Compass Housing is the first Hunter-based not-for-profit organisation and community housing organisation to sign up to the Plastic Police® recycling program.
Compass is in the process of setting up soft plastic recycling stations; one at its Hamilton head office, one at Muswellbrook South State School and one at its Central Coast community hub known as The Meeting Place.
Plastic Police® is a Hunter-based circular economy program that diverts soft (scrunchable) plastics from landfill to be recycled into useful products for schools, councils, businesses and community groups. It is an initiative of local Business Waste Consultant, Samantha Cross from Cross Connections Consulting.
Samantha said Plastic Police® is more than just a recycling program; it is a community engagement program to close the loop on wasted resources.
“At the moment, 300,000 tonnes of soft plastic are sent to landfill every year in Australia,” Samantha said.
“Our aim is to turn as much of this material as possible back into useful products, to avoid material ending up in landfills or oceans, or being shipped overseas to be recycled.”
She urged local businesses and industry to join Compass Housing in thinking about opportunities to recycle soft plastic and incorporate locally made recycled plastic products into their production processes.
“We want to get organisations and businesses playing a role in purchasing or incorporating products made from reprocessed and recycled materials to ensure local end market demand,” Samantha said.
Compass Housing Sustainability Manager, Jandy McCandless said joining the Plastic Police® program is another plank in the company’s growing sustainability platform.
“Compass is aligning its business operations to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to plays its part in ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity for all,” Jandy said.
“Plastic Police® is a powerful and practical demonstration of the power of local action to create positive change.”
IMAGE | Lexi Crouch from Plastic Police and Jandy McCandless from Compass Housing.
