How business can reduce plastic waste

We are on a plastics mission, and everyone has a role.

Plastic has transformed our everyday lives. But the volume of plastic, and its long lifespan, makes it one of our biggest waste problems. Solving the plastics problem is everyone’s responsibility.

The Australian Government is taking action on 5 fronts through the National Plastics Plan:

• legislation
• investment
• industry targets
• research and development
• community education.

We all have a role to play

Tackling the plastics problem is a shared responsibility. Businesses can play a key role in addressing plastics through its entire life-cycle – including design, use, recovery and re-use.

Prevent – Stop plastic at its source

We need to act now to reduce our plastics, and avoid plastics that cannot be recycled. The simplest way to do this is to avoid generating unnecessary, single-use and problematic plastics and design your products and packaging for sustainability.

You can:

• transition away from unnecessary single-use plastics used in your business
• ask your suppliers to use sustainable alternatives
• shift to easily recyclable plastics such as PET, HDPE, LDPE and PP.

Recycle - Take responsibility for your plastics

Industry can be extremely influential in driving recycling initiatives.

• Become a signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO). APCO helps members to improve their recycling practices.
• Use the Australian Recycling Logo on your products to help consumers recycle better.
• Participate in Operation Clean Sweep®, to eliminate pre-production plastics resin pellet, flake, recycled chip and powder loss.
• Be a part of our industry commitment to deliver 4 national packaging targets by 2025.

Industry packaging targets for 2025

• 100% of packaging being re-usable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
• 70% of plastic packaging being recycled or composted by 2025.
• 50% of average recycled content included in packaging by 2025.
• The phase out of problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging by 2025.

The National Packaging Targets apply to all packaging that is made, used and sold in Australia. APCO is charged with delivering the industry-led targets.

Businesses in action

ALDI Australia has committed to a 25% reduction in plastic packaging in their stores. By 2025, brand product packaging will be 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable.

ALDI has transitioned away from unnecessary plastics by:

• switching to cardboard punnets for a range of produce, and removing plastic bags from banana stands.
• introducing compostable zucchini trays, which has diverted over 76 tonnes of plastic from landfill.
• switching to clear meat packaging to reduce the use of difficult to recycle black plastic packaging.
• introducing paper-stemmed cotton buds to avoid over 357 million plastic stems ending up in landfill each year.
• switching to more compostable and recyclable alternatives to plastic tableware.

The National Plastics Plan outlines actions we can all take to reduce the effects of plastics on our environment. Let’s solve Australia’s plastics problem together.