The State of Packaging Recycling
By: Mike Ritchie, MRA Consulting Group
In 2018 the Australian Government established the 2025 National Packaging Targets. The 4 targets to be achieved by 2025 were:
- 100% of (all) packaging being “reusable, recyclable or compostable”
- 70% of plastic packaging being recycled or composted
- 50% average Recycled Content (RC) included in packaging (Not to be confused with RR or Recycling Rate- the amount that is actually recycled).
- The phase out of problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging.
A few observations:
- Being “reusable, recyclable or compostable” does not mean that it actually is reused, recycled or composted. Just that it is capable of being so. Whether it is or not is a matter of economics and systems– see below.
- The current rate of plastic packaging recycling is a paltry 18% (Target 70%; APCO).
- The weighted average RC is 42% with most of it in Cardboard (54%) and glass (41%). The laggard is plastic of course (av 9%). Steel cans are also surprisingly low (8%). (Refer Table 1).
- Phasing out problematic single use plastic packaging is a no-brainer and needs to go faster.
But there is some good news – the total packaging Recycling Rate (RR) is 61%. Cardboard (71%) and Glass (63%) do all the heavy lifting.
New RC Targets were applied per packaging stream in 2019 (Table 1):
- Cardboard/paper (60%)
- Glass (50%)
- Metal (35%)
- Plastic packaging (20%)
- PET (Polyethylene; 30%)
- HDPE (High density polyethylene; 20%)
- PP (Polypropylene; 20%)
- Flexibles (20%)
None are achieving their RC targets, but Cardboard (54%) and Glass (41%) are close.
Fast forward to 2023 to a new Environment Minister in Tanya Plibersek and a crop of new State Environment Ministers. In June 2023 they put out a release saying:
“In an Australian first, packaging will soon be subject to strict new government rules aimed at cutting waste and boosting recycling … These new rules will help make sure packaging waste is minimised in the first place, and where packaging is used it is designed to be recovered, reused, recycled, or reprocessed.
The rules will include mandatory packaging design standards and targets – including for recycled content (RC) and to address the use of harmful chemicals in food packaging.
Good stuff. There has been an almost unanimous round of applause for such action. But 5 years on from the National Packaging Targets and a year on from Minister Plibersek’s announcement, not much has happened.
2.5 million tonnes of packaging is still sent to landfill each year. Over 1 million tonnes of cardboard is still landfilled per year. 800,000 tonnes of plastic packaging is still landfilled each year. 500,000 tonnes of glass.
Surely if we want to create a circular economy, we need to start with the obvious right in front of us. We need to create the market incentives or policy proscriptions to get this recyclable packaging out of landfill.
It is not difficult. But it requires political will and political support.
It requires investment in infrastructure and systems to lift recycling rate (RR) and recycled content (RC).
The 2.5 million tonnes of packaging that goes to landfill, does so because it is cheaper or easier to landfill it compared to recycling. Rational for many generators.
Similarly, if we want to improve recycled content then it needs to be mandatory and applied to all packaging both imported and locally manufactured (otherwise only responsible companies will do it and others will free ride).
Table 1 shows the increase in recycling rates and recycled content required to achieve the targets, based on the latest (2021/22) APCO data on RC and RR.
Table 1: Recycling Rates (RR) and Recycled Content (RC) of Australian Packaging (2021/22 APCO data)
Some key points from Table 1:
- Overall:
- Achieving the current RC targets will drive an uplift in recycling of more than 382kt over all streams (761kt required).
- Aluminium is the only stream already achieving (and exceeding) the RC target.
- But we still need to recycle another 13kt to achieve the RR target.
- For two streams a mandatory RC rule would also see RR grow substantially:
- Paper and Cardboard – by 203kt and by default it also achieves the RR Target;
- Glass – by 103kt and by default it also achieves the RR Target;
- For these materials lifting RC lifts RR in a material way;
- Bit of a no-brainer.
- However, Plastic and Steel require stronger interventions than just an RC mandate:
- Key plastic streams:
- Achieving the current RC will drive an uplift in recycling of only 78kt;
- But 353kt is required to hit the RR target.
- Steel:
- Achieving the current RC will drive an uplift in recycling of only 23kt;
- But 44kt is required to hit the RR target.
- To hit the Plastic/Steel RR targets other additional interventions will be required. RC alone will not go far enough.
- Key plastic streams:
We must do mandatory RC reform. Good on Ministers for pushing it. But we will need to do much more to get a handle on plastic recycling. The gap is more than half a million tonnes. We must fix it.
Tweet
We need to walk and chew gum.
Ministers must put in place a mandatory packaging system with Targets for RC and RR.
Mandatory means there are no free riders. Costs should be met via an “eco-modulated” levy on packaging Placed on Market. That levy should be lower for products with high RC and RR, and vice versa.
It is what Europe has been doing for a decade.
(As an aside – for RC rules to actually help lift RR for plastic in Australia, they will probably need to be accompanied by some sort of incentivisation of using Australian recycled plastic pellets. Why? Because it will almost always be cheaper to import recycled content plastic pellets than make our own here in Australia, due to scale and the costs of labour.)
Summary:
- Reform is taking too long. There are green shoots of investment in RC and RR, but it is far too slow and patchy.
- Minister Plibersek has made the right noises and has been strongly supported by industry and communities (including the manufacturing and retailing sectors via APCO).
- We need to create the political space for her and colleagues to introduce legislation to create a mandatory packaging scheme with real targets and real teeth.
- ASAP.
- Please let the Ministers know you support such action.
PS: Since finalising the draft article the Commonwealth has announced a consultation process on packaging reform. We hope that all stakeholders support Ministerial action to achieve the targets.
Mike Ritchie is the Managing Director at MRA Consulting Group.
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