The ACCC has granted authorisation with conditions to the major supermarkets Coles Group, Woolworths Group and ALDI Stores, to continue their collaboration to recycle stockpiled soft plastics and implement the pilot in-store collection program until 31 July 2026.
The ACCC first authorised this collaboration granting interim authorisation in November 2022, following the collapse of REDcycle, which operated a nationwide soft plastics collection and recycling program.
"Our decision today allows the supermarkets to continue working together to process the remaining REDcycle legacy stockpiles," ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said.
"Whilst it is encouraging to see that some progress is now being made as processing capacity improves, the ACCC expects that the supermarkets will continue to prioritise stockpile remediation efforts to prevent further delays."
The ACCC has decided to impose the same reporting conditions as the previous authorisation, requiring the major supermarkets to provide the ACCC with quarterly progress reports and minutes of each meeting of the Soft Plastics Taskforce. These reports and minutes will be published on the ACCC's public register.
It is also a condition that all arrangements must immediately stop when the authorisation expires or is revoked.
"This is a significant issue for many consumers, so continued transparency about what progress the supermarkets are making in their processing of the soft plastic stockpiles is important," Mr Keogh said.
Authorisation will also allow the soft plastics instore collection pilot program to continue operating in Victoria and New South Wales and expand to other areas.
"It has been encouraging to see the pilot program expand under the current interim authorisation," Mr Keogh said.
"Whilst we recognise that further expansion needs to be in line with available processing capacity, the ACCC expects that the supermarkets will continue with some urgency to expand these operations so that more consumers have the option of recycling their soft plastics."
The ACCC's authorisation is also subject to a new condition to prevent the major supermarkets from restricting recycling or logistic providers from supplying services to another customer.
Following the ACCC's draft determination proposing to grant authorisation in December 2024, the ACCC received a small number of submissions, some of which were supportive while others called for broader involvement of the supermarkets in developing industry solutions to soft plastics.
The ACCC understands that any long-term soft plastics solution, whether in the form of an industry-led stewardship scheme or otherwise, is likely to be the subject of a separate, future application for authorisation and considers that the proposed conditions by interested parties are outside the scope of this authorisation.
Today's authorisation does not include authorisation for any conduct of the supermarkets and their program partners with respect to any proposed stewardship scheme.
More information about the application including a copy of the decision is available here on the ACCC's website.
Note
ACCC authorisation provides statutory protection from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act (CCA).
Section 91 of the CCA allows the ACCC to grant interim authorisation when it considers it is appropriate and in the public benefit. This allows the parties to engage in proposed conduct while the ACCC is considering the merits of the substantive CCA authorisation application.
Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.
Background
REDcycle was an industry-led return-to-store soft plastics collection and recycling program developed and operated by RG Programs and Services Pty Ltd. The major supermarkets partnered with REDcycle to provide collection points for consumers to return their soft plastics instore for collection by REDcycle for processing into durable recycled plastic products.
On 8 November 2022, REDcycle announced the indefinite suspension of its soft plastics collection program as its recycling partners had temporarily stopped accepting and processing soft plastics. Following REDcycle's announcement, Coles and Woolworths each announced the suspension of soft plastic collections from their stores until further notice.
The supermarkets sought authorisation from the ACCC in November 2022 to enable them to collaborate to consider and develop solutions for the recycling of soft plastics. The ACCC's interim authorisation on 25 November 2022 led to the establishment of the Soft Plastics Taskforce, chaired by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
On 26 February 2023, the supermarkets assumed responsibility for the REDcycle stockpiles. It was later reported that approximately 11,000 tonnes of soft plastics had been stockpiled in over 44 locations. REDcycle's parent company was declared insolvent on 27 February 2023 with a liquidator appointed.
The ACCC granted authorisation on 30 June 2023 for a period of 12 months to allow the supermarkets to collaborate with the Soft Plastics Task force to process the soft plastic stockpiles.
On 18 July 2024, the ACCC granted interim authorisation for substantially the same conduct authorised on 30 June 2023 while the ACCC considered the merits of the substantive application.
As part of the authorisation the supermarkets must submit a quarterly progress report to the ACCC. The 22 January 2025 Progress Report provided by the supermarkets details the level of stockpiles remaining in each state and territory:
- Victoria current stockpiles are approximately 2,200 tonnes
- NSW current stockpiles are approximately 1,700 tonnes
- South Australia current stockpiles are approximately 3,500 tonnes
Processing of stockpiles in Queensland and Western Australia has been completed.
The supermarkets report that as at end of December 2024, 45 tonnes of soft plastics have been collected through the instore collection pilot program, which is now operating in 107 stores across New South Wales and Victoria.
