Page 15 - Packaging News Jan-Feb 2020

January-February 2020 www.packagingnews.com.au IN PARTNERSHIP WITH
15
lia races to targets
APCO APPOINTS NEW DIRECTORS
APCO’s 2020 Board of Directors is drawn from the waste and recycling, packaging, and sustainability sectors.
Appointed at the recent AGM in Mel- bourne, the full 2020 board includes Sam Andersen (Chair), Andrew Petersen, Keith Chessell, Lee Smith, Jacky Nordsvan, Anne Astin, Trent Bartlett, Jason Goode and Chris Foley (pictured below).
Lee Smith, director of projects at Veolia, will serve as industry association director for the next three years, while Chris Foley, head of Energy and Environment for Kmart Group, will replace long-standing board member Renata Lopes and take on the role of brand owner director alongside Jason Goode, packaging manager at Reece Group.
Sam Andersen, chair of the APCO Board, expressed the organisation’s excitement at the new directors joining the team and heartfelt thanks to the outgoing members.
“We are delighted to welcome such a wealth and diversity of industry experience to the APCO Board.
“This has been a remarkable year of growth and progress for APCO, and we look forward to an even more productive year in 2020 with the support and guidance of the new Board Directors,” said Andersen.
BELOW: Diverse experience: The newly appointed APCO Board for 2020, led by chair, Sam Andersen (centre).
cent) and recycled (49 per cent) packag- ing in Australia.
“We currently have more than 1500 or- ganisations, representing the complete supply chain, actively working to deliver the National Packaging Targets. To find out how you can be part of the communi- ty driving the change towards a more sustainable approach to packaging in Australia, get in touch with APCO today,” says Donnelly.
HOW RECYCLABLE IS RECYCLABLE?
The report says 5.45 million tonnes of packaging was placed on market in 2017- 18, including 53.2 per cent paper and pa- perboard; 23.3 per cent glass; 19.6 per cent plastic; and 3.9 per cent metal.
APCO breaks recyclability down into four classifications: good (technically re- cyclable, collection and recycling servic- es widely available, viable end markets); poor (recyclable with lost value, and/or more limited recycling services, and/or may contaminate other streams); not recyclable; and unknown recyclability.
According to the report, bottles and jars, cans, fibre-based cartons and box- es excluding polymer-coated paper- boards (PCPBs), tubs, trays and pun- nets, low-density polyethylene (LDPE) film, and other fibre-based products are considered to have good recyclabil- ity; PCPBs, PVC, and all non-LDPE
films plus expanded polystyrene (EPS) have poor recyclability; and all remain- ing material (excluding “unknown”) is not recyclable.
“It is estimated that 4.7 million tonnes (86 per cent) of packaging placed on market in 2017–18 has good recyclability. This is dominated by paper and paperboard (of which 92 per cent has good recyclability) and glass (of which 100 per cent has good recyclability). 96 per cent of metal packag- ing is classified as having good recyclabili- ty, but only 54 per cent of plastic packaging is classified as having good recyclability.
“Around 0.5 million tonnes (10 per cent) of packaging is classified as having poor recyclability or being not recyclable. Fif- ty-one per cent of these quantities is plas- tic packaging, and another 47 per cent is paper and paperboard packaging,” the re- port says.
The 2025 National Packaging Targets are: • To make 100 per cent of packaging reus-
able, recyclable, or compostable;
• To achieve 30 per cent average recycled content across all packaging (this has been achieved already, as outlined in
the report);
• To recycle or compost 70 per cent of plas-
tic packaging; and
• To phase out problematic and unneces-
sary single-use plastic packaging through redesign, innovation, or alterna- tive delivery methods. ■