Environmental groups are urging Australian governments to adopt laws requiring tethered bottle caps, inspired by the European Union’s legislation, in a bid to reduce the number of bottle tops ending up in landfills or as litter.
Beach Patrol Australia (BPA) reports that plastic lids from beverage containers are among the most frequently littered items on Australian beaches. Despite the ban on plastic straws, bottle lids remain a significant issue. BPA’s co-founder, Dr Ross Headifen, emphasised, "We collect hundreds of lids on our beaches every day. By mandating tethered caps, we can significantly reduce plastic pollution, avoiding millions of bottle tops from leaking into our environments. Our volunteers simply can’t keep up, we need to stop plastic entering our oceans at the source. It is a simple fix with a big benefit."
Birte Moliere, packaging product stewardship lead at Boomerang Alliance, echoed these concerns. "Most drink bottles can now be recycled through container refund collection points, but bottle tops are often left out of these schemes and either become litter or end up in landfill," she said. Moliere further emphasised that tethering caps to bottles is the best way to ensure both the bottle and the lid are collected and recycled together.
Boomerang Alliance is also advocating for new packaging laws that hold producers accountable for the management, collection, and recovery of their packaging. Moliere added, "Beverage containers should only be allowed on the market if producers can guarantee the recovery of both the bottle and cap."
Tethered caps became mandatory in the EU in July 2024, in accordance with EU Directive 2019/904. According to this legislation, “beverage containers that are single-use plastic products should only be allowed to be placed on the market if they fulfil specific product design requirements that significantly reduce the dispersal into the environment of beverage container caps and lids made of plastic.” Article 6 of the directive gives a more detailed insight. According to Article 6 of the directive caps and lids made out of plastic may be placed on the market only if the caps and lids remain attached to the containers during the products’ intended use stage.
The NSW Government has proposed the introduction of tethered caps by 2030, but environmental advocates are calling for this timeline to be accelerated.
