Australia Post to recycle plastic mail satchels

Australia Post announced this week it will now accept used mail satchels at its retail outlets as part of a national recycling program that will hopefully reduce the amount of satchels reaching landfill.

Australia Post says the free program will see used satchels sent on to waste solutions company TerraCycle for processing into items like esky liners and plastic garden furniture.

This is good news for online consumers, particularly as more and more people turn to online shopping, and the plastic carry bag is swapped for a mail satchel. But just like plastic bags, many local councils are unable to recycle mail satchels through their kerbside collections, meaning they ultimately end up in the waste pile after a single use.

Now the program is underway, consumers can box up old satchels, download a label from the TerraCycle website, and drop them into any Australia Post outlet.