REDcycle partners with iQ Renew to boost soft plastic recovery

REDcycle has announced during National Recycling Week that it has become a partnering arm of iQ Renew.

The merger will combine REDcycle’s network of partners and national drop-off locations with iQ Renew’s material processing technology, fulfilling the shared vision of two Australian organisations dedicated to creating a world where packaging waste is considered a resource, and playing a transformative role in the resource recovery sector.

The partnership will accelerate the development of a purpose-built facility called SPEC — soft plastic engineered commodity — which will be dedicated to creating streams of quality feedstock available for use in technologies such as mechanical and emerging advanced recycling.

REDcycle will be the primary supplier to the plant, with an opportunity to increase the scope and scale of the program in the coming months, including recovery of material from a broader range of sectors.

Danny Gallagher, CEO, iQ Renew, said: “The key to achieving the recycling goals we have as a country is collaboration and we believe that this partnership will enable us to create a stream of higher quality materials that will eventually be able to be used in packaging-to-packaging recycling.

“REDcycle will remain its own brand and consumers won’t see any differences as they will continue to drop off their packaging in stores. Being part of the broader iQ Renew business will provide more resources for REDcycle and more opportunities to expand the scope and scale of the program.”

Liz Kasell, CEO, REDcycle said, “As consumer involvement in the REDcycle Program continues to grow rapidly, with around three million pieces of soft plastics now being returned to REDcycle bins each day, more domestic offtake partners and new end markets are vital to ensure recovered soft plastics are recycled into new products and emerging opportunities such as recycled content packaging can be realised.

“Our two organisations will work with industry, retail, government and offtake partners to develop a smooth-running, circular system for post-consumer soft plastics; robustly linked to the community’s desire to divert recyclable materials from landfill with the technology and infrastructure needed to deliver measurable outcomes,” she added.

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has welcomed the partnership as an exciting development that adds vital scale to Australia’s soft plastics recycling capabilities.

AFGC CEO Tanya Barden congratulated REDcycle and iQ Renew for combining to create a strong new partnership with deep expertise across all aspects of plastics recycling, from collection to processing and recovery of valuable materials for new markets.

“The AFGC and the food and grocery manufacturers that we represent have worked closely with REDcycle and iQ Renew to develop packaging recycling in Australia and it’s an exciting development to have these two organisations combine forces,” Barden said.

The AFGC will continue working with REDcycle and iQ Renew on the development of the National Plastics Recycling Scheme (NPRS). The NPRS will create new capacity across the nation for recycling soft plastic packaging such as bread and cereal bags, frozen vegetable bags and ice cream wrappers, and drive the creation of an end-to-end solution that captures soft plastics and returns them to the market as a valuable new resource.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Rebeca