A new partnership for Greening the Green, a three-year program aimed at educating consumers on soft plastic recovery and increasing soft plastic recycling across Australia has been launched by PepsiCo and Clean Up Australia, together with REDcycle and Replas.
Despite Australia’s recycling rate growing by over 50 per cent since 1996, waste to landfill has not decreased. According to the Australian Plastics Recycling Survey from 2017-2018, of the 3.4 million tonnes of plastics consumed in Australia, less than 10 per cent was recycled.
PepsiCo has pledged $650,000 for Greening the Green, which will see Clean Up Australia, PepsiCo and REDcycle (with support from Replas) partner with 110 local sporting facilities across the country.
Greening the Green will consist of a 12-week module program to improve existing waste management and resource recovery by changing behaviour and providing better waste management resources.
Upon successful completion of the 12-week program, each sporting facility that takes part will receive recycled plastic equipment such as table settings and benches made by Replas, one of Australia’s leading manufacturers of products made from soft plastics.
The program aims to restore confidence in recycling across the country and support a circular economy for plastics by showing Australians that what they put in the bin, can be transformed into items the community can use.
PepsiCo ANZ CEO Danny Celoni saidL: “We are thrilled to partner with Clean Up Australia and REDcycle to launch Greening the Green and create a program that will work towards our goal of building a world where plastics never become waste. We believe in the importance of a circular economy and the role it plays in showing people the benefits of recycling and how plastics can be a useful resource rather than waste.
“Greening the Green builds on our existing partnership with REDcycle, which began in 2018. At the end of 2019, the REDcycle logo and Australasian Recycling Label were on 70 per cent of our suitable soft plastic packaging. We aim to have the logos on 100 per cent of our packaging by the end of this year.”
Commenting on the partnership Pip Kiernan, Chairman of Clean Up Australia, said, “Clean Up Australia volunteers consistently tell us that plastics are the most common item they are removing from our streets, parks, sporting facilities, bushland, beaches and waterways and it’s disappointing to see that soft plastic counts continue to rise. Last year, 30 per cent of plastics reported to us were soft plastics - a percentage that has doubled over the past two years.
“There has never been a better time to Step Up to eradicate soft plastic litter, capture this wasted resource and turn it into attractive outdoor furniture. Greening the Green is the perfect vehicle, bringing together business, community and local government.”
Elizabeth Kasell, CEO at REDcyle, said: “REDcycle is delighted to be partnering with PepsiCo, Clean Up Australia, and Replas on this important circular initiative. Greening the Green is a great example of what can be achieved through a collaborative approach and the commitment of organisations like PepsiCo to seek better outcomes for soft plastic packaging.”
Mark Jacobsen, Managing Director at Replas, said: “Replas is committed to the Circular Economy, and has heavily invested in cutting edge machinery to bring us up to the world standard of recycled plastic manufacturing technology. This doubles our capacity for raw material processing and production, with our only limit being the demand for products. Greening the Green with PepsiCo, Clean Up Australia and our partner REDcycle is a fantastic initiative and highlights how consumers can get involved and be part of the solution.”
Globally, PepsiCo has made it a business imperative to help build a circular future for packaging and is committed to a world where plastics need never become waste. Over the past few years, PepsiCo Australia has been working to reduce the amount of plastic used, by researching ways to reinvent its packaging to include biodegradable and compostable solutions and, through this partnership, help to increase the recycling rates of soft plastics across Australia.
Clean Up Australia aims to run 10 pilot site programmes in 2020, with an additional 50 in year two and a further 50 in year three.
