After more than a decade of technical work, Pact Recycling NZ is turning post-consumer soft plastics into durable, useful products.

Mixed polymer soft plastics, everything from foil-lined chip packets to multilayer food pouches and plastic bags, have long been one of the hardest materials to recycle. The very thing that makes them useful, light, flexible and cheap, is what makes them difficult to collect, sort and reprocess at scale. Because they combine several different plastic layers in a single film, they cannot be recycled the way a clean single-polymer material can. That challenge is now shifting.

Working with the Soft Plastics Recycling Scheme and The Packaging Forum, Pact Recycling NZ has successfully trialled post-consumer mixed polymer soft plastics through its upgraded wash plant in East Tamaki. The material is collected through retail drop-off points including supermarkets. Pact Recycling NZ then reprocessed the material and remanufactured it into durable products such as underground cable cover and plastic plywood.

The initial 5000 kg trial produced a yield of around 72%, comparable to some post-consumer material already processed through material recovery facilities. On the back of that, Pact has moved into a three-month trial running at approximately 20,000 kg per month across July, August and September.

The breakthrough is underpinned by investment by both Pact and the Waste Minimisation Fund.

Importantly, the products made are 100% recycled plastic. This particular post-consumer mixed polymer soft plastic stream currently makes up a portion of that recycled content, and the trial is designed to test how far that can be scaled responsibly.

“For years, mixed polymer soft plastics have been one of the most challenging materials to recycle and use at scale. This trial demonstrates what can be achieved when industry collaboration is backed by the right infrastructure and technical expertise. We’re not just proving that post-consumer mixed polymer soft plastics can be recycled, we’re showing how they can be transformed into durable products that create real value and help strengthen New Zealand’s circular economy.”  – Steve Mead, General Manager, Pact Recycling NZ

“This story culminates more than 10 years of Pact Recycling innovating our technology and plant to find a solution for post-consumer soft plastics.”  – Lyn Mayes, The Packaging Forum

It is a reminder that circular systems are not built on single announcements. They are built on years of quiet engineering, real infrastructure, and partnerships that turn hard-to-recycle materials into products people actually use.