Australian Environment Ministers announce the pursuit of packaging design standards and targets
Friday 9 June 2023
The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) strongly welcomes the announcement that government will pursue mandatory packaging design standards and targets.
APCO CEO, Chris Foley, said: “This is a watershed moment in Australia’s relationship with packaging sustainability and will provide a significant boost to our goals of achieving a circular economy for packaging.
“Good packaging design is essential to ensure better environmental outcomes at end of life. It is simply not acceptable to put packaging onto the market that is destined to end up in landfill because of poor, unsustainable choices made at the design stage.”
As part of the Review of the 2025 National Packaging Targets delivered to Environment Ministers by APCO in 2022, APCO called for the establishment of clear standards requiring business to design for packaging reduction, reuse and recycling, along with effective and accountable extended producer responsibility for materials not accepted at kerbside.
Foley continued: “It’s fantastic to see Environment Ministers committing to strong, decisive action and taking up some of the recommendations from APCO’s Review of the 2025 Targets. APCO’s more than 2,300 members have made significant improvements in the past five years, but it’s clear that stronger regulation is needed to address free riders and accelerate progress.
“Since completing the review of the 2025 Targets, APCO has begun to strengthen its internal capabilities and capacity to help businesses improve their environmental performance and prepare for stronger regulation. We are ready to support our Members and the wider community as we work collaboratively towards achieving greater packaging sustainability outcomes across the system.
“We are excited to work together closely with industry and government in the coming months to develop these standards. By fostering greater collaboration across the system and working hand in hand with important stakeholders, we can further reduce the environmental impacts of packaging and deliver greater community and economic benefits.”