Key findings from a new Amcor survey of 12,000 consumers across six countries, including Australia, shows that 76 per cent of participants would like to recycle more than they do now.
The results further revealed a strong demand for more and easier recycling options and ways to ensure that the product is in fact recycled.
The survey revealed that consumers across US, UK, Germany, Australia, China and Brazil want to recycle more and that they find recyclability to be the most important sustainability attribute for packaging – above other aspects including reusability and the materials used.
Consumers are also calling on both brands and governments to make changes: 83 per cent said they want brands to make it clearer how to recycle packaging. At the same time, 80 per cent believe it should be the responsibility of recycling service providers, such as local governments, to improve infrastructure so that packaging can be recycled in practice.
Amcor chief commercial officer, Peter Konieczny said: “This research shows the great opportunity to help consumers recycle more. At Amcor, we are working to provide the responsible and high- performance packaging consumers are looking for. To increase recycling rates, the research also shows that consumers see both brands and governments playing a role in improving recycling and waste management infrastructure.”
Amcor also released its 2021 Sustainability Report, on 18 November, which shows the company is making strong progress towards its sustainability aspirations. Consumer desire for more recycling aligns directly with Amcor’s pledge to make 100 per cent of its products recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.
“Amcor is making strong progress on our commitment to innovate on packaging design, to collaborate for waste management infrastructure and to educate for greater participation in recycling,” said David Clark, vice president of Sustainability at Amcor.
“Financial Year 2021 (FY21) represented a big step forward for us in terms of sustainability. Thanks to our close partnerships with customers and our relentless innovation, we redesigned many of our products to be recycle-ready and to use more recycled content,” said Amcor's CEO Ron Delia in the 2021 Sustainability Summary Report, confirming that the company is uniquely positioned to lead on sustainable packaging because of its global reach and scale, and expertise across the most widely used packaging materials of paper, metal, and plastic.
“We have forged new partnerships in FY21 with non-governmental organisations, promising startups, and cross-industry initiatives. These partnerships enable Amcor to learn from other perspectives, share our expertise, and expand our innovation. With our partners, we advocate for sound global standards, better waste management infrastructure, and more consumer participation. There is undoubtedly more work to be done, but we are very encouraged by the many examples of progress accelerating around the globe.
“Sustainability is Amcor’s biggest opportunity – for inspiration, positive impact, and growth. Colleagues across the business are working hard to make a difference faster and further,” added Delia.
Amcor reported that 74 per cent of all its products are now designed to be recycled and that it increased its purchase and use of recycled content by 86 per cent in the past two years. The packaging company also continues to reduce its environmental footprint thanks to its EnviroAction program, including a 57 per cent year-on-year increase in renewable energy use.
