The federal government’s $60 million funding to build Australia’s advanced soft plastics recycling industry has been welcomed by the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) and a host of member companies.
The investment, included in this month’s Federal Budget, builds on the $190 million Recycling Modernisation Fund (RMF) which is driving a $1 billion transformation of the waste and recycling sector.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Government is committed to stopping harmful plastics from entering our oceans, choking up our waterways and destroying our marine life.
“This new funding stream, dedicated to helping solve the problem of hard to recycle plastic waste, demonstrates our determination to invest in Australian industry, to growing the recycling sector and to creating a stronger economy and stronger future for Australia,” the Prime Minister said.
The AFGC has recognised the funding stream as an important step in creating a true circular economy for plastic packaging in Australia.
AFGC CEO Tanya Barden said the funding will allow the development of onshore recycling capabilities for hard-to-recycle soft plastic packaging, such as bread bags and cereal box liners, and allow Australian manufacturers to source more food-grade recycled content for packaging here in Australia.
“Australia’s food and grocery manufacturing industry is committed to creating an effective and sustainable circular economy for plastic packaging in Australia,” Barden said. “The AFGC is currently developing the National Plastics Recycling Scheme (NPRS), which will be Australia’s largest industry-led plastics recycling scheme. This new investment to support advanced recycling provides a key link for creating a successful product stewardship scheme for soft plastic packaging”.
The new government funding will support APCO members and the entire packaging supply chain to develop new solutions to boost uptake of recycled plastic, including expanding infrastructure to process more recovered plastic into usable material for new products and packaging.
Brooke Donnelly, CEO of APCO, said: “It is crucial that recovered plastic is treated as a resource and seen as a critical way to ‘close the loop’. No materials are truly recycled until they are used again, so it is vital that we expand our end markets for recovered plastic to ensure it goes back into the economy. This is the final step in a transition to a true circular economy. Innovative solutions to help businesses to increase the amount of recycled plastic being used in new packaging are essential. This funding will be key to supporting industry on this journey – to a future where plastic is no longer waste.”
INDUSTRY VOICES SUPPORT
Darren O’Brien, president Mondelez Australia, NZ & Japan said: “We know Australians want us to do everything we can to make our packaging more sustainable, and that’s why we’ve invested in a world first for Cadbury with our transition to 30 per cent recycled soft plastic packaging later this year.
“We had to search the world for this recycled packaging because until now, there just hasn’t been the domestic advanced recycling capability we need in Australia to make soft plastics a truly circular material.
“The investment by the government in new technology that ensures we can transform local waste back into packaging is a game changer for consumers, industry and the planet.”
“I’m convinced we can work together to create a better future for soft plastics in Australia,” said Nestlé Oceania CEO Sandra Martinez. “That’s why Nestlé has collaborated to create firstly a kerbside trial to boost collection of soft plastics, and secondly, a KitKat prototype wrapper that demonstrated the circularity that’s possible with the right collection and processing. This funding will help the entire value chain to bring this better future to life, turn waste plastic into a resource, and provide opportunities for food companies to buy locally created soft plastic packaging with recycled content.”
Unilever head of sustainable business and communications ANZ Brooke Sprott said: “Building stronger capacity for advanced recycling is key to accelerating Australia’s transition to a circular economy.
“At Unilever we’re working hard to reduce our use of virgin plastic, increase our use of post-consumer plastic, and ramp up recyclability of our packaging to meet the 2025 National Packaging Targets. Each year, we use 1,200 tonnes of recycled plastic in our home, beauty and personal care bottles such as Dove, OMO and TRESemmé. But we’re looking for solutions to incorporate recycled plastic into our food and refreshment packaging. “There’s currently a gap in the availability of traceable, food-grade recycled plastic in Australia. Today’s announcement will help close this gap by increasing capacity for hard-to-recycle materials like soft plastics to be collected and processed into a traceable stream of food-grade recycled plastic.”
Mars Australia general manager Bill Heague said: “Mars’ packaging for its confectionery, food and pet food products is either recycle-ready today or is being designed to be recyclable or reusable by 2025. We believe brand owners have an essential role in a circular economy alongside the support needed from government to ensure Australia’s plastics recycling infrastructure is ready to meet industry and shopper expectations.”
Kellogg ANZ MD Anthony Holme said: “Kellogg’s is committed to nurturing the environment by driving sustainable packaging innovation and delivering products to our consumers that have minimal waste and can be recycled over and over. All our cereals produced at our Botany plant in Sydney use materials sourced from local manufacturers, and we are currently undertaking trials using mechanically recycled materials. We support the announcement of funding towards hard-to-recycle plastics, which would enable further packaging innovation including locally sourced advanced recycled resin to add into our soft plastics.”
Daniel Baker, director corporate responsibility, ALDI Australia, said: “ALDI is focused on reducing our impact on the environment across our business and supply chain in relation to waste, recycling, packaging and energy and carbon emissions. Our plastics and packaging commitments guide our actions to reduce at least a quarter of all own-brand product plastic packaging by 2025, as well as increase the use of recycled materials across our range. Recognising the importance of developing a circular economy for plastics, we strive to reach 30% recycled content in our plastic packaging by 2025. This is in addition to our commitment as an APCO member to achieve 50% recycled content across all of our packaging materials. We’re committed to working in partnership with industry stakeholders, government and our business partners to find sustainable solutions to create a circular economy for plastics and are encouraged by this government investment that will lead to increased uptake of recycled materials in product packaging across the Australian retail industry.”
Simon Lowden, chief transformation officer, Arnott’s Group, said: “The Arnott’s Group remain committed to achieving the 2025 National Packaging Targets and advancing an ambitious agenda that brings us closer to a circular economy for packaging. As a company we’ve committed to ensuring that our packaging has at least 50% average recycled content by 2025, so welcome the government’s efforts in this space. We’re proud to be a Member of the ANZPAC Plastics Pact and will continue to work with our peers and industry partners to identify new sustainable solutions and innovative practices.”
Thinus Keevé, chief sustainability, property and export officer, Coles, said: “As part of our ambition to become Australia’s most sustainable supermarket, we have aligned to Australia’s 2025 National Packaging Targets, including an average of 50% recycled content used across all Coles Own Brand and Coles Own Liquor Brand packaging. This is not something we can achieve alone and it takes action across each part of the packaging value chain to see its realisation. We understand our customers want us to reduce packaging and to make it easier for them to recycle. We also know that packaging, including plastic packaging, plays a key role in protecting products during transport, extending product life, keeping food safe and reducing food waste. Initiatives that drive the use of recycled plastic material in Australia will help close the loop on plastic packaging and support the transition to a circular economy.”
Adrian Cullen, head of circular packaging solutions, Woolworths 360, said: “We’re focused on growing greener across our entire range and our first preference will always be to remove plastic from packaging when we can. Where plastic can’t be taken out of packaging altogether, we’re committed to reducing its environmental footprint by increasing our use of recycled plastic. We’ve pledged to use an average of 60 per cent recycled content in our own brand packaging by the end of 2025, and we’re also working to support our suppliers’ progress towards APCO’s National Packaging Targets to help cut virgin plastic going into our customers’ shopping baskets. Large scale investments in Australia’s recycling capability, such as this additional funding from the federal government, are vital in our collective pursuit of a better tomorrow.”
The new funding comes on the heels of a $50m investment into CSIRO’s Ending Plastic Waste Mission, which will involve industry, government and CSIRO working to develop cutting-edge science and innovation to change the way Australia makes, uses, recycles and disposes of plastics.
