Today, Federal Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek, chaired a meeting of Australia’s Environment Ministers. The meeting provided an update on pathways for soft plastic collection, end-market development for recycled products and design standards.
The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has welcomed Ministers aligning with work on an industry-led scheme around the nationwide collection of soft plastics for recycling back into food grade packaging.
The key circular economy announcements are summarised below:
Policy item
Details
National Circular Economy Framework
Due to be finalised by December 2024. The interim report was released in April 2024.
Stronger end markers for recycled products
Victoria will lead the development of a priority list of materials or products for consideration at the next meeting.
New national packaging regulatory scheme
Advice on packaging design requirements will be released by the end of 2024. We anticipate consultation to begin in the coming months.
Soft plastic recycling
The kerbside harmonisation roadmap, which is currently in development, will include a pathway for soft plastic recycling. For some jurisdictions, this may be a phased approach.
PFAS
Ministers noted that the removal of PFAS from packaging is an urgent priority, and the design standards consultation will address this issue.
Safe battery disposal
Ministers agreed to accelerate work towards product stewardship for batteries jointly led by QLD, NSW, and VIC.
The Ministers also discussed the Nature Positive Australia agenda. They agreed to new national targets under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, a National 30 by 30 Roadmap, a framework to recognise ‘other effective area-based conversation measures’, a crackdown on feral goats and escaped garden plants, and to work together on a Sustainable Ocean Plan.
Next Steps
The AFGC will continue working with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment, and Water on design standards and the government’s proposed roadmap, including the soft plastics plan and alongside the Retailer Soft Plastics Taskforce. You can access the full communique from the Environment Ministers Meeting here.
Should you require any further information on the above, please get in touch with Sarah Collier, Associate Director Sustainability (sarah.collier@afgc.org.au ) or Kristy Barber, Manager – Sustainability (kristy.barber@afgc.org.au).
