APCO has released a nine-point Policy Platform proposing national settings for packaging design, labelling, recycled content and producer fees, as governments consider what reform can proceed under the existing framework.
The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) has set out its preferred pathway for the next phase of packaging reform, centred on a single national approach delivered through the existing Australian Packaging Covenant.
The Policy Platform follows the Federal Government’s decision not to introduce a new Commonwealth packaging scheme during its current term. APCO says it provides practical steps that could be taken under the present framework while governments determine the longer-term policy settings.
Developed over the past year through consultation with APCO members and government, the platform covers nine areas: governance, targets, producer fees, design standards, labelling, Australian recycled content, waste and recycling standards, data integrity, and the phased introduction of new obligations.
“Australia still needs a packaging system that delivers better environmental outcomes, supports investment and innovation, and gives businesses greater certainty about the future,” said APCO CEO Chris Foley.
“Our priority now is to help our members succeed under the current framework while governments work through the longer-term settings.”
Foley said APCO would focus on providing members with the tools, data and guidance needed to make informed decisions and plan for future requirements, irrespective of the framework governments ultimately adopt.
Central to the platform is APCO’s position that producer fees should remain within the packaging system and be directed towards collection, recycling and end-market development.
It also supports mandatory use of the Australasian Recycling Label on consumer packaging, together with policy settings designed to strengthen demand for Australian recycled content.
APCO argues that the next phase of reform should build on the infrastructure, programs and data systems already established through the Covenant.
“Australia has already paid for much of what a national system needs,” Foley said. “We are strengthening the recycling label, our data and design guidance now so that, whatever framework governments choose, the capability to run it is already in place.”
According to APCO, participation in the Covenant has grown to more than 2400 brand owners. Its existing programs include the Australasian Recycling Label, sustainable packaging design guidance and the data systems used to track packaging consumption and recovery.
The platform adds detail to the position APCO set out earlier this month when it joined the Australian Council of Recycling and Boomerang Alliance in calling for a nationally consistent extended producer responsibility approach.
The three organisations agreed that Australia needed nationally consistent producer responsibilities, measurable targets and greater investment certainty for recycling and remanufacturing. The new platform sets out how APCO believes key elements of that system could operate through the Covenant.
APCO has shared the Policy Platform with its members and other packaging value-chain stakeholders, together with a year-in-review video covering its work over the past 12 months and planned improvements to its programs.
Its release comes as pressure builds ahead of the 18 September Environment Ministers Meeting, where attention will focus on what nationally consistent action governments can deliver now that a new Commonwealth scheme has been ruled out for this term.
