Supermarkets in Australia are a $130.2 billion industry, responsible for the majority of household plastic packaging.

For far too long, Australian supermarkets have escaped scrutiny for their massive plastic waste. They've been flooding the market with hard-to-recycle packaging, prioritising convenience over environmental health. Without strict laws to limit plastic production, these supermarkets continue to sidestep public accountability, leaving our planet to bear the burden.

We need your help taking our investigation to the next level in 2024!

How frustrating is it when you grab your fruit and veg and it’s covered in plastic? Then to add insult to injury, loose produce is more expensive than packaged produce.

We are sick of it and we bet you are too! Here's how you can help us combat this pointless plastic packaging:

When you're doing your next grocery shop, complete the two surveys below. If you're short on time, please prioritise the Fresh Produce Survey. They take just five minutes, you can complete them multiple times and each completed survey goes into the draw to win a $100 Seed and Sprout gift voucher. 

• Investigating Fresh Produce
• Investigating Plastic Packaging 

What Did Our Report First Comprehensive Report in 2023 Find? 

Ever wondered how your supermarket ranks? You can take a peek at our first-ever independent audit of supermarket plastic use in Australia.

Aldi leads the way in the Australian supermarket sector, achieving the highest score in 2023, with Coles, Woolworths, and Metcash (IGA, Foodland, and others) following.

KEY FINDINGS

• Most supermarkets are not transparent about their plastic footprint.
  
  
• Reuse and refill systems need to be scaled up urgently, to provide consumers with cost comparative options without unnecessary plastic packaging
  
  
• Leading supermarkets are not prioritising removal of plastic, over-relying on false solutions such as 'lightweighting' - making packaging lighter to claim plastic reductions.
  
  
• Loose fresh produce is frequently more expensive than plastic-packed produce, pushing consumers towards unnecessary plastic packaging, and penalises those who try to reduce their plastic consumption in a cost-of-living crisis.
  
  
• Supplier packaging guidelines are rarely enforced, allowing suppliers to use whatever packaging option is cheapest or easiest to print marketing material onto.
  
  
• Recycling and recycled content was the worst-performing area of all assessed categories. In spite of the message coming from Australian supermarkets, little real progress has been made on increasing the recycled content in plastic packaging, diminishing recycling efforts and the vision of creating a circular economy for plastics in Australia.

Australians have been doing our part- recycling and picking up trash. But unless we stop plastic at the source, it is just a band-aid solution and our incredible marine life will continue to suffer the consequences.

For more information on our report view our audit framework and volunteer surveys.

You Can Help Keep Supermarkets Accountable

For the first time, Australia’s federal, state, and territory governments have come together to develop new laws on plastic packaging, thanks to pressure from Boomerang Alliance supporters like you.

Will you sign the petition supporting laws to cut plastic by 20% by 2030?

Our Wins So Far 

• We presented Tanya Plibersek with over 20,000 signatures at Coogee Beach. Check out our 9News coverage here. 

The soft plastics producers and retailers are gearing up to propose a product stewardship scheme. Some useful research was released at the National Soft Plastics Summit on 25 September including about the use of special kerbside collections for household soft plastics to replace the failed REDcycle scheme.

The Boomerang Alliance has today challenged the packaging industry to take full responsibility, implement effective collections and pay for the costs of soft plastic waste and pollution.

Packaging producers must take full responsibility and pay for packaging waste & pollution.

The Boomerang Alliance is challenging the packaging industry to take full responsibility and pay for the costs of its waste and pollution decisions.

Ahead of the Commonwealth Government promising to introduce a Mandatory Product Stewardship Scheme for Packaging by 2025, we have released our model guidelines based on International best practice.

These include stringent Extended Producer Responsibility requirements where product manufacturers take full responsibility for their products, from the design stage through to end of life. This allows for products to be collected, recovered and reused rather than being littered or discarded in landfill.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY APPROACH

We demand a circular economy approach to packaging which involves the whole supply chain, with producers directly accountable for meeting stringent reduction, recovery and recycled content targets.

National actions required to achieve a best practice circular economy for packaging:

AUSTRALIA'S SOFT PLASTICS REFORM 

The soft plastics collection crisis, following the REDcycle collapse, is an example of an industry currently failing to take responsibility for its own packaging waste.

Given Australia’s alarmingly low national plastic packaging recycling rates (approx. 12%), major reform is urgently required and must include extended producer responsibility principles, similar to what is being applied to container refund schemes.

Container refund schemes are now active across Australia, where producers (the beverage industry) are responsible for the full costs associated with the recovery of their products and 60-80% of containers are now being collected for recycling, with some room for improvement.

In Europe, producers will have to cover the costs of collecting, transporting and treating problem plastics from 2024. The same should be happening in Australia.

10 GUIDING PRINCIPLES

We have identified 10 key principles that need to be included in Australia's mandated national product stewardship scheme.

1. Prioritising Avoidance and Reduction
2. Best Practice Eco-Design of Products
3. Mandated Standards
4. Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) across Whole of Life Cycle & Supply Chain
5. Mandatory National Targets and Obligations
6. Development of Secondary Markets
7. A national scheme managed under Commonwealth legislation
8. A standardised monitoring, compliance, and enforcement regime
9. Commitment to continuous improvement
10. Consumer Education and Awareness

In addition to full producer responsibility, packaging standards must include the requirement that packaging is actually recovered in practice. The standards cover packaging that is reusable, compostable or recyclable. The current Australian Recycling Label (ARL), for example, does not require packaging to be recycled in practice, with the result that most plastic packaging goes to landfill.

• Download the full report 
• Download Fact Sheet 
• MEDIA RELEASE >> 22 Sep 23: National Packaging Solution: Producers mandated to take full responsibility for waste & pollution
• IN THE NEWS >> ABC, 17 Sep 23: Plastic packaging overhaul leaves supermarkets scrambling and customers hopeful of change

The Boomerang Alliance has released its Choosing to Reuse In Australia Report. Our organisation is calling for a rapid increase in the use of reusable packaging to reduce plastic pollution and carbon emissions. The report outlines the many opportunities that are currently available, particularly for takeaway services, and just waiting for government and business support.

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%'.

The Boomerang Alliance is putting our primary focus on making reusable food ware and packaging commonplace. We are starting with cups, coffee cups and lids and food containers used away from home. There are now an increasing number of options and services available that can help make this happen. We just need to adopt the right policies and practices to change our habits away from single use.

Our campaign has identified a range of scenarios where a start can be made. These include at public events, at takeaway outlets, at supermarkets and shops, in controlled environments such as workplaces, food courts or sport stadiums, in transport services and through container deposit collections.

Through our Plastic Free Places program, we have already set up reusable programs at events, coffee shops and hotels and are now extending this to include more workplaces. Services such as Returnr, Green Caffeen, Cercle and Reusably now offer workable solutions for many corporate and government offices.

Stadiums Queensland are currently trialling a reusable cup service that could be used at all stadiums in the state. 

Why do so many business workplaces allow their staff to leave their desks, buy a takeaway beverage in a disposable cup, and return to their desks? It's a situation where a reusable cup is an easier and far better option to reduce single use plastic waste.

In Europe, TOMRA who provide many of the reverse vending machines at container collection points have developed, and are now trialing, a public collection system for reusable cups and containers in a Danish city. Expect more cities to join.

The Boomerang Alliance is now lobbying the Commonwealth and all State and Territory Governments to set new policies to support reusables. We want to see an overall target of 30% reusables before 2030.

We want to see a ban on disposable food ware for dine-in at cafes and restaurants, every takeaway cafes to also offer reusable cups and containers to their customers and have proposed a new levy on the supply of disposable cups and containers.

All of these measures are already in place or about to be introduced in other parts of the world. Australia, unfortunately, is lagging behind and needs to catch up. The business and corporate sectors can also play a big part in what we could call a reusable revolution. Supermarkets offering returnable containers for fresh food items, home delivery using reusable crates, airlines providing in-flight catering with reusable food ware or food courts switching back to the practices of the past and using reusable cutlery and plates. These are all opportunities for the taking that will make a difference.

In the next few weeks, the Boomerang alliance will be releasing our Choosing to Reuse in Australia Report. This outlines many of these examples and more and is intended to prompt both government and business to act to make reusables more commonplace. For too long this has been left to progressive businesses and committed individuals to take the lead. It is now time to step up and put the systems and services in place that can change our habits.

Read our Choosing to Reuse in Australia Report for more information. 

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Commonwealth Government promises a mandatory product stewardship scheme for 2025

In a historic agreement, Australia’s Environment Ministers have committed to mandatory packaging targets which, if properly designed and implemented could transform Australia's packaging landscape.

For the first time packaging producers will be required to meet set targets. Previously targets were voluntary and were never met. The Boomerang Alliance will be advocating for a scheme that ensures that new mandatory rules, making producers responsible for better design and all associated costs for the collection, transport and recovery -- including litter clean ups - are part of the new scheme.

Soft plastics now predominantly going to landfill, will need to be part of these new arrangements.

Looking beyond our shores to Europe and the UK, we know that mandatory targets are effective in speeding up industry transformation. Mandatory rules ensure a level playing field and create clear expectations. The onus will be on the businesses responsible for producing packaging to take responsibility for their waste.

But we know the devil is in the detail yet to be worked out. We expect significant industry pushback on setting strict targets and timelines.

That's why we will be putting forward a world leading stewardship model that will see Australia realise and go beyond the current voluntary packaging targets.

Importantly, we want to see a much greater focus on reducing our plastic consumption overall and national commitments to avoid all packaging that is problematic for human health and our environment. We are also advocating for the introduction of a minimum 30% reusable packaging target by 2030.

Our proposed stewardship model will be shared with allies, supporters, governments and industry stakeholders in due course.

Stay tuned on ways to support next steps.

Currently, Australia is the largest consumer of single use plastics next to Singapore. The latest figures show that only 18% of plastics are currently being recycled and only 4% of plastic packaging contains recycled content. The REDcycle collapse has highlighted the ineffectiveness of current arrangements and exposed the fact that other single use plastic packaging recovery rates are embarrassingly low and will miss agreed targets. Virtually all 450,000 tonnes of soft plastics generated in Australia each year are currently destined for landfill. It is obvious that we cannot just recycle our way out of this.

2025 National Targets. Latest data from APCO (graphic adapted to reference plastic recycled content target and plastic phase out reduction). Please note that reusability, compostability or recyclability does not mean products are recovered in practice.

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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.

• Extension to other containers: wine and spirits are first cab off the rank and it was pleasing to see Qld move with a 1 Nov start date. It is inevitable that other states will follow. However, we can go further to include plain milk, health drinks, juices and cordials (glass) – and non drink containers.
• Recovery not good enough: currently the national rate of 65%, leaves 35% or billions of containers either littered, landfilled or low value in kerbside bins. Serious examination of greater incentives such a raising the refund to 20c should be undertaken, especially as inflation reduces the value of the present 10c.
• Keeping a close eye on Vic rollout: Victoria decided to have three Network Operators to run refund points – a result many question for its rationality However, the state government’s start date of 1 November 2023 is highly anticipated – Victorians have waited long enough!

Also check out Total Environment Centre's review of Australia’s Container Refund Schemes

Back to July 2023 Newsletter page >>

We've been pushing our Reuse and Avoid agenda forward and have some exciting news for those who look forward to a single-use free future.

Starting in Sydney in late July, we will be running an EPA funded program to find 100 food retailers who want to be part of a NSW case study to increase reusable options. We’ll be working with these businesses closely to supercharge their practice of reusables, document their journey, and showcase their achievements. These businesses will be at the forefront of change, helping to shape future directions in NSW.

100 is just the start! So keep your eye out on our promotions and encourage your local changemaking businesses to join us in this in this important project.

In September, we're commencing a new workplace reusables program in the Brisbane offices of the Qld Department of Environment and Science (DES). The aim of this program is to introduce a reusable system for office staff that connects with the local cafés staff most frequent, and then, using behaviour change principals, work with staff to adopt reusable options. The great part is that DES produces the single-use plastic legislation, so they'll be learning the benefits of reusables and leading by example.

As part of this program, we’ll be developing resources and guides to help other offices and make them widely available. We'll also start introducing this program into our other programs in 2024.

We're also looking at how we can help more cafes achieve the benefits of reusables, so we’re going to be creating a series of ‘how-to’ guides on topics businesses are asking us for - particularly around the practical implementation of reusables within their cafes, and how they can eliminate single-use and not lose customers. We’ll be taking some of our leading members as examples for other businesses to follow. We’ll learn about and address some of the real barriers that businesses face, and encouraging them to forward.

We look forward to updating you on progress in the next newsletter! And keep your eye on our website and socials to stay up to date.

Remember, as a consumer, the best thing you can do to help is support businesses trying to do the right thing. Businesses often tell us they feel their efforts are not noticed or supported by their customers. Bring your reusables and let the businesses know you appreciate what they are doing. Not only can your action reduce waste and costs for your fave café, but your words keep them going. We can all make a difference!

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