The Australian government has given the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) its tick of approval as an accredited national product stewardship scheme working to ensure that the country’s packaging can be recycled, reused and kept out of landfill.
Achieving the accreditation signals that the government strongly backs APCO’s work with business to increase the circularity of packaging, and achieve the ambitious 2025 National Packaging Targets.
“APCO is working at pace with industry to achieve the national target of 100 per cent of Australia’s packaging being reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025,” said Trevor Evans, assistant minister for waste reduction and environment management.
“APCO is also working with its members and industry partners to establish programs to recover and recycle packaging materials, like plant pots, that cannot be recycled through our kerbside bins.
“Government accreditation recognises APCO’s hard work in helping industry to step up, and take responsibility for the environmentally sound management of products and packaging materials over their whole lifecycle, including at disposal.”
As an accredited product stewardship arrangement, APCO and its members can now also use the Australian government’s official product stewardship logo, which demonstrates to both businesses and consumers that it has the government’s stamp of approval.
“We are thrilled to have received accreditation for our ongoing work to support the Australian industry on the pathway to achieving the 2025 National Packaging Targets, and to provide the Australian supply chain with further opportunities, as they collectively continue to deliver tangible, measurable and inspiring action towards the 2025 Targets,” Brooke Donnelly, APCO CEO, told PKN.
As part of the new accreditation, the minister for the environment can now call out either individual companies or the entire packaging industry to meet their obligations and take responsibility for the environmental impacts of packaging.
“This announcement puts free-riders on notice, and I have written to a number of eligible businesses to encourage them to join APCO, and to play their part in meeting the 2025 National Packaging Targets,” added Evans.
APCO is the fifth national product stewardship scheme to be accredited by the federal government.
