Plastic Bags

In Australia, 80 million plastic bags end up as litter every year. Many more will end up in landfills, taking up valuable space, and preventing the plastic from being recovered and recycled into new products.

If plastic bags are placed in kerbside recycling bins, they can damage machines inside sorting facilities, and even cause some machines to break down, which could prevent other materials from being recycled.

Will WSN Environmental Solutions accept my plastic bags?

WSN Environmental Solutions will only accept hard or rigid plastics, such as bottles and containers. Plastic bags are not accepted at WSN Resource Recovery Centres.

What else can I do with my plastic bags?

Many supermarkets have special plastic bag recycling bins near the front doors. Plastic bags from these bins can be recycled, because they don't need to be sorted.

To reduce the number of plastic bags you use, you can consider the following:

• If you're only buying a couple of items, consider carrying them and refuse a plastic bag.
• When shopping, take alternatives to plastic bags with you, such as calico bags, baskets or boxes. Keep a folded up reusable bag in your handbag or keep several in the car.
• If you do have plastic bags, you can take them back to some local supermarkets for recycling. Plastic bags need to be clean. Be careful to check which bags are accepted in the recycling bins.  Some of the heavier plastics may not be recyclable - sometimes only selected types are accepted, such as the light LDPE grocery shopping bags.