Brimbank residents can now recycle their soft plastics and polystyrene locally and free of charge, with donations going to help make new roads in the Local Government Area.
Brimbank City Council says the initiative is the first permanent soft plastics recycling program of its kind in metro Melbourne with a guaranteed local end use.
Council has partnered with recycling company, Close the Loop, to provide them with the soft plastics that will be turned into an asphalt additive called TonerPlas.
The Council says it’s an innovative solution to a significant issue. Each year, Brimbank residents use enough soft plastics, such as chip packets and food wrappers, to blanket the MCG oval 15 times over— and most of it ends up in landfill or pollutes the environment.
Every kilometre of road paved with TonerPlas modified asphalt uses about 430,000 plastic bags. One year’s worth of Brimbank’s soft plastics could help pave five kilometres of road, says Mayor, Thuy Dang.
“Soft plastic is one of the most problematic types of waste. It either ends up in landfill, or it pollutes our green spaces and waterways. Polystyrene too cannot be recycled through kerbside collections, and often ends up in landfill,” said Mayor Dang.
“Council’s new recycling service – to accept soft plastics and polystyrene at our Brimbank Resource and Recovery Centre, is part of our broader effort to expand our circular economy programs and reduce illegal dumping and litter, by making it easier for residents to dispose of hard-to-recycle materials responsibly.
“When residents bring their soft plastics to our recycling centre in Keilor Park, they are helping produce new high-quality roads.
“We’ve already used this asphalt additive on three local roads. We’re happy with the early results and excited by the road ahead.”
Visit http://www.brimbank.vic.gov.au/soft-plastics-polystyrene to learn more about this new service.
