PLAY PKN: Video Bulletin 13 June

In the news: APCO, Pact Group, Close the Loop, RMIT, End Food Waste Australia, Qld's Container Exchange, GS1, Bega Group.

PKN apologises for the sound quality in part of this recording. We only became aware of it once it was too late to re-record. The transcript is published below:

Brought to you by Ball & Doggett.

Hello and welcome to PLAY PKN, the weekly video bulletin of the top news stories on PKN Packaging News, Australia’s media hub for the packaging industry. I’m PKN’s publisher, Lindy Hughson, and this week’s episode is brought to you by Ball & Doggett, Australia's largest distributor of printable materials for packaging, and the creator of the ecoporium by Ball & Doggett platform.

We start off with some big news for Australia’s packaging value chain, with the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) confirming it will not introduce its proposed Extended Producer Responsibility fee model in FY27. The decision follows months of structured consultation with APCO members and key stakeholders across the industry, and reflects widespread calls for more regulatory clarity, governance rigour, and sector-specific nuance.

While Australia’s packaging industry remains firmly behind the intent of EPR, APCO CEO Chris Foley said it was clear the proposed model needed more time and refinement to be fit-for-purpose. Meanwhile, the industry is waiting for government to declare its hand on packaging regulatory reform.

In good news for Australia’s recycled packaging advancement: plastic resin made from recycled high density polyethylene milk and juice bottles at a Pact Group operated recycling facility in Melbourne, has passed rigorous testing to meet US Food and Drug Administration safety requirements for use in HDPE food and drink packaging. The recycled rFresh 100 food grade natural HDPE resin is produced at the Circular Plastics Australia recycling plant in Laverton, from post-consumer HDPE bottles collected via kerbside recycling streams. The CPA facility, a joint venture between Pact and Cleanaway Waste Management, has the capacity to recycle up to 20,000 tonnes of HDPE milk, dairy and juice bottles a year, or the equivalent of half a billion 2L milk bottles.

The recycled rFresh 100 HDPE resin will be used to make milk, cream, sauce and juice bottles, and personal care containers, at Pact’s packaging manufacturing facilities throughout Australia.

Then, in some financial news from another recycling company, Close the Loop is anticipating that its second half cash operating profit will fall by 50 per cent compared to the first half. The adverse impact on its profits stems from its North American operations, while its Australian and South African packaging businesses are performing well, and will, says the company, show a combined single digit earnings growth.

Meanwhile, Close the Loop has taken the axe to several Australian projects – the cardboard recycling business in Laverton, Melbourne has been shut down, and both the New South Wales and Queensland governments have been notified that it does not intend to proceed with the construction of new TonerPlas plants in those states. Close the Loop says this decision reflects its focus on optimising its portfolio, and concentrating resources on higher-value, scalable business units.

RMIT University and End Food Waste Australia are working with consumers and stakeholders to reduce household food waste, after finding confusing date labels and storage advice are driving Australians to throw away edible food. Although consumers said clearer, more consistent date labels and storage advice could drastically reduce the amount of edible food thrown away, a series of workshops have revealed hesitations from food industry stakeholders, who cited concerns around cost, compliance and regulatory complexity. The next phase of the National Date Labelling and Storage Advice Project will bring together supermarkets, food brands and government to co-design, test and roll out a national framework for date labelling and storage advice.

Queensland’s container deposit scheme, Container Exchange, is commencing a scheme pricing framework review to make participation in the recycling program easier for beverage manufacturers and boost the circular economy. The review aims to improve price stability and optimise scheme efficiency. The framework will consider a range of factors, such as the recycling cost of different materials, as well as the cost of not recycling the material at all. Container Exchange is inviting beverage manufacturers and industry peak bodies to take part in a six-week consultation and provide feedback on proposed changes to the state’s scheme pricing framework.

And in news from South Australia, from 1 September this year, a ban will be imposed on plastic stickers on fresh fruit and vegetable produce. Only Australian Standard certified compostable labels will be permitted on fresh produce sold in the state. GS1 Australia has already successfully tested its GS1 DataBar on certified compostable labels, ensuring compliance with global standards. GS1 says that incorporating its DataBar on compostable labels will help improve supply chain traceability, reduce food waste, and provide consumers with product information through digital links, without the need for additional packaging. South Australia is the first state in Australia to impose the ban. It’s interesting note that globally, the European Union plans to transition to compostable fruit stickers by 2028, and New Zealand is considering regulatory changes that would require all produce labels, including adhesives, to be home-compostable by July 2028.

Lastly in a quick bit of design news, Bega Group has released a whipped peanut butter product in a recyclable tub and lid, with a paper label supplied by Labelmakers, and graphic design by brand agency Edison. The tub uses a “disruptive colour system”, dynamic typography, and product texture as visual cues to communicate the whipped format to consumers.

Well, that’s all we have time for today, folks. For more on these and other stories, head over to packaging news.com.au. Thank you, as ever, for watching.