National Consumer Education Campaign
APCO’s National Consumer Education Campaign is a two-year engagement program designed to improve the general public’s awareness, understanding and behaviour relating to sustainable packaging. It will also seek to build a more consistent approach to consumer education, messaging and resourcing relating to sustainable packaging. The campaign is delivered in partnership with Planet Ark Environmental Foundation.
Launched in October 2020, the campaign features six main themes, underpinned by the waste hierarchy. These themes are:
- Recycling
- Recycled content
- Reusable packaging
- Packaging reduction and avoidance
- Compostable packaging
- Functional role of packaging (for example the important relationship between packaging and the avoidance of food waste).
The Australasian Recycling Label and the Check It! Before You Chuck It campaign
The Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) is APCO’s flagship consumer education program. As a consumer engagement and education tool, the ARL Program drives two important environmental outcomes - greater packaging recyclability at the design phase and more accurate recycling behaviours from the general public.
Launched in 2018, the ARL Program is now in use by approx. 1000 organisations, including many of Australia’s major brands, retailers and packaging manufacturers.
Check It! Before You Chuck It will be the first major focus of the broader national consumer education campaign. This campaign has been developed to remind Australians to look for the ARL on packaging every time they are at the bin and to follow its instructions to dispose of packaging correctly.
APCO and our educational partner Planet Ark have a range of resources to help get the word out about the ARL Program. Visit our resource centre for more information.