Boomerang Alliance Newsletter - July 2023

Posted by on July 12, 2023
July 2023
 

For many years the packaging producers claimed they could achieve environmental responsibility with the voluntary Australian Packaging Covenant.* It was their main bulwark against the introduction of container refund schemes. Eventually we won that battle and now we may be on the cusp of another major win to regulate all packaging to reduce, recycle, contain recycled content and reuse.

We aren't there yet and we have embarked on a major effort to ensure a best practice result.

The first hurdle has been overcome with all environment ministers agreeing on June 9 to regulate packaging, after the REDcycle debacle and after it was confirmed that the 2025 national targets to recycle and use recycled content would not be met. Plastic packaging is in a particularly parlous state.

They have set a timetable for consultation, economic assessment and policy decisions running into 2024. The federal government appears to be ambitious in its ambit, but there are many complicated paths that need to be trod to get a leading scheme implemented.

  • What will the new targets for recycling and reuse be?
  • How much funding will come from the producers and retailers?
  • Will there be recycled content mandates on government and business procurement?
  • Effective compliance and accountability mechanisms?
  • And more…

Boomerang will be tracking these closely and we are preparing our own detailed Packaging Stewardship Scheme and campaign. No doubt industry will seek a small target approach giving them maximum flexibility.

There is only one chance to get this right – otherwise landfilling and damaging litter will continue and waste to energy (incineration) will also step in. We’ll need your support and advocacy to state and federal governments in coming months as we campaign to stop wasteful packaging and build a circular economy.

Jeff Angel

Director

* Initially described as co-regulatory, but no one enforced it!
 

Global Sustainability and Circular Economy expert Birte Moliere has joined our team to head up our National Packaging Campaign. On behalf of our allies, supporters and community, Birte will be leading our advocacy work to develop an Australia-wide best practice product stewardship model designed to transform Australia's packaging landscape.

Birte brings over 20 years' experience across the corporate, government, non profit and community sectors. Originally from Germany, she is a trusted waste and plastic pollution reduction specialist. She's worked with hundreds of businesses to prioritise, design and accelerate the delivery of high impact sustainability programs. Birte is looking forward to your collective support as we demand strict mandatory packaging reduction targets. Find out more about our product stewardship campaign in this Newsletter.
 
CAMPAIGN UPDATES
 

CHOOSING TO REUSE IN AUSTRALIA

According to the latest report from the UN (Turning off the Tap 2023) global plastic pollution needs to be slashed by 80% by 2040. That report states that 'refillable bottles, bulk dispensers, deposit return systems and packaging take-back can
reduce plastic pollution by at least 30%'.

NEW! STRICT NEW PACKAGING RULES

Millions of tonnes of packaging incl. 450,000 tonnes of soft plastics are being sent to landfill each year. In a landmark agreement, this could be set to change via mandatory targets. Our newly appointed Packaging Campaign Lead Birte Moliere shares her insights. 

CONTAINER REFUNDS - THE NEXT ERA

Now that all states and territories will have operating Container Refund Schemes within 12 months, we are thinking about what could happen next to further improve and expand their reach.

PLASTIC FREE PLACES

Our Plastic Free Places program continues the focus on reusable foodware solutions, with 2 new exciting programs starting soon, and a plan to showcase leading businesses throughout the rest of the year.
   
 

We would not have been able to do all this work without you and your support by making a donation, signing a petition, sharing our social media posts and encouragement. We still have much work to do this year and we hope you will continue to help us.
 
Please donate so we can continue our fight against plastic pollution.
 

 

Orange

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We acknowledge that the name of our organisation includes the name of the Aboriginal tool, the BOOMERANG, adopted for the symbolism of returning to the user. We hope that the resources we use, which all come from the land, will be part of a circular economy and return to that economy again and again. We respectfully commit to Care for Country in the spirit of the Indigenous custodians of this land and these waters. We recognise that there has never been compensation for stolen country. We continue to show our respect to Indigenous leaders, past, present and emerging. May we all walk respectfully on the land and protect the waterways which are life.

 

 

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