The role of food and beverage manufacturers in strengthening the recycling sector and supporting Australia’s transition to a circular economy was discussed at the Recycling Roundtable hosted by Visy and Sydney Morning Herald this week.
Major food and beverage brand owners, including Arnott’s, Asahi, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Kraft Heinz, Lion, Nestle, Pepsico and Unilever, joined Environment Minister Murray Watt and senior Visy executives at the National Recycling Roundtable, jointly hosted by Visy and Sydney Morning Herald.
There was a strong push for national harmonisation around a four-bin model for kerbside, like that already adopted in Victoria, which would see the separation of glass into its own bin.
“We strongly support the standardisation of kerbside recycling across Australia, aligned to Victoria’s four-bin model,” said Visy CEO Mark De Wit.
“Done right, this will reduce contamination, improve recovery rates, lower landfill, and enable higher recycled content in local manufacturing – building trust and confidence in the system.”
The emphasis fell squarely on remanufacturing.
“At Visy, we don’t believe recycling happens when something is put in a bin. We believe materials are recycled once they are made into new products.”
Visy is partnering with customers – some of Australia’s most iconic food and beverage brands – to design packaging with high levels of recycled content, made locally in Australia and easily recycled through kerbside bins.
It’s not just traditional packaging. Recently Visy has invested in research and development to create new products, such as new paper bag to replace soft plastic, Visy Tread, offering surface protection made from recycled paper and Visycell, a new recyclable insulation made from reused cardboard to replace EPS.
