Page 13 - Packaging News magazine November-December 2022

The good news is there is com- mercial scale infrastructure and processing technology, such as the Soft Plastics Engineered Commodity (SPEC) facility, land- ing in Australia in the next 12 to 18 months. And this is where REDcycle’s partner iQRenew comes in. Danial Gallagher, iQRe- new CEO, told PKN: “REDcycle is the reason businesses like iQRe- new can build infrastructure like our commercial demonstration SPEC facility, as REDcycle gave us access to high quality and reli- able feedstock.”
Gallagher said, “iQRenew is building the missing infrastruc- ture link in the soft plastic value chain, so that soft plastics can be sorted, processed, and manufac- tured onshore.
“Liz Kasell started the movement to allow Australian businesses to engage in the post-consumer soft plastic value chain in Australia. iQRenew joined forces with REDcycle to help scale Australia’s soft plastics recycling capabilities and we’re committed to continuing that journey,” he said.
“Ironically, REDcycle would only be able to supply a portion of what will be needed without sig- nificantly increasing the size of its recovery network,” Kasell said, “That means the balance between supply and demand will shift the other way.”
Asked which stakeholders in the value chain she sees as being able to provide the most valu- able assistance at this time, Kasell responded: “We are work- ing very closely with industry
organisations such as APCO [Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation], AFGC [Australian Food and Grocery Council], and ACOR [Australian Council of Recycling], and looking at practi- cal assistance and advocacy.
“We also are in contact with our supermarket and brand partners. While the REDcycle collection points are paused, the soft plas- tic still needs to move through the pipeline, and we need the support of all our partners at this time.
“Lastly, we are liaising with Government to seek support and it’s good to see the focus on this issue. This challenge requires the whole value chain working together. As a colleague said to me, ‘let’s not waste this crisis’.” Indeed.
RETAILER PULL-THROUGH
“It’s not recycled until the end product made from the recycled product is bought by retailers and is back on shelf,” said David Hodge, owner of Plastics Forests, a former recycling partner of REDcycle.
Hodge told PKN he had to stop accepting material from REDcycle because the garden products Plastic Forests was creating from the recycled soft plastics were not
350%
increase in soft plastics supply during the pandemic period
iQRenew says it is building the missing infrastructure link in the soft plastic value chain, so that soft plastics can be sorted, processed, and manufactured onshore.
being listed by large retailers. And therein lies the rub: the lack of value placed on secondary raw materials by Australian busi- nesses. Coles and Woolworths have since said they are com- mitted to buying back or funding
recycled products.
GOVERNMENT STANCE
Environmental lobbyists are call- ing for government intervention to make recycled products more competitive on shelf. Jeff Angel of Total Environment Centre calls for financial incentives around the use of recycled content to be put in place, for a much better communications program around recycled products, as well as legis- lated targets to be met by industry.
The federal government has just announced Australia’s com- mitment to the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution by 2040. Environment Minister
Tanya Plibersek says Australia is prepared to be held to account for its plastic waste generation.
Speaking on national television, Plibersek said she has made it very clear that industry needs to get its act together, promising more leg- islation if the biggest producers of waste don’t come to the party.
“If industry can’t get this right on their own, then the common- wealth and state and territory governments will step in and we will regulate,” Plibersek said.
The message is clear on all fronts, this crisis needs to be solved swiftly and collaboratively, or legislative consequences will be brought to bear. ■
This is an abridged version of an extended feature, available on our website, which included wider commentary from stakeholders. PKN will continue to cover this evolving story.
WWW.PACKAGINGNEWS.COM.AU
NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2022 ❙ 13
INDUSTRY INSIGHT