National packaging target, know your obligation
THE Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, the agency charged by government to meet the target of making packaging 100 per cent reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025, is reaching out to help business with this major transformation.
Later this month APCO will host Q&A sessions in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne to provide business owners an opportunity to ask questions about the 2025 target.
The hour-long sessions are in Adelaide on July 20, in Sydney on July 24, and Melbourne on August 2.
APCO has also been busy this month starting an audit to ensure businesses of all sizes are meeting their sustainable packaging obligations and working collaboratively to meet the 2025 target.
The audit will incorporate businesses from a wide range of sectors, including food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, printing and toy and sporting goods wholesale.
The target was announced by Australia’s Environment Ministers in April 2018, and APCO is currently developing a national roadmap for how Australia can deliver on it.
APCO CEO Brooke Donnelly says reaching the target will require a complete transformation of the way our society thinks about packaging.
“There are a number of basic packaging requirements that all Australian businesses are required to meet – and these are outlined in the National Environmental Protection (Used Packaging Materials) Measure 2011 (NEPM),” she says.
“One of our responsibilities is to notify the businesses who aren’t meeting these basic obligations and provide them with the tools, resources and pathways to track and improve their packaging sustainability.”
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- See how agile age-old food maker moves with the times
As the organisation delivering the new 2025 #recycling target, we have launched a 2-month consultation process to discover what resources #businesses need to make it happen. APCO members, look out for the “Towards 2025” Discussion Paper to have your say https://t.co/a4EWTQOrRC pic.twitter.com/RFhTnvDbBd
— APCO (@APCovenant) July 5, 2018
Businesses liable under the NEPM include any organisation with an annual turnover of $5 million or more, that is either in the supply chain of consumer packaging (e.g. an importer, supplier of raw material, manufacturer or wholesaler) or a retailer that is a manufacturer, wholesaler or importer, or offers its branded products to consumers.
APCO is has also this month started a two-month consultation process with APCO Members and key stakeholders to better understand what industry requires to bring the target to life.
The consultation will include a review of other proposed targets, and the role and function of the Sustainable Packaging Guidelines (SPGs) and other APCO tools in supporting the 2025 target. For more information, including the Q&A sessions visit here.
