packaging

The burning issue isn’t how much plastic we make or use – it’s how much escapes into the environment. Global efforts such as the UN Plastics Treaty should prioritise building and funding effective containment systems to stop plastic leaking into nature. Actions to reduce plastic production should follow suit.

Almost two years on from a landmark pledge by state and federal environment ministers to take decisive action on packaging waste, Australia is still waiting for meaningful reform.

Single use plastic makes our modern lives easier and often safer. But all too often, it becomes litter.

Packaging recycling in Australia has some way to go. Both in terms of meeting the national 2025 Waste Targets and in terms of reducing the use of dangerous chemicals and composite materials that pollute and hinder recycling. Government intervention was supposed to help. This has not happened yet.

In 2018 we set National Packaging Targets with a 2025 horizon. 2025 is upon us. How have we fared?