Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search

Queensland and NSW floods 2022

Visit recovery.gov.au to see what help is available.

Close
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Climate change
    Climate change Driving climate action, science and innovation so we are ready for the future.
    • Climate science and adaptation
    • Australia's climate change strategies
    • Emissions reduction
    • Emissions reporting
    • International commitments
    • Climate Active
    • Climate change publications and data
    • Australia’s National Greenhouse Accounts (Emissions Data)
    Stronger action on climate change

    Stronger action on climate change

    See how the Australian Government is committed to taking more ambitious action on climate change.

    Find out more

  • Energy
    Energy Building a secure and sustainable energy system for all Australians.
    • Energy policy in Australia
    • Energy ministers
    • Renewable energy
    • Energy publications
    • energy.gov.au
    • Energy Rating
    • Commercial Building Disclosure Program
    • Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS)
    • Your Home
    Decorative image

    Australian Energy Employment Report survey

    Share insights to help the energy workforce plan for the future

    Find out more

  • Environment
    Environment Improving stewardship and sustainable management of Australia’s environment.
    • Bushfire recovery
    • Climate change and the environment
    • Biodiversity
    • EPBC Act
    • Environmental information and data
    • International activities
    • Invasive species
    • Land
    • Marine
    • Partnerships
    • Protection
    • Report a breach of environment law
    • Threatened species & ecological communities
    • Waste and recycling
    • Wildlife trade
    Decorative image

    Read our Nature Positive Plan

    Our plan sets out the Australian Government’s commitment to environmental law reform

    Find out more

  • Water
    Water Improving the sustainable management of Australia’s water supply for industry, the environment and communities.
    • Coal, Coal seam gas (CSG) and water
    • Commonwealth Environmental Water Office
    • Water policy and resources
    • Wetlands
    Water matters

    Water Matters

    Keep up with the latest news on the department's work in managing Australia's water resources.

    Read the latest edition here

  • Parks and heritage
    Parks and heritage Managing Australia’s iconic national parks, historic places and living landscapes.
    • Australian Marine Parks
    • Australian National Botanic Gardens
    • Booderee National Park
    • Kakadu National Park
    • Christmas Island National Park
    • National parks
    • Norfolk Island National Park
    • Heritage
    • Pulu Keeling National Park
    • The Great Barrier Reef
    • Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park
    The reef

    Great Barrier Reef

    Australia is protecting and conserving this World Heritage Area.

    Find out more

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Climate change
    • Australia's biological resources
    • National Environmental Science Program (NESP)
    • Our science strategy
    • Australian Biological Resource Study (ABRS)
    • State of the Environment (SoE) reporting
    • Bird and bat banding
    • Supervising Scientist
    Our climate is changing

    Our climate is changing

    Find out more about how climate science helps Australians with the impacts of climate change.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us We lead Australia’s response to climate change and sustainable energy use, and protect our environment, heritage and water.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • People and jobs
    • Publications
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    Decorative image

    Juukan Gorge response

    Read the Australian Government's response to the destruction at Juukan Gorge and the recommendations

    Read the response

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Climate Change, Energy, Enviroment and Water

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Environment
  3. Environment protection
  4. Waste and recycling
  5. Product stewardship in Australia
  6. Product stewardship schemes and priorities
  7. Big bag recovery

Sidebar first - EN - Protection

  • Current products and schemes
    • Television and Computer Recycling Scheme
      • Co-regulatory arrangements
      • Liable parties
      • Householders and small business
      • Local government
      • Recyclers
      • Operational Review

Big bag recovery

Big Bag Recovery (BBR) is managed by Industry Waste Recovery Ltd. It aims to ensure that bags for products over 15kg or 15 litres are collected and recycled into other products. This prevents them from entering the waste stream.

Big bag recovery logo image

BBR will collect bags used for fertiliser, mulch, salt, sugar and explosives. These are generally used in agriculture, food production, mining, construction, and other regional activities.

The arrangement will:

  • reduce the amount of large bags entering the waste stream through landfill, waterways, marine environments or incinerated
  • recover plastics from large bags for reuse as other products that can also be recycled once they reach end-of-life
  • improve the national coverage of recycling drop-off points, collection and recycling facilities for large bags.

Members and participants

  • Importers and bag manufacturers
  • Brand owners
  • Distributors
  • Councils and drop-off centres

If you produce or use bulk bag products, or collect and recycle plastic waste, you can participate.

You can help recover and recycle big bags (polypropylene and low-density polyethylene) used in packaging across Australia.

How it works

Brand owners and importers pay a stewardship fee per bag to cover:

  • their obligations
  • recovery of the bag
  • costs of the program.

The arrangement is funded by a uniform pricing model based on recovery and program costs. BBR charges the responsible entity the Brand Owners on a licence and recovery basis. Brand Owners may absorb the cost or pass this onto their consumer. A stewardship label is attached to each bag indicating that the fee has been paid and the bag is recoverable for recycling.

Existing sacks and big bags in circulation will also be collected under the arrangement at a cost to be determined.

Used big bags are collected directly from farms, industrial sites or local government waste drop-offs. The plastic is sorted, processed into resin and manufactured into other products such as:

  • furniture for parks and schools
  • sound abatement panels
  • shipping pallets
  • evaporative pads for water reservoirs.

Recycling and reuse

The Big Bag Recovery arrangement will collect bags from the agriculture, mining, construction and food industries, bale and send them to domestic recyclers for processing into resin pellets and then manufactured into new products.

An estimated 80,000 tonnes of this packaging is introduced into Australia each year. The proposed stewardship program will collect packaging through a series of drop-off and collection points and divert eligible packaging into environmentally sound recycling processes in Australia.

Find out about our Recycling Modernisation Fund.

How can industries take part

If you’re a business that utilises or manufactures big bags, an industry peak body, recycler or collector you can participate.

Contact Big Bag Recovery directly.

They are engaging with industry to encourage best practices and responsibility for their plastic packaging.

Read more

Visit the BBR website.

Check the website for details of planned roadshows and promotional events.

Contacts

Phone 1800 958 333

Stephen Richards, Managing Director
Phone 0499 053 255
Email stephen@bigbagrecovery.com.au

Stewart Ford, Program Director
Phone 0416 043 043
Email stewart@bigbagrecovery.com.au

Annual reports

We review and publish the annual reports for all voluntary arrangements. We will publish future annual reports here.

Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI
Last updated: 18 October 2021

© Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of country throughout Australia and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.