Coles supermarket plastic recycling initiative reaches milestone with one billion pieces diverted from landfill – 7NEWS.com.au

Since 2011, Coles has worked with sustainability partner REDcycle to recycling plastic bags and soft plastic packaging – and now it has reached a major milestone.
The supermarket giant has announced it has diverted more than one billion pieces of soft plastics from landfill.
Soft plastic packaging such as lolly bags, frozen food bags, and bread, rice and pasta bags cant be recycled through most kerbside recycling services.
Instead, Coles asks its customers to donate them in-store – and since 2018, the retailer has had REDcycle bins in every one of their stores.
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They are then transformed by manufacturers such as Replas into a range of recycled products including outdoor furniture for community groups.
Theyve also been recycled into an asphalt additive for roads by Melbourne manufacturer Close the Loop and into garden edging by Albury business Plastic Forests.
The program now collects an average of 121 tonnes – or 30 million pieces of plastic – every month.
Coles Chief Property and Export Officer Thinus Keeve, who leads Coles sustainability strategy, congratulated customers on their role in helping to reach the milestone.
Our customers have told us recycling is important to them and Coles is proud to support initiatives which help close the loop on recycling and divert waste from landfill, Keeve said.
One billion pieces of soft plastics recycled via Coles and REDcycle is a fantastic achievement by our customers and team members. Its also an important step in helping to drive generational sustainability in Australia.
Aside from recycling, Coles has also been focusing on food waste reduction.
It has partnered with food rescue organisations such as SecondBite and Foodbank to collect and distribute edible, unsold food to Australians in need.
To date, Coles has donated the equivalent of 146 million meals to SecondBite and Foodbank, which partner with local community groups to deliver nutritious meals to vulnerable Australians facing hardship.
Coles further reduces the volume of food waste sent to landfill by donating fruit, vegetables and bakery products that are no longer suitable to eat, to livestock farmers and animal shelters.
More than 13 million kilograms have been donated to farmers in the last financial year.
The retailer is also working with bakery supplier Goodman Fielder on an initiative to recycle surplus Coles Brand bread that cannot be used by their food charity partners – by processing into breadcrumbs and bread meal, an ingredient in pet foods such as dog biscuits.
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