“In an Australian first,” the country’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water announced it will begin regulating packaging at a federal level. The upcoming regulation(s) will “make industry responsible for the packaging they place on the market,” and “include mandatory packaging design standards and targets – including for recycled content and to address the use of harmful chemicals in food packaging.” Few details are currently available on what exactly will be included.
The announcement followed the Environment Ministers Meeting on June 9, 2023, a forum for members of many agencies which work on national environmental issues to discuss and “agree [on] cross-government actions to improve Australia’s environment.”
Previously, environmental-minded packaging regulations in Australia had been at the state level (FPF reported) or non-binding government and industry targets (FPF reported, also here).
In 2018, the Environment Ministers set voluntary packaging targets for 2025 including “100% of packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable” and “70% of plastic packaging to be recycled or composted” after use (FPF reported). In 2021, only about 18% of Australia’s plastic was recycled or composted. Numbers may actually be lower since in late 2022, a large soft plastics recycling program shut down after it was unable to process the plastic it was receiving and instead stored it in large warehouses. The Australian Packaging Covenant Organization recently published a report reviewing the 2025 targets and found none were on track to be met.
Despite this, in November 2022, Australia joined the intergovernmental High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution (FPF reported) and pledged to recycle or reuse all plastic waste by 2040. To achieve such plastic recycling and other countrywide circular economy targets, federal action was required. Tanya Plibersek, Minister for the Environment and Water, is quoted in the Environment Ministers Meeting press release, “[w]e need to dramatically reduce packaging waste, and the harmful chemicals that destroy our environment… Until now, governments have ignored calls to step in and set mandatory targets. While some in the industry have stepped up to voluntarily reduce their impact, it’s just not enough.”
Environment Ministers will also begin work on harmonizing Australia’s curbside packaging recycling and collection programs beginning in 2024.
References
DCCEEW (June 9, 2023). “Environment Ministers step in to cut packaging waste.”
DCCEEW (June 9, 2023). “Environment Ministers’ Meeting, 9 June 2023, agreed communique.” (pdf).
APCO (April 2023). “Review of the 2025 national packaging targets: Final report.” (pdf).
Elias Clure (November 15, 2022). “Australian government pledges to recycle all plastics by 2040.” ABC News
ABC News (November 9, 2022). “Shoppers told to put plastic bags in the bin after suspension of REDcycle’s soft plastics recycling scheme.”
APCO (November 2021). “APCO collective impact report.” (pdf).
Read more
Alexandra Warren (June 22, 2023). “Australian ministers commit to phasing out harmful chemicals in packaging.” Chemical Watch
Lindy Hughson and Jan Arreza (June 14, 2023). “Govt to step in on packaging waste.” Print21
APCO. “Australia’s 2025 national packaging targets.”
High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution
Margaret Paul (July 24, 2023). “Australian supermarkets look overseas for solutions to REDcycle soft-plastic stockpile woes.” ABC News.
Anya Phelan (November 16, 2022). “REDcycle’s collapse is more proof that plastic recycling is a broken system.” The Conversation.
Food Safety Magazine (May 22, 2023). “Plastics Affecting Global Food Safety, Says Australian National Science Agency.”
