APCO launches Recycled Content Guide for businesses

The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) has published the Recycled Content Guide, a practical resource to support Australian organisations to use more recycled content in their packaging.

Developed to support the growing number of businesses redesigning their packaging to meet Australia’s 2025 National Packaging Targets, the guide provides clear information about how to incorporate recycled content into packaging.

The guide provides an introductory approach to recycled content, including:

• what recycled content is
• why the use of recycled content is important
• the environmental benefits of recycled content
• an exploration of the current barriers to using recycled content and how to overcome them
• practical steps for businesses to use more recycled content.

It also provides a detailed look at each material stream, exploring the applications, performance and appearance of recycled content for a range of packaging material types. The materials covered in the document include  PET, HDPE, PP, flexible plastics, and other plastics (including polystyrene, expanded polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and nylon) as well as paper and paperboard. It will also explore the recycling stream for glass and metals such as aluminium and steel.

The document provides a nine-step checklist for businesses to follow to support them on the journey to successfully using recycled content.

“No material is truly recycled until it has been used again, so in order to achieve a circular economy for packaging it is vital that we work to increase the use of recycled content,” APCO CEO Brooke Donnelly said.

“With more and more businesses working hard to achieve the 2025 National Packaging Targets, including the target of 50% of average recycled content in packaging, clear guidance on what they need to do is so important — which is what this publication offers.”

Throughout 2021, APCO will continue to produce a range of resources to help Australian industries meet the 2025 National Packaging Target of 50% of average recycled content included in packaging.

The Recycled Content Guide follows the recently released Recovered Polymer Specifications document, which provides a set of standard specifications for recycled materials suitable for manufacture into packaging. In the coming months, APCO will also launch the industry phase of the new Recycled Content Labelling Program to the Australian market, providing clear on-pack evidence of the use of recycled content.

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