Reducing soft plastic use: A success story

Quarry Mining extracts value from waste

Plastic Police® participant Quarry Mining has implemented an innovative solution to help reduce soft plastic use within the business.

The Hunter-based business manufactures and distributes steel products that were previously wrapped in plastic bubble wrap for protection during transport and storage.

Quarry Mining purchased a Mastershred cardboard perforating machine (shown right) which converts waste cardboard into a flexible and high-quality sustainable packaging material.

The machine enables Quarry Mining employees to transform its waste cardboard into sustainable packaging material. As a result, Quarry Mining has been able to eliminate plastic bubble wrap, a virgin resource with limited recycling options, and implement an innovative and sustainable reuse solution.

 

Outcomes

Previously, Quarry Mining would buy approximately 100 metres of bubble wrap each month. The new solution provides a commercial cost-saving and avoids sending approximately 84kg of soft plastic waste to landfill each year. This is the equivalent weight of 21,000 plastic bags.

Additional cost savings were achieved by reducing the need for a cardboard collection and recycling service onsite.

The new practice extends the life of the cardboard by keeping it in the productive economy for longer. Unlike bubble wrap, the perforated cardboard packaging can be more easily recycled by Quarry Mining’s customers.

The Quarry Mining team has seen fantastic results through this transition away from bubble wrap, with a higher quality reuse product that is used for multiple purposes, including padding mats, padded packaging and void-fill packaging, at a lower cost to the business and environment.

This reuse solution demonstrates the circular economy in action and highlights the opportunity to reuse and extend the life of valuable resources.

 

Soft Plastic Reduction and Recycling with Plastic Police®

Quarry Mining is committed to responsible environmental management and minimising waste to landfill. This includes participating in the Plastic Police® program to collect and recycle soft plastics at its Hunter branch. Central to the Plastic Police® program is identifying opportunities to reduce single-use soft plastic use where possible.

Through its participation in Plastic Police®, Quarry Mining has saved over 1.5 tonnes of soft plastic from landfill in the last 18 months. To showcase the recycling efforts of its staff and ‘close the loop’ on what they’ve collected, Quarry Mining purchased a table setting made from 100% recycled plastic, including soft plastics.

Plastic Police® soft plastic bag stands are available in the workshops and offices, and staff are encouraged to bring their own soft plastic waste into work for recycling. Not only is this keeping more plastic out of landfill, but the program also educates and engages staff to reduce their use of single-use soft plastics, reuse where possible and recycle the rest through Plastic Police®.

Thanks to the shift to perforated cardboard packing, Quarry Mining is expecting their soft plastic use to drop significantly.

Well done to Quarry Mining for their efforts in minimising waste to landfill through its recycling and waste reduction initiatives – another fantastic success story of a Plastic Police® participant.