Plastic Free July

Small changes. Lasting impact.

Plastic Free July is a simple reminder that small actions, repeated every day, can make a real difference.

Choosing reusable shopping bags, drink bottles and coffee cups is an easy place to start. At home, look for fresh produce without plastic packaging, buy in bulk where you can, and choose reusable alternatives instead of single-use plastics.

Every piece of plastic we avoid is one less item that can end up in our waterways, bushland and Lake Macquarie.

If you've already accumulated a stash of soft plastics, don't throw them in your recycling bin. Instead, collect clean, dry plastic bags, bread bags, biscuit wrappers and other soft plastics and take them to the Awaba Waste Management Facility, where they can be recycled through dedicated collection programs.

Looking for more ideas? Low Plastic Eating Made Easy is a practical video packed with simple tips for reducing plastic waste in your everyday shopping and cooking:


This July, challenge yourself to refuse just one single-use plastic item. You might be surprised how quickly one new habit leads to another.

Plastic Free July – it’s a challenge

Soft Plastic Recycling: What Are Our Local Options?

If you’ve been wondering what to do with your soft plastics since the REDcycle bins disappeared from our local supermarkets, you’re not alone. With Plastic Free July in full swing, it’s the perfect time to explore how our community can continue to reduce waste, even without a perfect system in place.

The good news? Soft plastic recycling hasn’t disappeared entirely, it’s just become a little trickier.

Local residents can now take separated soft plastics to the Awaba Waste Management Facility. Just a heads-up: closed-in shoes are a must at the tip, and the soft plastics must be kept apart from other recycling materials.

For those wanting a more supermarket-style drop-off, Woolworths is currently running a soft plastics recycling trial. Participating stores include Mount Hutton, Charlestown, Cardiff and Glendale. This trial is part of a broader plan being developed by the Australian Food and Grocery Council, in collaboration with major supermarkets, to reintroduce a national soft plastics collection program.

The catch? There’s still no firm timeline, and the path from collection to actual recycling into usable products, like park benches or furniture, remains unclear.

As outlined in a recent response to local sustainability advocate Steve Dewar, the Boomerang Alliance has been advocating for federal-level producer responsibility. In the meantime, they recommend that communities like ours reach out directly to our Woolworths via Facebook Messenger to express interest in joining the trial.

They also encourage locals to support their “Cut the Wrap” campaign, which is calling for stronger government action. You can add your voice here:

Sign the open letter: www.cutthewrap.org.au/openletter

Write to your MP: www.cutthewrap.org.au/mpletter

So while we may not have a perfect solution just yet, there are ways we can keep soft plastics out of landfill, and show there’s strong community demand for a better system.

Was your July plastic free?

It’s almost impossible to be plastic free, which is why we’ve got ourselves into this pollution pickle. The numbers and impact are staggering. From the IUCN webpage they say 

• Over 400 million tons of plastic are produced every year for use in a wide variety of applications.
• At least 14 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean every year, and plastic makes up 80% of all marine debris found from surface waters to deep-sea sediments.
• Marine species ingest or are entangled by plastic debris, which causes severe injuries and death.
• Plastic pollution threatens food safety and quality, human health, coastal tourism, and contributes to climate change.
• There is an urgent need to explore new and existing legally binding agreements to address marine plastic pollution.
• The most power we have to change things is at a personal level, supported by agencies that encourage and facilitate a low plastic lifestyle.

We are very fortunate to have a Council that is leading the way in closing the loop on plastic pollution.

So if you’re one of the people that’s been stock piling your soft plastics since RedCycle shut up shop last year then you’re about to regain some storage space.

A soft plastics recycling solution is now available once again!

Locals can drop off household quantities of non-foil-based soft plastics free of charge at the Awaba Community Recycling Centre (CRC).

Council will also recover hard plastics such as bumper bars, laundry baskets and planter pots, along with old CDs and DVDs, from its waste management facilities to divert these materials from landfill.

These hard and soft plastics will be collected by Australian Composite Technology to be pelletised and transformed into a specialty material known as ‘Plasmar’, used to create products such as fence posts, bollards, sleepers and park benches.

As part of the agreement, Council will buy back the manufactured products for use across Lake Macquarie, contributing to the city’s circular economy.

So if you’re heading to the tip, why not let your neighbours know and drop their softies off too!

But there’s more (and no it’s not a set of steak knives).

There is a way to reduce plastic use, one product at a time. The Plastic Free July website offers loads of advice.

When you look in your cupboard how many of your cleaning products come in plastic containers?

Taking the next steps…

Bulk food stores often offer refillable cleaning products, including window cleaner, dishwashing liquid, and laundry powder/liquid. Farmers markets, chain supermarkets and even delivery trucks increasingly offer refills.

Buying eco-friendly cleaning products in bulk and sharing them with friends, family members and neighbours can be a great way to reduce plastic waste too.

Many people make a simple all-purpose cleaner with equal parts of white vinegar and water (vinegar is a recommended product for mould removal), while others make a water and bicarbonate soda paste for scrubbing. Adding a few drops of essential oil or a squeeze of citrus juice will make homemade cleaning options smell great too.

The impact:

• Avoiding chemicals that can be toxic for yourself, your family and the planet.
• Reducing plastic waste and the use of our natural resources in creating it.
• Saving money by buying in bulk or using homemade cleaning products.

https://www.plasticfreejuly.org/get-involved/what-you-can-do/plastic-free-cleaning/