ANZPAC UPDATE
10 December 2021
The ANZPAC Plastics Pact launched in May 2021 with 60 founding Members. Celebrated with a hybrid cross-regional launch event, ANZPAC welcomed guests live in Sydney and dialling in from across the ANZPAC region and the world. But this launch was just the beginning as ANZPAC and its Members committed to achieving four ambitious and concrete Regional Plastics Targets by 2025.
To achieve the vision of a circular economy for plastics across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, we need to eliminate problematic plastic packaging, increase effective recycling, innovate and drive end-markets for recycled materials. ANZPAC has continued to cement itself as the collaborative platform driving this change, and now six months since launch, has more than 100 highly engaged Members from across the entire plastics value chain.
Upon joining as an ANZPAC Supporter Member in October, the Australian Federal Government commended APCO and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation for developing the program and praised ANZPAC’s progress, ambitious targets and committed Members from across the packaging supply chain throughout Oceania. Acknowledging the wide range of Australian and international brands, government and non-government organisations who have joined ANZPAC, the Australian Government “supports improved coordinated global and regional action to better manage plastics that transcend national borders.”
With 2025 fast approaching, ANZPAC and its Members have set out to deliver an ambitious schedule of activities to deliver on the targets. The ANZPAC Collective Action Group (ACAG) was formed in June with equal regional and sector Member representation to oversee the strategic direction of the program, while ANZPAC Member Workstreams were also launched as collaborative vehicles for meaningful change and system-wide impact.
Progress so far on ANZPAC’s critical work has been strong:
- The two national product stewardship scheme design projects being delivered by ANZPAC are well underway
- To support sharing of critical knowledge, Recycled Polymer Specifications were released to assist companies involved in the sorting and processing of recovered plastic packaging
- A cross-regional soft plastics strategy is set to launch in the new year.
Looking forward, ANZPAC has already commenced delivery of its Regional Recyclability Assessment to understand plastic packaging recycling rates in practice and at scale across the region, along with development of the ANZPAC Roadmap as a cross-regional plan for how Members will achieve the ANZPAC Targets by 2025. Moreover, in early 2022, Members will commence their first round of annual reporting to track progress and measure change.
ANZPAC would like to extend a big thank you to all its Members and supportive stakeholders. It’s been a busy year and we stand confident that together, the ANZPAC Plastic Pact will continue to accelerate action on plastic packaging, working to create a world where plastic never becomes waste or pollution.