Recycling industry warns of facility closures without federal rules
The federal environment department told industry representatives in the email that “a new Commonwealth scheme for packaging will not be introduced in this term of government” and that the government would instead work with states and territories “on opportunities to improve Australia’s packaging regulations and policies in the nearer term.”
The shelving reverses a federal commitment made through a 2023 agreement with the states. Tanya Plibersek, the environment minister at the time, described the accord as “historic” when it was announced, and officials spent the subsequent three years developing rules that would have set design standards for packaging and required producers to take responsibility for it across its full life cycle.
The proposed rules would have prohibited use of certain chemicals, restricted unnecessary or excessive layers of packaging, and limited the amount of empty space permitted within packaging. Other potential changes could have required producers to be responsible for the packaging across its full life cycle — from the design stage to how the packaging is used and then disposed of.
The government’s decision to shelve its plans stemmed from its concern that any costs arising from the changes could be passed on to consumers when they bought products such as groceries. The department email said the environment minister, Murray Watt, wanted to pursue 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.”
Environmental advocates criticized the decision. Jeff Angel, director of the Boomerang Alliance, said “ongoing inaction and token measures won’t be tolerated” and described the government’s failure to act on packaging reform as promised as “a repudiation of the public’s support of recycling and concerns about the health and environmental impacts of plastic pollution.” Angel added: “The scale and breadth of outrage across a broad set of stakeholders from green groups to industry to state governments is something I have not seen before.”
Cip Hamilton, plastics campaign manager at the Australian Marine Conservation Society, called the decision “deeply disappointing.” Hamilton said “recyclers want action, businesses want certainty, and environmental organisations want an end to plastic pollution” and added: “Almost everyone was at the table, and the government has walked away.” Hamilton argued the laws would have “put the cost and the responsibility back where they belong — on the businesses using the packaging, not the households stuck with it” and warned that “plastic pollution is having very real consequences. Little penguins are choking, seabirds are starving, and corals are suffocating.”
Industry and recycling groups that had supported a national framework also expressed frustration. Chris Foley, chief executive of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, said producers wanted certainty and that a national packaging regime with clear rules would “unlock investment in recycling, and replace fragmented approaches with a more consistent system.”
Suzanne Toumbourou, chief executive of the Australian Council of Recycling, said the sector was calling for a “nationally consistent scheme with real targets.” Toumbourou warned that “we are already seeing recycling facilities close, with others under growing pressure, and the investment that built them go to waste, because there is no policy certainty to keep them viable.”
Watt acknowledged the sector’s concerns. The minister said the government understood waste and recycling firms faced a range of challenges. “The Albanese government is working closely with industry, and state and territory governments to strengthen the systems that support recycling, and improve the circularity, of Australia’s packaging,” Watt said. “We’re committed to delivering stronger environmental outcomes while keeping costs to consumers and wider industry in check.” Watt said the government’s immediate focus was to work with the states and territories to “reduce waste by harmonising packaging and recycling policy in Australia.”
Clean Up Australia’s annual litter reports put the underlying problem in numerical terms: packaging accounted for 59.5% of all litter reported in the organization’s surveys.