Packaging reform stalls as industry awaits regulatory clarity

Almost two years on from a landmark pledge by state and federal environment ministers to take decisive action on packaging waste, Australia is still waiting for meaningful reform.

On 9 June 2023, then Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek announced that governments would step in to make packaging companies responsible for the waste they create. The statement promised sweeping changes: mandatory packaging design standards, bans on harmful chemicals, and producer responsibility for packaging waste.

Minister Plibersek’s message was clear: “Even large companies like Nestlé, Unilever and Coca-Cola have told me they want to see regulation to help the world reach a circular economy... While some in the industry have stepped up to voluntarily reduce their impact, it’s just not enough. We’re changing that.”

But change has been slow to materialise.

Instead, industry has watched as debate continues about the right model for reform. Should it fall under the existing APCO co-regulatory framework, be recast under the Recycling and Waste Reduction Act 2020, or perhaps demand a new legislative vehicle altogether?

Frankly, most Australians don’t care which Act gets used — they just want action.

Sobering data, little progress

While policy decisions remain gridlocked, the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) released its 2022–23 consumption and recovery data report in December 2024. The numbers paint a bleak picture.

Australians place around 7 million tonnes of packaging on the market each year: 

• 4MT cardboard
• 1MT each of glass and plastic
• 0.5MT each of wood and metal 

The overall recycling rate sits at 56% (3.9MT recovered):

• Glass leads with 69%
• Cardboard follows at 65%
• Plastic trails at a concerning 19%

Plastic recycling, in particular, has barely improved — shifting from 16% to 19% since 2017/18, and actually dropping by 24,000 tonnes (9%) in the past 12 months alone.

Recycled content is slowly increasing:

• Cardboard: 56% (up from 49% in 2017)
• Glass: 50% (up from 32%)
• Plastic: 8% (up from just 2%)

Yet progress toward the 2025 National Packaging Targets remains sluggish:

• 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable: Currently 86% (down from 88% in 2017). And of course that doesn’t mean it is actually recycled, as the figures above attest. Just that it is capable of being recycled.
• 70% plastic packaging recycled: Currently just 19%
• 50% average recycled content: Currently 44%
• Phase-out of problematic single-use packaging: Minimal progress at federal level beyond state-led bag bans

The reform paradox

This is not a failure of individual businesses. Many are innovating within their capacity, but in a market without regulatory certainty, these leaders are placed at a commercial disadvantage.

Innovation without a level playing field allows free riders to prosper – and slows down system-wide change.

Some positives are emerging. State governments have rolled out Container Deposit Schemes (CDS), Queensland has included wine and spirit bottles to CDS and Victoria has added a dedicated glass bin to household collections (with mixed reports).

Federal and state co-investment in new recycling infrastructure is also welcome. 

The soft plastic task force (the major supermarkets) are again trialling a “Redcycle II” (my name for it) through voluntary drop-off at supermarkets, while about 10 councils are trialling soft plastic in a bag in kerbside recycling.

But none of it, as the APCO data shows, is sufficient to meet national targets. Nice to have, but largely ineffective.

To put this in context:

• The soft plastic trial by the task force seeks to recycle 14,000 t/year total.
• CDS mainly captures containers that were previously in the yellow bin of households. Additional recovery is much less.
• The goal of the glass bin in Victoria is to divert up to 20,000 t/year.
• Wine and Spirits in QLD is less than 50 kt/year.

But, nationally, we still landfill:

• 1.4 MT of cardboard packaging
• 1.02 MT of plastic packaging
• 300kt of glass packaging; and
• 150kt of metal packaging.

Where to from here?

The lack of progress since June 2023 suggests that the promised reforms are unlikely to be realised without the new Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt, stepping up.

Industry, local government, and consumers are all watching for signs that packaging reform is moving from rhetoric to reality.

If Australia is to meet its packaging targets, protect the environment, and build a viable circular economy, it will require decisive, national-scale regulatory intervention.

Let’s hope this current electoral cycle brings the clarity and commitment this sector urgently needs.

About the author:
Mike Ritchie is managing director of MRA Consulting Group and a long-time advocate for sustainable waste management. His extensive experience spans local government, the private sector (including Visy, Waste Services NSW and SUEZ), and industry associations including WMAA, ACOR, WCRA and ASBG. Mike can be contacted at: info@mraconsulting.com.au

 

 

 

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