Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia (SPSA) and its industry partners have received long-term approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to operate a national soft plastics collection and recycling scheme, under an eight-year authorisation announced this week.
The authorisation enables SPSA and participating companies – including Woolworths, Coles, Aldi, Nestlé, Mars and McCormick Foods – to collaborate on the development and rollout of a voluntary product stewardship scheme to recover used soft plastic packaging such as shopping bags and food wrappers.
SPSA has welcomed the decision, calling it a pivotal step in Australia’s efforts to rebuild soft plastics recycling capability.
SPSA interim chair, Bill Heague, said the authorisation marked “a landmark moment for plastics stewardship in Australia. It shows that industry can lead responsibly – designing a national system that will reduce waste, drive investment, and increase public confidence in recycling.”
Heague added that with approval in place, the focus now moves to delivery. “SPSA’s vision is a circular, high-value market for soft plastics, with less waste, a stronger recycling sector, and producers, collectors and recyclers working together to achieve a cleaner future for Australia.”
SPSA CEO Barry Cosier noted that the authorisation reflects years of collaboration across the value chain.
“Our model aims to increase recycling rates for soft plastics, stimulate investment in recycling infrastructure and end markets, and promote sustainable packaging to achieve better environmental outcomes. It’s about matching collection with genuine end markets,” he said.
“The decision gives producers and recyclers the regulatory certainty to invest in long-term solutions – supporting new jobs, new technology, and a circular economy for soft plastics in Australia.”
With authorisation secured, SPSA will now release a Request for Information (RFI) to engage supply chain participants interested in contributing to the scheme’s rollout.
According to the ACCC, its assessment focused solely on competition matters rather than the design or operation of the program.
“As the scheme aims to acquire and broaden the current instore and kerbside trial collection programs for soft plastic recycling, we’ve determined that it will likely result in some soft plastics being diverted from landfill,” said ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh.
“We consider this is an environmental benefit.”
Keogh noted strong community demand for soft plastics recycling options, with limited pathways currently available.
“Many Australians want to recycle soft plastic packaging and are concerned about its environmental impacts,” he said. “We consider that the SPSA scheme is an important way to expand those choices.”
[Ed's note: Planet Ark research just released new research that confirms that the majority (79%) of Australians believe it is important to have a national soft plastics recycling scheme.]
The ACCC emphasised that broader policy decisions – including whether to introduce mandatory regulation – fall outside its remit and that the authorisation does not delay or deter government action.
The approved scheme brings together more than 40 brands and retailers under a shared-responsibility model. Industry participants will pay a fee based on the amount of soft plastic packaging they generate, supporting collection, recycling and the development of end markets. SPSA says its approach is designed to scale as domestic recycling capacity increases, aligning collection with processing capability to ensure material is genuinely recycled.
The eight-year authorisation is subject to conditions to ensure transparency and robust governance, including:
- annual public reporting on scheme performance;
- independent reviews in the third and seventh year;
- a minimum of two independent directors on the SPSA board;
- no exclusive contracts with processors.
SPSA, established in 2024, is an independent, not-for-profit organisation created to design and operate a national soft plastics product stewardship scheme with a mission to turn soft plastics into a valuable resource and build a circular economy for flexible packaging in Australia.
The full ACCC determination is available via the ACCC’s public register.
