The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has proposed a new industry-led scheme to collect and recycle soft plastic packaging from consumers.

The voluntary scheme would be run by the non-profit Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia (SPSA) and aims to increase the collection and recycling of soft plastic packaging such as shopping bags and food wrappers.

According to the regulator, initial members of the scheme would include food giants Nestlé, Mars and McCormick, along with the major supermarkets Woolworths and Coles. Discounter Aldi would also be included.

Just Food has contacted the food companies and retailers involved for confirmation and comment.

Deputy Chair of the ACCC, Mick Keogh, said: “It is clear that many Australians are concerned about the environmental impacts of soft plastic packaging and want to recycle it.”

He added: “We believe the proposed scheme will result in an environmental benefit as it aims to take over and expand the current in-store collection and kerbside pilots for recycling soft plastic packaging, meaning some soft plastics are likely to be diverted from landfill.

“While we know that soft plastic recycling has faced many challenges in Australia, we consider that the SPSA scheme is an important stepping stone to expanding collections and recycling."

The ACCC is proposing to grant authorisation for eight years and to include a reporting condition from food brands and supermarkets to “ensure transparency of the performance of the scheme”.

Furthermore, an additional condition is proposed to ensure that there are no exclusive contracts with processors during the authorisation period.

The ACCC has also granted interim authorisation to SPSA to allow it to engage in the process, including the sharing of operational information and data to allow for existing arrangements of the Soft Plastics Taskforce to be transferred to SPSA.

Parties have been invited by the ACCC to comment on the draft proposals by 25 August.

Citing data from the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), the ACCC noted that between 2022 and 2023, more than 540,000 tonnes of soft plastic packaging was used by manufacturers in packaging their products but only 6% was recovered.