The federal government introduced legislation last week that establishes a national industry framework for recycling and puts into effect an export ban for recyclable waste.

Australia and New Zealand took home a collective 18 WorldStar Packaging Awards this year, making ANZ the third-most awarded country/region in this year’s awards. Winners of the WorldStar Special Awards and Student Awards were honoured with a Zoom ceremony this week, as the usual live event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

ASX-listed Pro-Pac Packaging had a good year over the 12 months to 30 June, with increases in profits and decreases in debt, according to the company’s financial results statement.

Australian fresh food producer Montague has completed the first phase of its $54m greenfield, automated packaging and export processing centre in Victoria.

Solaris will become part of Markem-Imaje (M-I) after being acquired by M-I parent company Dover, enabling the expansion of the group's laser technology solutions for marking and coding.

Packaging giant Orora’s 2020 financial year results were not stellar, with decreases in nearly all financial metrics, but operations have been resilient despite the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Australian beverage business provides a bright spot on an otherwise gloomy backdrop.

CCA said “challenging” trading conditions resulted in a 9.2 per cent decline in trading revenue over the first half of 2020. Its margins were impacted as consumers responded to Covid-19.

Pact Group's NPAT for FY2020 was $80.8m, and it is to recommence the sale process of its contract manufacturing business after the process was suspended due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The world’s largest packaging company reported a net profit for FY2020 at US$1.03bn, an 11 per cent increase, with the CEO deeming 2020 a "milestone" year.

In a surprise announcement this week, Australia-based social enterprise Thankyou announced it is stopping production of Thankyou Water because it can no longer justify selling bottled water in single-use plastic.

Tasmanian Oyster Co has developed a new CO2-based laser etching process to etch a brand mark on shell, helping to identify and trace shellfish products across global markets.

CMTP recently announced it can now supply HACCP International Certified Hygiene pallets. The company said it can now produce a special range of its Pal-giene certified food-safe pallets.

Graphic Packaging International took home the Australian Partner of the Year award at Coca-Cola Amatil’s annual Australian Partner for Growth Awards.

Yesterday Victoria recorded the country’s worst day in the Covid-19 pandemic, reporting 15 deaths and 725 new cases. Victoria also went into a period of extraordinarily strict lockdown as the state government scrambles to get the outbreak under control, forcing many businesses to shut their doors.

Pact Group, Cleanaway, and Asahi have entered a joint venture to build a $45m recycling plant in Albury/Wodonga. The facility will substantially increase rPET production in Australia.

The July/August edition of PKN Packaging News is out now. Whether you read it online or in print, it's packed with the latest news and insight for the packaging industry.