Soft plastics

What can individuals do to reduce packaging waste and manage soft plastics?

There are small actions we can take that make a big difference to our overall household waste. 

Avoid – wherever possible it’s best to avoid packaging by using reusables or choosing unpackaged options. For example:

• Bring your own fruit and vegetable bags to the shops instead of using plastic ones.

• Look for unwrapped, loose produce.
• Check out your local fruit and veg store, farmers markets, delis and bulk food stores for unpackaged items and refill stations. There are many stores that are happy for customers to bring and use their own containers.
• Switch to reusable snack bags, sandwich bags or containers instead of disposable plastic ones.
• Avoid cling wrap by putting leftover food in a reusable container or covering a plate with an upside-down bowl. There are also reusable alternatives such as silicone food covers or bees wax wraps.
• Collect an item from a store instead of getting shipped out in postage packaging.

Reduce and recycle – when you can’t avoid packaging, look for recyclable materials or less packaging. For example:

• Be mindful of the amount of wrapping and packaging a product has and what it comes in.
• Look for packaging made of recyclable materials instead of soft plastics (look for cardboard, tin, glass, aluminium and hard plastics instead).
• Double check what items can go in your yellow and green bins and keep this in mind at the shops. 
• If you forget your own reusable produce bags, use brown paper mushroom bags instead of plastic ones – these can be recycled in the green bin.
• Avoid individually wrapped or snack size packages by getting a regular pack and portioning into smaller reusable pouches or containers.