REDcycle collapse: Why is it so hard to recycle a plastic bag?

Environmentally conscious Australians were shocked last week when a major recycling program supported by our two major supermarkets - REDcycle - announced they were pausing operations. For years, REDcycle has been Australia’s only way to recycle household soft plastics - you know that mixture of plastic shopping bags, food wrappers and other packaging. That soft, scrunchable plastic that too often just ends up in landfill, on the side of the road or on waterways.

But Australians are not alone here. The world does not have a good way to recycle soft plastics. So the team wanted to unpack the business behind recycling and why soft plastic proves so difficult. Today Alec and Sascha ask - why is it so hard to recycle my plastic shopping bags?

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Equity Mates Media and the hosts of The Dive acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today.

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