The Australian Recycling Label – first launched earlier this year as the PREP label and now rebranded – has been developed to combat consumer confusion about the recyclability of packaging.
It's a standardised, evidenced-based label that provides clear instructions to consumers about how to dispose of each component of an item of packaging.
Officeworks was the first big brand owner to adopt the label, and now Blackmores has followed suit.
According to Planet Ark, seven out of 10 Australians say they look for recycling information on pack.
While many product packs display recycling symbols, they are often confusing, unsupported or, in the case of imported products, not relevant to Australian kerbside recycling systems.
There are over 300 different recycling symbols on product packaging in Australia today.
To address this confusion, Planet Ark has developed the Australian recycling label, with input from a number of stakeholders, including the Australian Packaging Covenant.
At the NSW launch of the label on 6 November, Environment Minister Mark Speakman said the initiative had the firm support of the NSW government.
“This is a welcome step by Planet Ark, which will take the guesswork out of what bin to use when disposing of waste,” Speakman said.
He told attendees at the launch at Parliament House that getting business on board will be integral to the program's success, which aims to keep more waste out of landfill and increase resource recovery.
Planet Ark CEO Paul Klymenko said the label's widespread adoption and the phasing out of other symbols will help reduce consumer confusion about packaging recyclability, increasing recycling rates and lowering levels of contamination.
Research carried out for National Recycling Week shows that one in two councils identify recyclable items in the garbage bin as a significant issue, which the label will help address.
Klymenko commended Blackmores and Officeworks for “boldly going where no brand has gone before” .
This video developed by Blackmores tells why the company has adopted the label:
The Australian Recycling Label will allow producers to provide greater clarity to their Australian consumers so that they know which bin to use and more effectively play their vital role in the recycling process.
The new label uses a simple illustration of the mobius loop to provide instructions for each of the pack’s components. For example, it may identify some parts, like a bottle, as recyclable and others, like the lid, as not recyclable, and include the 'remove lid' instruction. It will also provide instructions for more tricky elements like aluminium foil, which needs to be ‘scrunched’ to be recyclable.
“We have worked in the recycling area for the past two decades,” Klymenko said. “In that time we have seen many changes so we’re proud to be launching this standard recycling label in Australia as we believe it is going to make it simpler than ever for Australians to make positive decisions.”
“As with any label, it's only as good as the assessment behind it,” he said, noting that the Australian Recycling Label can only be used following a detailed assessment of the technical recyclability of the package’s various components. Currently, the system used is called the PREP tool, although there are other possible methodologies that will be reviewed by the Australian Recycling Label panel.
Klymenko said brand owners will pay a fee to use the label, set at $100 per million products, although the fee is capped to encourage participation. Most brandowners, he said, would pay a maximum fee of $5000 per year – a small price to pay for a rigorous system.
