National Plastics Recycling Scheme | Issue #5

| Issue #5 |

Welcome to the AFGC newsletter for the National Plastics Recycling Scheme (NPRS) project, the soft plastic packaging recycling scheme developed and led by Australia’s food and grocery manufacturing industry.

This edition includes updates on our Phase One trials and our call for Expressions of Interest to be a part of Phase Two, news of some new resources for AFGC members and appearances at the upcoming AIP Australasian Packaging Conference.

Reporting date approaching for first phase NPRS trials

The performance of our first round of NPRS collection trials is set to be benchmarked in coming weeks, providing vital data on the kerbside collection and sorting models being tested. Phase 1 trials are running in six councils across Victoria (Macedon Ranges Shire Council and Wodonga Council), New South Wales (Albury Council) and South Australia (City of Adelaide, City of Charles Sturt, City of Port Adelaide Enfield, Central Adelaide Waste and Recycling Authority) and will continue following the data collection. The information gathered will feed into the AFGC’s report to the federal government on the NPRS, which is supported by a grant from the National Product Stewardship Investment Fund.

An additional evaluation is a survey being conducted to gauge community interest in kerbside collection and broadly the recycling of soft plastic. With results still coming in, reports so far indicate a significant interest from the communities involved in recycling their soft plastics. In fact, many reports have indicated people that didn’t recycle through return to store schemes have been involved in these trials – a major achievement in reducing landfill. Survey results will be discussed further in a later NPRS newsletter.

[ Latest developments ]

Strong interest in the next, bigger phase of NPRS trials

Registrations of Expressions of Interest for the Phase 2 expanded NPRS trials have closed and, while the final numbers are being collated, the response from local governments and from the processing and recycling industry has been impressive.

In February, councils and soft plastics processors were invited to lodge their Expression Of Interest  in participating in the pre-commercialisation phase of the scheme, with registrations closing mid-March. In coming months, the AFGC will contact interested parties
to discuss and co-design details. This next phase, running over 2023-2025, will be important in refining supply chains, operations and agreements for the launch of the NPRS nationally.

Plastics recycling remains a hot media topic

Australia’s plastic packaging recycling performance was in the media again recently with a report in the Sydney Morning Herald detailing the shortfall of National Packaging Targets expected to be revealed in an upcoming APCO report. The AFGC responded to the report with a media release highlighting the significant progress industry is making to create a sustainable solution to plastic packaging waste. While it is expected that the current rate of plastic recycling will be low, similar to last year’s figure, AFGC CEO Tanya Barden pointed out that APCO’s figures also forecast that current and planned investment will create capacity to recycle 60 per cent of plastic packaging placed on market.

“The AFGC, with the keen support of the food and grocery industry, is quietly going about the work of designing a scheme and working with all parts of the soft plastics supply chain to create a sustainable, real-world solution to recycling plastic waste,” Ms Barden said. 

The AFGC statement was reported in industry media, including in an editorial in PKN Packaging News.

The AFGC remains focused on developing the NPRS as a sustainable, long-term solution for soft plastic packaging in Australia.

Answering AFGC Members’ Frequently Asked Questions

To date, 22 AFGC member companies have committed to become Foundation Supporters of the scheme and more members are joining. To answer some questions that AFGC Members may have about the NPRS and what membership of the scheme will mean, the NPRS team has created a list of Frequently Asked Questions in the AFGC Member Centre. Check out the FAQ list to learn more about how the scheme works and how it will benefit AFGC members. Not an AFGC member and still have questions? Please email NPRS@afgc.org.au and the team will get back to you.

Presenting our case to industry

The AFGC was at the 2023 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference which was held in Melbourne on March 28 and 29.

AFGC Director, Sustainability Barry Cosier, was part of a keynote to discuss the future of plastics recycling for the region. He was joined by APR Group Managing Director Darren Thorpe, whose APR Plastics is processing material collected in the NPRS trials. Also on the panel was Amcor Flexibles Asia-Pacific Director of Sustainability, Richard Smith; Albury City team leader waste management, Andrea Baldwin; Licella marketing director Andrea Polson; and the Victorian Dept of Energy, Environment and Climate Action’s Julie Russ.

New resources on the AFGC NPRS website for trial partners

The AFGC’s dedicated NPRS webpage now features new resources for trial partners. An image gallery, social media tile and media release catalogue have been created and will be progressively expanded to provide a bank of materials for NPRS partner organisations to use when promoting their involvement in this important venture.

As always there are links and more information about our NPRS Foundation Supporters and processing partners. If you would like any more information on any NPRS-related issue please send an email with your request to nprs@afgc.org.au.

Get involved...
For more information about the NPRS project, webinars or to get involved in the scheme development visit the AFGC NPRS project page or email us via nprs@afgc.org.au.

– With thanks to our foundation supporters –

And our processing partner

– A F G C P A R T N E R S –