‘Kicking the can down the road’ on packaging reforms

Canberra: Big business has dodged a bullet, escaping mandatory rules on cutting down packaging waste for yet another year. It’s a real bummer for the environment.

Peter Whish-Wilson, the Greens spokesperson for waste and recycling, didn’t hold back. He slammed the federal government for failing to implement a solid plan to tackle the plastic waste crisis.

Whish-Wilson accused Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek of just “kicking the can down the road” instead of taking real action. He pointed out that plastic waste is a huge problem for both the environment and our health.

He’s right; we’ve known for ages that regulating packaging producers is key to solving this mess. It’s pretty wild that our waste reduction goals aren’t even legally binding.

Australia churns out over six million tonnes of packaging each year, costing around $15 billion. And guess what? Almost half of that ends up in landfills. Talk about a waste!

Gayle Sloan, from the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association, echoed these concerns. She said we’re stuck in a bureaucratic loop with no real progress on creating green jobs.

While there’s talk about making recycling more consistent across the country, many feel it’s just not enough. Local councils are trying to standardize bin lid colors and improve recycling info, but it’s a slow process.

State and territory ministers are on board with a stronger national waste action plan, but there’s still a long way to go. The commonwealth plans to consult more with industry on how to improve packaging recyclability.

In 2023, Plibersek criticized the voluntary targets some companies adopted, saying they just don’t cut it. She also took a jab at the previous government for ignoring calls for mandatory targets.

People were hoping for real action, but it seems like we’re still waiting for those promises to turn into reality.