Waste Expo Australia brought together industry leaders ready to discuss all things waste, including one panel on plastics and policy.
I was told 12 years ago that the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) would never happen, that it was too expensive, and people wouldn’t use it,” said Toby Hutcheon, Campaign Manager at Boomerang Alliance.
“Witnessing its success now convinces us that’s exactly the right process that we need to apply to plastics and packaging going forward.”
Hutcheon was one of four industry leaders who provided insight into the country’s plastic problem, including policy, reuse and recycling, during a panel session at Waste Expo Australia.
He was joined by Peter Kinrade, Associate Director at Marsden Jacob Associates, Chris Smith, Territory Manager Victoria at Replas, and Steve Morriss, Head of Circularity at Close The Loop.
When talking policy, Hutcheon said unity across the country is needed.
“We need the Commonwealth Government, with the public support of every single state and territory government, to say we want products and materials managed to their highest resource value,” he said.
“It means that every single problematic product is subjected to a circular economy approach, whereby it is managed through its entire life cycle according to the highest resource value.
“Recycling is part of that, but it’s only one of the options that we will see in the future.”
The panel dove into the shift from single-use plastics towards reusable alternatives, discussing the necessary government policies and business practices to support this change.
Morriss said product stewardship in the packaging space needs to become mandated to encourage all brands to be a part of it.
“It’s the most important thing we can do,” he said. “All the brands will be a part of it as long as everyone’s involved.”
Kinrade addressed the development of markets for recycled soft plastics and the importance of circular contracts in ensuring that what is recycled is also purchased and reused.
“We are currently a long way from eliminating single use plastics, despite the ministers agreeing last year on a nationally consistent approach,” he said.
“There is currently a lot of inconsistency across Australia and across jurisdictions when it comes to single use plastic.”
He said these inconsistencies vary from dealing with coffee cups through to heavyweight plastic bags.
“When it comes to working out what we can do about eliminating those, I believe there needs to be a strong focus on harmonisation and consistency,” he said. “At the moment, there are some great programs happening at a local level, but we need to look at a nationally co-ordinated approach.”
Smith discussed the overall challenges of plastic recycling. He said contamination was a major problem.
“At Replas we have had experience with mixed soft plastics and contamination,” he said. “The more layers and more films in the packaging, the harder it is for places like Replas and manufacturers to utilise that effectively.
“In the past three to five years I have noticed a policy shift towards procurement policies, and I think that’s where we need to continue to head.”
The panel also spoke about following in the footsteps of European countries to expel single use plastics.
“The recent Paris Olympics gifted every spectator with a reusable cup and a reusable container,” Hutcheon said.
“Germans have brought in a rule where every takeaway food outlet also must provide a reusable cup to their customers if they want it. This has shown people they have a choice.
“We need to start to put those things in place so that we start to change our behaviour.”