The latest results from the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation’s (APCO) 2021 reporting has revealed that over a quarter of a million SKUs now feature the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) on-pack across Australia and New Zealand.
Showing incredible growth, the results reported that APCO members now have 255,093 SKUs with the ARL – four times the number of labels reported in 2020.
For APCO this is a significant milestone, which highlights the exponential uptake of the label over the past 12 months.
“Over a quarter of a million product SKUs in under four years, and quadrupling the growth since 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic is such an incredible achievement, congrats to the ARL program members and the ARL team,” said Brooke Donnelly, CEO of APCO.
“We’ve also got to give a shout out to our amazing supporting TAC and MAC advisory groups, and our partners at Planet Ark and PREP Design; as well as supporters the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and [former] minister for the environment Sussan Ley – Australia has totally smashed it.
“The program continues to be a work in progress and getting better everyday, and I could not be more proud of the fantastic work done by all, especially considering the incredibly difficult circumstances, dealing with adversity and resistance, but turning up everyday to do their best and help all of us move forward.”
APCO says that since its inception, the ARL has been providing customers with critical information to increase recycling rates and resource recovery, and helps to work towards the development of a true circular economy for sustainable packaging.
