Chloe Zhang
Coles, an Australian supermarket chain, has been working to reduce plastic waste and find sustainable solutions for recycling. In 2018, Coles removed single-use plastic bags from its stores and introduced reusable bags made from recycled materials. They have also committed to ensuring that all Own Brand product packaging is 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025. Additionally, Coles has replaced plastic bread tags with cardboard ones and removed soaker pads from meat trays to reduce plastic waste. However, they have faced challenges with soft plastics recycling, particularly with the collapse of the REDcycle program, leaving thousands of tonnes of soft plastic waste stranded. Coles is working with the government and industry partners to find alternative solutions and has expressed its commitment to reducing waste and protecting the environment.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Plastic Recycling | REDcycle (stopped accepting and processing soft plastics in November 2022) |
| Plastic Types | Soft plastics, single-use plastic bags, plastic bread tags |
| Plastic Reduction Initiatives | Cardboard bread tags, reusable paper bags, Marine Reusable Shopping Bags |
| Plastic Recycling Pilots | Victoria, Australia (major supermarkets), NPRS kerbside collection |
| Plastic Recycling Goals | 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable packaging by 2025 |
| Plastic Waste Reduction | Removed 36 million soaker pads from meat trays, stopped selling single-use plastic tableware |
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What You'll Learn
Coles' partnership with Clean Up Australia
Coles has been working to reduce plastic waste and promote sustainability. The company has made significant progress in reducing unnecessary plastic and waste through various initiatives. One notable initiative is its partnership with Clean Up Australia, a non-profit organisation that works to clean up, fix up, and conserve the environment. Since 2018, Coles Group has raised over $1 million to support Clean Up Australia's mission. The funds are raised through initiatives such as donations from the sale of reusable community bags and Liquorland's "Love Your Land" campaigns. This partnership has provided Clean Up Australia with the resources to provide free kits to volunteers, including bags for general waste and recycling, protective gloves, high-vis vests, and sharps containers.
Coles and its customers have also contributed funds to Clean Up Australia through the annual "Drop of Good" campaign, coinciding with Clean Up Australia Day in March. This campaign has raised over $240,000, which has been used to provide volunteers with additional resources such as clean-up gloves, pickers, bags, and first aid kits. Coles team members and their families actively participate in Clean Up Australia days and activities to help remove rubbish from local communities, especially in areas affected by natural disasters.
Coles is committed to reducing single-use plastic and ensuring that its packaging is recyclable and made with recycled content. They have introduced FSC® Certified 100% recycled and reusable paper bags, which can be purchased online or in-store across Australia. Additionally, Coles is trialling cardboard bread tags, made from 100% recycled paper content, for its Own Brand bread. This initiative will divert around 79 tonnes of plastic from landfills each year.
Coles has also joined the Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Islands Plastics Pact (ANZPAC) as a founding member. ANZPAC is committed to eliminating unnecessary plastic packaging and ensuring that all plastic packaging is recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025. Coles is working towards having all its Own Brand product packaging be 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable by the same year. The company is also striving to implement the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) on all Coles Own Brand packaging by 2025, providing clear guidance on recycling different packaging components.
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Coles' REDcycle plastic waste
Coles has been working with food rescue organisation SecondBite and soft plastics recycler REDcycle for over a decade. However, in November 2022, REDcycle stopped accepting and processing soft plastics due to unforeseen challenges, leaving Coles with thousands of tonnes of soft plastic waste.
REDcycle's decision put a halt to Coles' soft plastics collection program, and the company had to instruct customers to put soft plastics in their home rubbish bins instead of bringing them to stores for recycling. Coles assured customers that it remains committed to reducing waste and finding a sustainable alternative solution.
In response to the REDcycle collapse, the Environment Protection Agency in NSW granted Coles and Woolworths a ten-month extension to deal with the stranded plastic waste, hoping to prevent it from ending up in landfills. The Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, said the government was investing in improving recycling capacity and had funded 60 new plastic recycling facilities, with 16 already operational.
While Coles works towards a long-term solution, it continues to make progress in reducing unnecessary plastic waste. For example, Coles introduced reusable paper bags made from 100% recycled content and replaced plastic bread tags with cardboard ones, diverting around 79 tonnes of plastic from landfills annually. Additionally, Coles has committed to using 100% recycled content for some of its in-store bakery items and removed 36 million soaker pads from meat trays in FY21.
Coles is also trialling advanced recycling, which turns soft plastics into oil for new food packaging, and has joined the Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Islands Plastics Pact (ANZPAC), pledging to eliminate unnecessary plastic packaging and ensure all plastic packaging is recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025.
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Coles' Marine Reusable Shopping Bags
Coles has demonstrated its commitment to sustainability and reducing plastic waste through various initiatives, including the introduction of Coles Marine Reusable Shopping Bags. These bags are an innovative and eco-friendly solution that not only reduces plastic waste but also encourages customers to embrace reusable options.
The Coles Marine Reusable Shopping Bags are made from recycled plastic and marine waste, specifically targeting ocean-feeding waterways and inland areas across Malaysia for their raw material. This initiative is a significant step towards addressing the plastic waste crisis and reducing Coles' virgin plastic usage. The bags comprise 80% recycled plastic, with 20% of that being marine waste plastic, ensuring that every bag purchased makes a meaningful impact.
Coles has a history of implementing sustainable practices and has been working towards finding alternative solutions to recycling soft plastics. They encourage customers to reuse their bags as much as possible, and when the bags eventually wear out, they can be recycled through soft plastic collections at any Coles store or online through the REDcycle drop-off points. This initiative has already diverted 2.3 billion pieces of soft plastic from landfills, showcasing the positive impact of reusable bags.
In addition to the Marine Reusable Shopping Bags, Coles has introduced other sustainable options, such as reusable mesh produce bags made from 90% recycled material. They have also replaced plastic bread tags with cardboard ones made from 100% recycled paper content, ensuring that all components of their soft-plastic bread packaging are recyclable. Furthermore, Coles has committed to using 100% recycled content for some of its most popular in-store bakery items and has joined the Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Islands Plastics Pact (ANZPAC), reinforcing their dedication to eliminating unnecessary plastic packaging.
Coles' efforts extend beyond their Marine Reusable Shopping Bags, as they strive towards their Together to Zero Waste ambition. They are actively working with government, industry, and sustainability partners to find innovative solutions, such as advanced recycling, which turns old soft plastic into oil for new food packaging. With these initiatives, Coles is leading the way in sustainability and encouraging customers to make environmentally conscious choices.
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Coles' soft plastics recycling
Coles has been working to reduce unnecessary plastic waste and improve its sustainability. In 2018, Coles removed single-use plastic bags from its supermarkets and introduced reusable bags made from recycled materials. Coles donates a portion of the sales from these bags to Clean Up Australia, an organisation working to address Australia's plastic waste problem.
Coles has also committed to making all its Own Brand product packaging 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025. This includes initiatives such as replacing plastic bread tags with cardboard ones and removing soaker pads from meat trays. Additionally, Coles has joined the Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Islands Plastics Pact (ANZPAC), which aims to eliminate unnecessary plastic packaging and ensure all plastic packaging is recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025.
Regarding soft plastics recycling, Coles previously partnered with REDcycle, a soft plastics recycling program. However, due to unforeseen challenges, REDcycle temporarily stopped accepting and processing soft plastics in 2022. Coles is working with the government and industry partners to find alternative sustainable solutions for soft plastics recycling. In the meantime, customers are encouraged to dispose of their soft plastics in their home rubbish bins, as they cannot be recycled through kerbside recycling systems.
Coles is also encouraging customers to move towards reusable packaging and has introduced FSC® Certified 100% recycled and reusable paper bags. These bags can be purchased online or in-store and recycled in kerbside bins. Coles is committed to reducing packaging waste and making it easier for customers to recycle.
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Coles' cardboard bread tags
In 2021, Coles announced that it would replace plastic bread tags with cardboard ones. The cardboard tags are made from 100% recycled paper-based content and can be recycled in kerbside recycle bins. The initiative is part of Coles' ambition of 'Together to Zero Waste', one of the focus areas of its new sustainability strategy.
The trial, which commenced in June 2021, applied to 254 varieties of Coles Own Brand bread, including both in-store baked bread and pre-packaged loaves. The cardboard tags are durable and have undergone rigorous testing and development, ensuring both strength and flexibility to keep bread bags tied. Once rolled out nationally, the new tags are expected to divert around 223 million pieces of plastic, or 79 tonnes, from landfill each year.
To ensure the cardboard tags are recycled, customers are advised to place the tag securely inside other paper or cardboard products, such as a used envelope or paper bag. This will prevent the small tag from getting lost in the recycling process and ending up in landfill.
In addition to the cardboard bread tags, Coles has committed to using fully recycled content packaging for its in-store bakery items, such as cookies, doughnuts, Danishes, and muffins. The company has also pledged to remove single-use plastic tableware from its shelves and replace it with sustainable alternatives. These moves are in response to customer feedback, which listed a reduction of plastic waste as the top concern for retail sustainability.
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Frequently asked questions
Coles has committed to reducing single-use plastic and is working with its suppliers to make its packaging recyclable and made with recycled content. For example, Coles has replaced plastic bread tags with cardboard ones made from 100% paper-based recycled content. It has also introduced reusable paper bags and donates 10% of every bag sold to help with clean-up efforts across Australia.
Coles has stopped accepting soft plastic recycling returns in stores and online until an alternative arrangement can be made. It is working with the government, industry, and sustainability partners to find a solution.
Soft plastic includes plastic bags, bread bags, cling film, confectionery wrappers, and fresh and frozen produce bags.
Coles encourages customers to put their soft plastics in their home rubbish bins. Do not put them in your home kerbside recycling bin as they are not recyclable in this system.
Coles has joined the Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Islands Plastics Pact (ANZPAC) as a founding member. ANZPAC is committed to eliminating unnecessary and problematic plastic packaging, ensuring all plastic packaging is recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025, and increasing the recycled content used in plastic packaging. Coles is also working towards having all Own Brand product packaging being 100% recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025.
