Time for the Commonwealth to Step Up on Packaging
- A mandatory product Stewardship Scheme for Packaging in place for 2026. That scheme must set targets and require producers to be responsible for their products throughout their lifecycle
- Fast- track an industry funded national collection scheme for soft plastics
- Support continued phase outs of problem single use packaging through State and Territory Governments. This should include raising container refunds to 20 cents and the introduction of reusable cups and containers in public places such as sports stadiums and major events.
Finding some solutions for Ocean Plastics for our Pacific and Asian Neighbours
The Boomerang Alliance has long lamented the problems many of our Pacific and Asian neighbours have with ocean plastic pollution. Some of these plastic problems come from domestic use but the rest are plastics washed ashore from international waters. This is a particularly dire problem in many Asian locations. Excessive single use packaging-some for good health and safety reasons -has created a pollution legacy that we in Australia would find hard to accept.
The essential problem has been in allowing packaging producers to market their products without needing to take responsibility for their products' waste. In many countries in our region there is simply no adequate facilities to manage those plastic wastes, and so plastic litter and waste remains a perpetual and growing challenge.
One outcome from the Global Plastics Treaty currently being negotiated would be to get obligations from the plastic industry to both reduce unnecessary and disposable plastics, and to take responsibility for the recovery of their products after use. This is a notion the global industry is opposing but one that could deliver a solution for our neighbours.
In our region we have advocated that an effective contribution that the Australian Government could make would be to include funding for waste infrastructure as a standing item in foreign aid support. Funding for both climate adaptation and plastic pollution can make a difference and should be a specific part of any aid budget.
With Australia now having container refund schemes in every State and Territory-Tasmania's scheme started this month- expanding into the Pacific could be a next step. Reloop Pacific have just released a report- Littered with Evidence, Proof that deposit return schemes work. The report concludes that schemes in Europe, North America and Australia have significantly reduced container litter and waste. Reloop estimate that deposit schemes cut litter by 50% on average, with many individual schemes achieving 70% or more.
Reducing litter not only reduces marine and terrestrial plastic and container pollution, it also reduces the often hidden costs of litter clean ups that councils and community groups are currently bearing.
On a recent visit to the Cook Islands we noted that households and communities were collecting plastic and glass drink containers and then shipping these to New Zealand for recycling. A container refund scheme on the Cook Islands or any similar Pacific location, would result in establishing collection and recycling facilities in-situ and providing communities with a financial benefit from collecting used cans and bottles for a refund. With facilities in place, other problem packaging could be addressed in future.
There are simple and meaningful steps that can be taken to solve ocean plastic pollution problems.
Plastic debris on Indonesian beach
Communities can collect the debris-but where to take this for recycling?
CDS VIC Twelve Month Review: Progress Made, But Structural Issues Persist
The Boomerang Alliance welcomes the release of the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) Victoria Twelve Month Review by our allies at the Total Environment Centre (TEC), which provides a clear-eyed assessment of Victoria’s container deposit scheme in its first year of operation.
While it’s encouraging to see one billion (or about 30%) containers returned via the new network in the first 12 months, and a growing awareness among Victorians, the report makes it clear that there’s still a long way to go for CDS Victoria to reach its potential.
Structural Flaws Undermining Access
The heavy reliance on over-the-counter (OTC) return points—particularly in the Visy North and Return-it East zones—continues to compromise convenience and equity of access. These return points often have limited opening hours and capacity, making them unsuitable for handling large volumes and everyday use by the public. As TEC rightly highlights, unless this issue is addressed with more automated options like reverse vending machines (RVMs), parts of the state will remain underserved and recovery rates will suffer.
Transparency Still Lacking
Another ongoing concern is the lack of publicly available data on zone-specific performance. Other states have set a much stronger precedent for transparency, and the Victorian Government must now follow suit. Clear, consistent reporting—including a breakdown of container returns by zone and container type—is essential to maintaining public confidence in the scheme and ensuring it’s delivering real environmental outcomes. After all, Victorians are paying for it and using their time to participate.
Missed Opportunity for National Alignment
With all states now operating container deposit schemes, Victoria has the opportunity to align with national best practice—but risks falling behind. The absence of a formal recovery target, slow action on expanding the range of eligible containers (such as wine and spirit bottles), and no movement on increasing the refund amount to 20c all reflect a lack of ambition.
What Needs to Happen Next
Boomerang Alliance supports the TEC recommendations, including:
- Immediate transition away from low-performing OTC points towards more RVMs and depots
- Setting a formal container recovery target of at least 85%
- Expanding the scope of eligible containers to include glass wine and spirit bottles
- Increasing the refund to 20c to boost return rates and incentivise broader participation
- Releasing a comprehensive and public annual report with key data metrics
- An independent review in 2026 to assess the performance of the three-zone operator model
CDS Vic has taken important first steps, but to become a truly effective and equitable circular economy initiative, the scheme must now evolve. The coming year is a critical window for the Victorian Government to show leadership and make the adjustments needed to improve access, increase transparency, and accelerate container recovery.
We look forward to continuing to work with TEC and other allies to push for the necessary reforms and ensure that CDS Victoria delivers the outcomes our communities and environment deserve.
Glad Kitchen Bags Greenwashing Fine
The recent fines imposed on the producers of Glad Kitchen Bags are welcome but don't address the fact that 'ocean plastic' is a misnomer and often an example of greenwash in itself. Glad Kitchen bags producers had falsely claimed that 50% of their product was sourced from ocean plastics when they were not. The courts imposed an $8 million fine.
Ocean bound plastics is a term given to any littered plastics collected within 50 kms of a coastline. It is not, as the term suggests, just plastics recovered from the ocean. Its littered plastic that has a risk of eventually entering the ocean. It is a good thing that these plastics are being collected, recycled and reused, and that there is a market for it. However, manufacturers need to be honest about where these plastics have been sourced from. There is an OBP Certification system that can help keep them honest.
Theses littered plastics are often degraded and contaminated and completely unsuitable to be used in food grade products. Ocean bound plastics should be collected and down-cycled in other plastic products.
Ocean plastic pollution is a major global problem and the best course of action is to avoid waste and litter in the first place. That means reducing the manufacture of unnecessary plastics, designing plastics for reuse or recycling and then having system in place that ensure that any plastics thrown away will be recovered and reused.
For the plastics already littered in and around our oceans and waterways, it's important that we have markets that can use collected and recovered plastics. Around the Australian and our regional neighbours coastlines are plastics that have been littered and end up causing harm to the environment and wildlife. Having a recycled market for these plastics provides an incentive to collect rather than simply adding to landfill. For many of our regional neighbours, landfill does not even exist as an option. They need a recycling market that can pay them for what they collect.
Environment/Industry groups agree on Packaging Waste Action
With the Federal election likely to stall any progress on packaging reforms, industry and environment groups have released a joint statement in support of an Extended Producer responsibility (Product Stewardship) Scheme for Packaging. The statement signed by the Boomerang Alliance, ACOR, WMRR, APCO and Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia calls on the next Government (whoever that might be) to introduce a scheme by 2026, including for soft plastics.
The Commonwealth Government recently released results on its packaging reform consultation. This confirmed significant support for an EPR scheme. According to government figures 80% of respondents support Commonwealth regulation on packaging, with 65% supporting an EPR with mandatory requirements. Only 4% supported the current co-regulatory approach.
Whilst the scope and design of an EPR scheme still need to be negotiated, these schemes when effectively implemented, work to reduce waste and increase recovery. They can be instrumental in establishing a circular economy system for packaging.
The container refund schemes now operating in most States and Territories is a good example. Prior to its introduction container collection for recycling in most jurisdictions was less than 30%, and less than 20% in some others. The national average recovery rate for containers is now above 65%.
Launching 2025 Year of Reuse
The Boomerang Alliance believes in Australia’s potential to lead the world in sustainability. Right now, we’re at a critical crossroads: single-use plastics are flooding our environment, contributing to climate change, and increasing cost-of-living pressures. It’s time for a bold, national shift to reusable packaging by 2030.
That’s why we’re launching our ‘Reuse Australia Program’ with the ‘Year of Reuse’ to supercharge the transition away from single-use plastics. And we need your support to make it happen.
Our vision is simple: an Australia where single-use is not only undesirable but entirely unacceptable. Our Plastic Free Places Program has proved that it’s possible. Together, we can build a future where reusables are the norm, waste is reduced, and resources are kept in circulation.
2025 the Year of Reuse
The Boomerang Alliance is making 2025 the year of Reuse. Reusable cups, containers and other items have significant benefits compared to single-use items. They can reduce GHG emissions, water and material use and eliminate unnecessary waste. The switch to reuse will require a big change to our habits so we are starting with cups and containers, primarily used away from home. Away-from-home use usually means that single-use products are thrown away and end up in landfills or are littered.
What we will be campaigning for:
- A binding 30% reuse target for packaging
- A Reuse Strategy included in every government’s plastic reduction policy
- National regulations to require all stadiums and major events to provide reusable cups and containers to patrons
- All cafes and food outlets to also offer reusable cups for takeaway purposes and never provide disposables for dine-in
- All retailers to only provide reusable shopping bags, that have met a reuse standard
- Supermarkets to scale up reuse items in-store and returnable containers for deliveries
- The inclusion of reusable bottles as eligible under State container refund schemes
You can check out our Choosing to Reuse in Australia report (here)
STATEMENT ON ENVIRONMENT MINISTERS’ FAILURE TO PROGRESS PACKAGING REFORMS
Reform of packaging after so many years of failure by government and business is an urgent task and the Boomerang Alliance is fully focused on an outcome that delivers a circular economy via avoidance, reduction, recycling and reuse supported by regulated product stewardship.[1]
Ministerial meetings have so far been unable to provide this essential, macro solution to the waste, litter and plastic pollution caused by the packaging sector, retailers and consumer behaviour. Three settings in the policy landscape have retarded progress:
- Commonwealth ministerial procrastination despite repeated statements supporting reform and acknowledging that national action would be most effective and efficient, with the likely failure to meet the 2025 deadline
- A lack of commitment by the federal environment department to significant change, leading only to small steps that defer major regulatory change and plans
- An ongoing interest by the Commonwealth and some states in perpetuating the Australian Packaging Covenant (APCO) which has failed to meet targets and is underlain by weak compliance measures
The Boomerang Alliance is determined to overcome these barriers so that Australians and their environment can experience the required protection from pollution and avoid the costs of disposing waste. Making producers responsible for the costs of packaging they place on the market is the most effective means to solve packaging problems, and it will relieve cost of living pressures on households who currently have to pay for single use packaging collection, recovery and litter reductions through their council rates.
Without more decisive national action, more progressive states should take unilateral action. This would be an appropriate response given our recent YouGOV poll that showed (and consistently across all jurisdictions):
- 85% of Australians expressed concern about plastic waste pollution in Australia.
- 73% of Australians want new packaging laws that shift the costs of collecting and recycling packaging waste from taxpayers to producers
- The fast tracking of soft plastic collections is a top priority for Australians, with 88% supporting the reinstatement of soft plastic collections, funded by packaging producers.[2]
Small steps at recent Environment Ministers Meeting (10/12/24)[3]
National Circular Economy Framework
The Boomerang Alliance welcomes broad support for a national circular economy framework to transition the packaging industry to a more sustainable and less wasteful future. However, it remains an advisory document only and it should now be regulated at federal and state levels to ensure a consistent and clear national approach.
Strengthening the National Waste Plan Action Plan
A recurring commitment. We ask - what are the detailed implementation plans and how will the targets be achieved?
On the face of it, a welcomed initiative, but packaging design guidance is just more greenwash, unless it is more than ‘guidance’ and includes requirements that all packaging will be recovered in practice. Over 84% of packaging is designed to be recyclable now, but less than 20% of plastic packaging is actually recycled. This is due to inadequate collection and recovery infrastructure, not just poor design standards.
Harmonise Kerbside Collections ‘in principle’
Harmonising kerbside collection was agreed some years ago but has failed to materialise. The roadmap could be a positive step but there is no indication as to how the barriers will be overcome.
National roadmap: Harmonising action on problematic plastics
All States and Territories have phase out policies for problematic and unnecessary plastics, and the commitment to reduce variations on 24 items[5], without reversing any measures that have been taken, is welcome. We note the Commonwealth is absent from this process, despite having made commitments on some key items in 2021.[6]
Expanding eligible containers in Container Refund Schemes
The ministerial meeting did not resolve this issue and it has now been left to key states to collaborate on the first tranche for wine and spirits in glass bottles. We encourage NSW, SA, NT, Vic, WA and ACT to act (Qld has already included these containers).
The future of APCO
As noted above, its continued existence is a barrier to major reform. We note the recent ministerial meeting did not endorse APCO’s 2030 Strategic Plan[7] with its downgraded targets and delayed timeframes. Any future replacement arrangement for product stewardship must have strict accountability to the Commonwealth and state ministers and the community.
[1] https://www.boomerangalliance.org.au/national_packaging_solution
[2] Total sample size was 1783 Australians voters (18+). Fieldwork was undertaken between 21 Nov - 04 Dec.
[3] The Queensland Government refused to endorse any of these
[4] See Design for Kerbside Recyclability Grading Framework: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/packaging/reforming-packaging-regulation
[5] Items yet to be clarified.
[6] https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/national-plastics-plan-2021.pdf
[7] https://documents.packagingcovenant.org.au/public-documents/2030%20Strategic%20Plan
Our Year in Action
As we wrap up another transformative year, we want to take a moment to share our journey with you. Together, we've fought hard against plastic pollution, rallied for stronger policies, and built a movement that brings us closer to a cleaner, more sustainable future. None of this would have been possible without the support and dedication of our incredible community.
So let’s take a look at what we’ve achieved with your help:
Over the next year, we have a unique opportunity to drive meaningful change in Australia’s packaging laws—but we need your voice to make it happen. Help us create change today.
Our supermarkets audit reveals supermarkets slow on changing plastic habits
The Boomerang Alliance and the Australian Marine Conservation Society audit the major supermarkets' plastic packaging use each year. Our audit is helped by thousands of supporters who act as secret shoppers checking what is happening in their local supermarkets. We use their data in our report.
Our 2024 Supermarket Report has just been released, please see here. The report reveals that, whilst there have been some improvements, our supermarkets are still very slow to change their plastic habits. Plastic-wrapped fruit and vegetables are still cheaper than loose produce 73% of the time. There are too few options for customers to access reusable containers, and there is too much emphasis on recycling of packaging rather than reducing or avoiding it.
We ranked the major supermarkets with Woolworths coming out on top with a ranking of 38%. From our point of view, all supermarkets should be doing a whole lot better and don't compare with the best supermarkets in Europe. As reported above, recycling labels continue to be a problem and often mislead consumers.