It’s not a pretty picture, whichever way you paint it – the state of plastic recycling in Australia. While the mainstream media is having a field day fanning the flames of righteous indignation with acerbic commentary, the packaging industry is facing a reality check ahead of the pending release of an update from APCO on recycling rates vis-à-vis the 2025 targets – which it is evident, are clearly out of reach.
Earlier this week, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that it had to hand “confidential documents prepared for industry stakeholders”, which cited 2021 plastics recycling figures for Australia at 16 per cent (lower than the 18 per cent cited in 2020). The National Packaging Target for plastic recycling is 70 per cent by 2025.
To change the trajectory, recycling infrastructure would have to ramp up significantly. The pending Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) report will show current and planned investment will create capacity to recycle 60 per cent of plastic packaging placed on market.
For the packaging industry, and the brand owners they supply, this is not the time to lay down the tools and take a rain check. It's time to face reality.
As APCO CEO Chris Foley has pointed out many times since he stepped into the role late last year, this is the time to reset fast, and pursue the collaborative initiatives already underway with a view to scaling.
With Government making it clear that it’s ready to intervene with legislation, Foley is on record as saying the consequences of not moving forward could be quite punitive.
At a recent industry conference, Foley said, plastic is a victim of its own success – durable, protective, transparent, and cheap. Its market growth has supercharged in recent years, up from 15kg per person in 2012 to 21kg in 2021.
He said, “There is no doubt we need systems-wide structural solutions, and we really need to regain consumer confidence in recycling, which has collapsed following the REDcycle programme suspension.”
Next week, at the AIP Australian Packaging Conference, 2025 & Beyond, global and local industry leaders will be exploring what the reset looks like, while sharing news on projects that have kicked off successfully (for example, the Circular Plastics Australia PET cross industry collaboration), or are in advanced trial phase (like the industry-led National Plastics Recycling Scheme (NRPS).
AFGC CEO speaks out
Responding to the SMH article, Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) CEO Tanya Barden said while the low rate of plastic packaging recycling is disappointing for industry, projections for future recycling capacity show important progress is being made.
“Australia’s food and grocery industry is undertaking significant work to improve rates of recyclability and recycling on all packaging,” Barden said.
“Substantial investments have been made in rigid plastics recycling and on soft plastic packaging, a model for a long-term, sustainable solution has been created with the industry-led National Plastics Recycling Scheme (NPRS).”
“The AFGC, with the keen support of the food and grocery industry, is quietly going about the work of designing a scheme and working with all parts of the soft plastics supply chain to create a sustainable, real-world solution to recycling plastic waste,” Barden said.
The NPRS is currently in advanced trials of kerbside collection of soft plastic packaging – the system called for by leading environmental and waste management bodies as the way forward for Australia.
Trials are taking place in several local government areas across NSW, Victoria and South Australia. The NPRS has brought together manufacturers, councils, waste collectors and processors, advanced recyclers and plastic manufacturers to map out a sustainable soft plastics supply chain.
Barden said the collaboration behind the NPRS, which is supported by the federal government’s National Product Stewardship Investment Fund, is changing Australia’s recycling landscape.
“Since work on the National Plastics Recycling Scheme began, the project has stimulated new commitments for investment in advanced recycling plants capable of turning used soft plastics back into oil, ready for manufacturing back into recycled, food-grade plastic films,” Barden said.
PKN will be attending the 2025 & Beyond conference and filing livestream podcast interviews and online reports to cover the key takeouts. Stay tuned.
