Investigators have found six Melbourne warehouses full of soft plastics after a recycler stopped operations, and warn there could be more.

Victoria’s Environment Protection Authority said about 3000 tonnes of soft plastics had been found across the six sites after REDcycle suspended its recycling program a month ago.

A notice issued to the scheme’s operators led investigators to the warehouses, managed by logistics companies in Melbourne’s western and northern suburbs.

“The soft plastics found in the Melbourne warehouses are thought to have come from outside of Victoria … it is believed that additional sites could exist across Victoria and the country,” the EPA said on Friday.

Officers are inspecting the sites and working to manage fire risks.

“Although the operators of REDcycle did tell us about some of the sites, intelligence from logistics companies and others is assisting EPA’s investigations,” the authority’s CEO Lee Miezis said.

“If you have any of these soft plastic wastes at your warehouse, we need to know.”

REDcycle said in a statement that it was assisting the EPA with its investigations.

“We have been and will continue to work closely with and fully support the work of the EPA,” it said.

“Our top priority is working to find solutions to convert this material into a desirable and needed resource for the greater good.”

In early November, the company blamed unforeseen circumstances for its decision to suspend its soft plastics recycling scheme, which involved collecting waste from Coles and Woolworths stores.

The statement came after it was revealed millions of plastic bags have been stashed in warehouses instead of being recycled, posing environmental and safety risks.

“Consumer recycling of soft plastic has grown exponentially in recent years, with a 350 per cent increase in plastic returned since 2019,” a REDcycle spokeswoman said.

“However, due to several unforeseen challenges exacerbated by the pandemic, REDcycle’s recycling partners have temporarily stopped accepting and processing soft plastics. This combination has put untenable pressure on the REDcycle business model.”

REDcycle had provided the only consumer-facing soft plastic recycling for the majority of Australian households.

Since the program fell over, Woolworths, Coles and Aldi have been given conditional interim authorisation to form part of a Soft Plastics Taskforce.

Chaired initially by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, it is to explore alternative soft plastic recycling solutions.

“The ACCC expects [Woolworths, Coles and Aldi] to resolve this situation urgently and has placed a number of reporting conditions on them to ensure we are informed of their progress,” Australian Competition and Consumer Commission deputy chair Mick Keogh said in announcing the taskforce.

-with AAP