We need to reduce the amount of packaging used in the first place and recover a much larger percentage of it for recycling.
With 130,000 tonnes of plastic pollution leaking into the marine environment every year, urgent reform on packaging is needed.
Our most recent Litter Report in FY24 showed that packaging represented 57.8% of all reported litter during the year. Our volunteer base reports vast quantities of packaging litter clogging rivers, streams, parks and beaches – including take-away containers, soft plastics and mixed-material packaging.
Packaging litter is a result of mismanaged packaging waste.
Australia did not meet its four voluntary national packaging targets set for 2025. The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation’s goal of recycling or composting 70% of all plastic packaging by 2025 was far from being met, with the latest figures showing only 20% is being recovered.
Clean Up Australia advocates for a mandatory Australasian Recycling Label (which tells you how to recycle packaging) and a mandatory Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Scheme for packaging. This would make producers legally responsible for the packaging they place on the market in Australia, ensuring it is designed for longevity or easy recycling at end-of-life.
In a 2024 government consultation, over 65% of respondents supported an EPR scheme for packaging with mandatory requirements. We support a “polluter pays” model which means producers of packaging fund the recycling and recollection of their products, which would lead to less mismanaged packaging waste, and less packaging in our environment as litter.
To solve Australia’s packaging problem, a lot of work needs to be done by governments and industry, but there are steps you can take as a consumer.
Packaging is sometimes necessary to protect an item from damage in transportation. But there are many ways you can minimise packaging waste and increase the chances of waste being recycled. If you don’t need the packaging, refuse it! Go without an extra plastic bag for fruit and veggies, or replace it with a reusable alternative. This reduces your personal environmental impact and sends a message to businesses that you want products without excessive packaging.
Look for the Australasian Recycling Label on packaging. This tells you where to put each component of the packaging to dispose of it properly. It removes confusion, saves you time and reduces waste going to landfill.
The recyclability of packaging varies, from glass (100%), metal (96%), paper and cardboard (92%) to plastic (54%). With plastics, recyclability depends on the type of plastic, and whether it is just one type, or layers of different materials. Check if it has an ARL label and which components can be recycled. Try to avoid expanded polystyrene. This is the white foam often used as packaging material, the foam take-away cups or the black foam meat trays. It is generally not accepted by kerbside recycling. And if left in the environment it can disintegrate into tiny pieces which cause untold damage.
Too many of us “Wish Cycle” – we want to do the right thing and feel that the more we can recycle, the better. We think it should be recycled, so we put it into our kerbside bin, because the less we send to landfill in those red bins, the better. Right? Wrong! The irony is that, in order to recycle more, sometimes we have to recycle less.
Even if everyone recycles perfectly, our packaging will still go to landfill if no one buys items made from recycled materials. By purchasing products and packaging made from recycled content, we are extending the life of resources we have already used and reducing the need to extract new ones from our precious planet.
On the surface, compostable and home compostable plastic packaging don’t sound that different, but the differences mean a lot for our sustainable future.
‘Compostable plastic’ will only decompose in an industrial commercial composting facility. It needs temperatures of over 55°C to start the breakdown, and we simply can’t achieve this in our backyards. What’s more, there are very few commercial facilities in Australia at the moment.
If your council offers a FOGO collection it usually includes compostable packaging, since FOGO is sent to a commercial composting facility.
‘Home compostable’ plastic can be added to your home compost bin together with your food scraps and garden waste. It breaks down into its organic components at much lower temperatures than compostable plastic, and the process takes months rather than years. If you don’t have a compost bin you can deposit home compostable wrapping in your general waste bin. It will break down completely in landfill with no unpleasant effects on the earth.
It’s important to check the labelling on any plastic packaging carefully and dispose of it correctly. This will be a whole lot easier once the Australasian Recycling Label is on every item we buy.
