extra of the plastic could must be despatched to landfill as it really works its approach by way of the mountains of plastic.
“We are working with stakeholders across the country to clean this up and to maximise the amount of the stockpile that can be effectively recycled.”
The two supermarkets took management of the 44 warehouses holding REDcycle stockpiles shortly earlier than the corporate filed for voluntary administration.
Both supermarkets are contributing to a “multimillion-dollar” fund to retailer and handle the stockpiled materials.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
