The Australian Institute of Packaging joined industry leaders and stakeholders at the National Plastics Summit in Canberra this week. Delegates shared their take-aways with PKN.
“One of the main themes that pervaded the summit was the vital role that consumer education plays in not only meeting our 2025 National Packaging Targets but, more importantly, to ensure that consumers are included in the sustainable journey the industry is currently undertaking,” says AIP executive director, Nerida Kelton.
“Communication is key to educate consumers on everything from the use of the ARL [Australian Recycling Label] on-pack to understanding why a brand is using recycled content in their packaging.
“We all have a role to play and I walked away from the summit enthused that all parts of the value chain are wanting the same outcomes for the industry. A starting point is continuing the collaboration and open dialogue that we had at the summit.”
The AIP was also invited by the federal government to participate in the Children’s Summit that was held alongside the event. The AIP was tasked with spending the day with the children and helping them to understand the important role that packaging plays in society, and each of the different materials used, particularly soft plastics. The AIP representative was education director Prof Pierre Pienaar who also had the opportunity to represent the World Packaging Organisation, in his capacity as president, at the significant event.
Children ask the important questions
The Children’s Summit, which took place in Old Parliament House, saw 22 children in Grades 5 and 6 from across the country – who had submitted the top summaries of action they have taken to reduce plastic waste in our environment – invited to air their views and learn more about packaging.
Fielding their questions were Pierre Pienaar, education director of AIP; Barry Cosier, Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) director of sustainability; and Ryan Lungu, executive director at Canberra Environment Centre.
“The children’s questions were detailed, thought provoking, challenging at times and well researched,” Pienaar told PKN.
Asked what their chief concerns were, Pienaar responded: “That they would come to Canberra and not be heard by the adults; how long it will take to fix the plastic issue; how it can be fixed; and why the adult generation has left this mess for the children to fix.”
According to Pienaar, typical questions included:
Why can some plastics be recycled and others not?
Why is some fruit and vegetables wrapped in plastic?
What are soft plastics?
Why are soft plastics the main issue?
Why can't we eat fruit only in season, thus avoiding unnecessary plastic packaging?
How does the plastic damage the environment?
Why are there so many waste plastics in the sea?
Can we rather use the materials that our grandparents used?
How can we reduce damaging plastics in the environment?
What is industry doing to help solve the problem?
What can we as students do to help reduce plastic waste?
“It was only the arrival of the Governor General of Australia and his wife Mrs Hurley that brought an end to the children's ‘Open Question Time’,” Pienaar said.
“The students would have gone back to their schools and communities, having experienced that the adults had heard their voice, and they would be more informed of what can and should be done about plastics into the future to make our environment a better place,” he said.
Stakeholder reflections on the summit
Barry Cosier, AFGC director of sustainability, said the National Plastics Summit presented a unique opportunity for government, industry and the community to collaborate and discuss waste and recycling issues.
“The AFGC was encouraged by Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement of planned government investment in new recycling infrastructure across Australia and a move towards incentivisation and co-investment to support industry,” Cosier said.
Stephen Webster, GM of Integrated Recycling, said the summit was “a great initiative with valuable contributions from industry and academia of the many different ways to create a circular economy in plastics”.
“The PM's commitment to help fund Australia's capacity upgrade to recycle plastic was welcomed as was the PM’s recognition of Integrated Recycling’s Duratrack recycled plastic railway sleeper project for use in large scale infrastructure projects,” Webster said.
The PM’s announcement was also welcomed by recycled plastics company Replas. Joint MD Mark Jacobsen said: ‘Replas was honoured to be invited to the National Plastics Summit, and proud to have our [recycled plastics] seat on centre stage and used by government ministers and speakers. We welcome Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s announcement and the strengthening of Commonwealth Procurement Guidelines, where Government agencies will now consider the use of recycled content wherever possible.
“As successful recipients of the Resource Recovery Infrastructure Fund grant from Sustainability Victoria, we have invested in state-of-the-art machinery which will almost double our output of recycled plastic products, and we’re employing new staff and gearing up for increased production.
“The National Plastics Summit was a fantastic platform for the circular economy discussion, and while mandating minimum quantities for procurement would create a stronger framework to address the waste crisis, Replas is in an excellent position with leading-edge technology to support the circular economy.”
Time for action has come
For packaging industry professional, Alan Adams, the APAC sustainability director for packaging company Sealed Air, the summit was timely and reflected an industry that is “moving past pledges and commitments to real actions”.
“I think the average Australian wants to hear that we are making real differences, real changes. This mirrors what we are hearing from our industry partners, so Sealed Air developments like recycled content in mailers and courier bags, recyclable meat trays and alternatives to black pigments now have real traction,” he said.
“The three key themes I took away are that first, the problem is ours, we have to own it collectively and work to make real change. Second, we have to collaborate up and down the plastics life-cycle to create viable projects, and third, we need to develop projects that are scalable and capable of being driven to large scale and with that become economically sustainable.
During the summit it became clear how important total alignment is, Adams told PKN. “Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a three-point plan including growing demand for recycled content through government procurement. We need materials like recycled plastic content in building materials, sound barriers and asphalt included in specifications so that procurement can act. We have work to do in getting all of society, government and business aware of and working towards the same goals,” Adams said.
From all accounts, the National Plastics Summit was a significant and timely step for all stakeholders.
