How many people today grab a takeaway coffee cup from the local cafe to drink on the go? We don’t know, but the number must be enormous.. Most every one of the above have a plastic top that will last 100s of years. Some cafes still use plastic cups that last a similar time. Is 10 minutes of coffee worth 100s of years of trash?
These items can be seen littering our gutters and on our streets all over the place. If they were all cardboard, they would still be littered, but they would, at least, be gone in a short time.
They do not need to be made of plastic.
On the way home from the gym last week, a distance of about 1 km (1/2 mile), I counted the items of plastic litter on the curb as I walked. In that short distance I counted 63 pieces of plastic litter. Plastic drink bottles, bottle tops, candy wrappers, plastic film, polystyrene fragments etc. That seemed to be a lot to me. I guess it is a generational thing. Our parents would have been horrified to see that amount, whereas it seems to go unnoticed by our youth of today. In another 20 years how many pieces will there be on this stretch, -- 200? What will today’s youth think of that new amount then when they are older? Will their children be so readily accepting of a higher amount of litter? Update on councils’ soft plastics trial – Australia
Posted on March 27, 2025 by DrRossH in Plastic RecyclingA series of drop-off days was held for soft plastics collection across the Illawarra in partnership with Wollongong and Kiama Councils.
Source: Update on councils’ soft plastics trial – Inside Waste
A series of collection drop-off days was held for soft plastics collection across the Illawarra in partnership with Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama Councils and Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation (ISJO) from November 2024 – February 2025.
It was a success, underscoring the Illawarra Shoalhaven community’s commitment to sustainable waste management. The pilot aimed to assess the feasibility and impact of organised this type of plastics collection events across the region.
Total participation: The pilot project witnessed strong community participation, with a total of 1,366 attendees across all events. This high level of participation highlights the community’s keen interest in responsibly managing soft plastic waste.
Total weight collected: The collection events successfully amassed 2.4 tonnes of soft plastics. This Councils believe that this figure demonstrates the effectiveness of these drop-off initiatives in diverting waste from landfills and promoting recycling.
At Kiama Council’s Waste and Recycling Facility, there were 193 attendees with a total of 856kg of soft plastics collected.
ISJO determined that all material collected will be sent to Close the Loop via their partner organisation based in Minto, NSW. The materials will be extruded and shredded then aggregated with other materials for shipment to Close the Loop, in a dense form.
Close the Loop, located in Reservoir, Victoria, has more than 20 years of experience developing solutions for complex waste streams like these plastics.
Their TonerPlas product is an asphalt additive made from recycled waste toner and soft plastics. It enhances road performance and longevity while being 100 per cent recyclable as Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement.
It should be noted that putting plastic waste into roads is not recycling but reusing the plastic waste in another low grade produce where it will never be reused again.
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