Have your say about packaging reform in Australia

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) has announced that the public consultation on packaging regulatory reform is now open. The DCCEEW is exploring the best way to reform Australia’s packaging regulations to minimise packaging waste and pollution and build a circular economy for packaging.

The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is the organisation charged by government to facilitate the delivery of the 2025 National Packaging Targets, to be achieved by 31 December 2025. The 2025 Targets are:  

• 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging
• 70% of plastic packaging being recycled or composted
• 50% of average recycled content included in packaging (revised from 30% in 2020)
• Phase out problematic and unnecessary single-use plastics packaging. 

While packaging plays a vital role in food industry, the current co-regulatory arrangement for packaging reform in Australia is not working effectively — the 2025 National Packaging targets will not be met. In 2021–22, just over half of the total packaging placed on market was recovered, with the rest being sent to landfill. And while around 86% of general packaging now has good recyclability, with plastic packaging this recyclability level slips down to 42%. Recycling used packaging is also hampered by gaps in recycling capacity and a lack of end markets for recycled materials.

The DCCEEW is seeking views on three potential options for reforming packaging regulations:

• Option 1 — Strengthening administration of the co-regulatory arrangement
• Option 2 — National mandatory requirements for packaging
• Option 3 — An extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging.

Section 5.8 of the government’s consultation paper outlines the packaging obligations that could apply to varying extents across the options to regulated entities, including:

• Improved packaging design — to make packaging safer, reduce waste and improve recyclability.
• Improved recyclability labelling — so consumers understand what can and cannot be recycled and businesses are accountable for their packaging choices.
• Recycled content thresholds — to support increased take-up of recycled content and create markets for recovered materials.

The government is seeking views on reforming packaging regulation in Australia from a wide range of groups and individuals across the packaging system, including producers, brand owners, packaging importers and retailers, and waste collection and resource recovery businesses, as well as state and local governments, small businesses, consumers and advocacy groups.

The public consultation is open until 5 pm (AEDT) on Monday, 28 October 2024.

For more information about the reform and how to make a submission, visit consult.dcceew.gov.au/reform-of-packaging-regulation.

Image credit: iStock.com/kyoshino