Without Enough Recycling Facilities in Australia, Some Are Getting Creative With Plastic Solutions

With a flick of the wrist, you've removed the plastic lid from your water bottle.

How much thought did you give to this small, round piece of plastic that keeps your drink contained in the bottle?

Despite being a hard plastic, these lids are a contaminant that much of Australia's current recycling infrastructure is not set up to handle.

It's inspiring local designers to create new products made from plastic bottle lids, but the industry says the problem is a symbol of how Australia's onshore recycling facilities are falling short.

This week Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek "temporarily" lifted a nationwide plastic export ban due to a lack of onshore recycling facilities within Australia.

Just a few days earlier, the United Nations published a report saying plastic pollution could be slashed by 80 per cent by 2040.

But many in the sector, including Jeremy Williams from WA business Rainbow Plastic, are concerned Australia's onshore recycling facilities are inadequate.

"We haven't got the infrastructure or the capability in Australia for properly recycling," Mr Williams said.

Mr Williams, whose company collects reusable plastic materials from mine and construction sites across Western Australia, said he was concerned by the number of recyclables being sent across the country or overseas to be processed.

"The circular economy needs to be completed within WA to be truly sustainable," he said.

Plastic bottle lids

The issue with plastic bottle lids represents a broader issue with Australia's recycling capabilities, the sector says.

In WA, Tim Youe, from local government recycling organisation Resource Recovery Group, said plastic bottle lids should not be put in yellow-lidded recycling bins due to their size, and they contaminated other materials.

"We like the bottles but not the lids," he said.