New South Wales · Sydney
Soft plastics recycling in NSW
In New South Wales, soft plastics stay out of the yellow-lid recycling bin. A small number of councils collect them: the NSW EPA's 2024-25 survey found 28 councils doing so state-wide, collecting 391 tonnes, under 1 per cent of municipal waste. Check your own council first. Otherwise soft plastics go in the red-lid general waste bin.
Sources NSW EPA: Local Government Waste Data Survey 2024-25NSW EPA: find a Community Recycling Centre or Chemical CleanOutWoolworths: soft plastics recycling
What do I do with soft plastics in NSW?
- The scrunch test If it scrunches in your fist and stays scrunched, it's a soft plastic — bread bags, pasta packets, bubble wrap, courier satchels.
- Never the recycling bin Soft plastics are the single biggest contaminant in kerbside recycling in Australia.
- You might have a bin Woolworths hosts soft-plastics bins at the front of more than 700 stores with Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia, but not in some regional areas. Check your nearest participating store before you drive.
As at September 2026 some NSW supermarkets host a soft-plastics bin. Check the store before you drive.
Nearest drop-off: Find CRCs or Chemical CleanOuts (NSW EPA)
Can I put soft plastics in the recycling bin in NSW?
No. Soft plastics are the biggest contaminant in Australian kerbside recycling: they wrap around the sorting machinery and stop the facility while someone cuts them out by hand. In New South Wales they go in the red-lid general waste bin unless your council runs its own soft plastics collection, which most do not.
Does my NSW council collect soft plastics?
Probably not, but it is worth checking. The NSW EPA's 2024-25 Local Government Waste Data Survey counted 28 councils collecting soft plastics: 13 through a separate kerbside service, 9 at community recycling centres, 7 at other collection points and 5 in the commingled bin. A further 17 councils said they plan to start within 24 months.
Is there a supermarket soft plastics drop-off in NSW?
Yes, in participating stores. The retailer pilot became the Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia program, which the ACCC authorised in November 2025 for eight years. As at September 2026 Woolworths hosts bins at more than 700 stores nationally, though not in some regional parts of New South Wales. Coverage changes store by store, so look before you drive.
How do I tell a soft plastic from a hard one?
If a piece of plastic stays crushed when you let go, it is soft plastic and stays out of the yellow-lid bin. Rigid plastic springs back into shape and belongs in the yellow-lid recycling.
Need it gone this week?
Compare council collection, recycling and pickup options on the skip bin hire page for Sydney.