National Recycling Week 2025: Holding Government and Industry to Account for a Circular Future

By Dimitris Dimoliatis, MRA Consulting Group

The National Recycling Week offers an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come with recycling and the pivotal roles that government and corporations must play to meet national recycling targets. While Australians have dramatically increased the amount of material recycled—now reaching over 60% nationally—significant hurdles remain, particularly in plastic packaging recycling, which sits at only about 19%.

The challenge we face is not just individual behaviour but systemic, born from the lack of effective regulations and a level playing field that rewards recycling over landfilling. Without strict Government policies and enforcement, businesses see little incentive to invest in reduced/better packaging design or recyclability when less sustainable options deliver short-term financial or marketing(!) advantages. This regulatory gap allows companies to pass the responsibility to consumers without consequence, undermining collective progress.

Encouragingly, the Australian Government is stepping up with initiatives like the Circular Economy Framework and the Recycling Modernisation Fund, injecting over a billion dollars into recycling infrastructure and advancing reform of packaging laws. The National Packaging Targets and forthcoming regulations will require businesses to design packaging that is fully recyclable or reusable and to meet mandatory recycled content thresholds. These measures will hopefully reduce the burden of packaging waste on individuals, councils and the resource recovery sector.

National Recycling Week reminds us that meaningful recycling success depends on regulation and enforcement as well as on collaboration between government, industry, and communities. Government policies must support businesses to innovate and transition smoothly toward sustainable packaging, closing the loop and reducing landfill. Through stronger regulations, investment, and corporate accountability, Australia can achieve its recycling goals and build a resilient, circular economy for the future.

And don’t forget, it might be the National Recycling Week, but our primary goal should be to Reduce waste. Of all kinds.

As always, I welcome your feedback on this, or any other topic on ‘The Tipping Point’.