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The Australian government has confirmed it will not introduce a new Commonwealth packaging scheme during its current term, despite committing to do so in 2023. Instead, it will work with state and territory governments and industry to strengthen the existing regulatory framework under a new Circular Economy Roadmap.
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) advised stakeholders it would not introduce a new scheme in a 1 September email seen by Chemical Watch News & Insight.
"The Minister is looking at the pursuit of reforms in a way that balances environmental outcomes with the broader needs of the economy, with the government looking closely at its policies to ensure it does not exacerbate cost-of-living pressures," the email said.
Circular Economy Roadmap
Ministers outlined the new direction after an 18 September Environment Ministers’ Meeting (EMM), where they said the government would use the Circular Economy Roadmap to align waste-reduction measures across national, state and territory governments, and consider any further reforms under other legislation. The roadmap targets soft plastics, battery stewardship and solar panels as initial priority items for national harmonisation.
Federal Environment and Water Minister Murray Watt said in a same-day statement that governments would initially examine problematic plastic products that are handled differently across states and territories. These may include:
- plastic packaging such as polystyrene (EPS) food trays;
- plastic packaging (loose packing materials such as packing peanuts) for products under 45kg;
- plastic confetti and balloon plastic accessory items;
- degradable plastics designed to break down into smaller fragments through chemical or physical processes; and
- heavyweight plastic shopping bags.
Waste and recycling firms face challenges including inconsistent federal and state regulations and a lack of responsibility among some brand owners under the existing co-regulatory scheme, Watt said.
He added that the government remains committed to doubling the circularity of Australia’s economy by 2035 and that it is investing more than A$200m in new and upgraded recycling infrastructure through the Recycling Modernisation Fund.
"We will only get there by working together across jurisdictions," he said.
Industry response
Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia (SPSA) said it welcomed the decision to prioritise soft plastics as part of the Roadmap.
"Naming soft plastics as a priority material ... will help deliver the national consistency that industry, councils and the community have been calling for," SPSA chief executive Barry Cosier said in an 18 September statement.
However, Jeff Angel from NGO Boomerang Alliance was dismissive of the government’s new course. "There was an unusual collaboration between environment groups, packagers and recyclers calling for mandatory EPR," he told Chemical Watch News & Insight. "Usually, governments take that as a signal of no political costs to a decision. [The government] essentially ignored this coalition and the community’s demand for recycling and reduced plastic contamination of the environment and our bodies."
The Australian Council of Recycling (ACOR) was similarly critical, telling Chemical Watch News & Insight that recyclers were "very disappointed" by the government’s decision to indefinitely defer packaging reform.
"The cost-of-living rationale does not stack up: consumers are already paying for poorly designed packaging to go to waste, while strong rules would potentially affect the average weekly grocery bill by around 0.1%, if at all," it added.
Elliot Costello, CEO of packaging software company Phantm, told Chemical Watch News & Insight the move would have a significant effect on recyclers.
"Dozens of recyclers will face closures as a result of this," Costello said. "And it’s a devastating loss of critical investment into end-of-life manufacturing capability."
PACKAGING PLUS: This article is part of a new, weekly news service from the Chemical Watch News & Insight team covering packaging regulations around the world.