Australian industry currently faces many challenges in realising a circular economy when it comes to food packaging. Infrastructure for advanced recycling, collection schemes, and recycling capacity constraints all have limiting factors. In addition, the co-regulatory arrangement for used packaging materials established in 1999, is no longer fit-for-purpose to deliver a circular economy for packaging.

The Federal government recently announced that it will become the regulator of a new mandatory standard for packaging design, and that this standard will set minimum recycled content requirements and prohibit the use of harmful chemicals for packaging. These changes demonstrate the ongoing challenges facing the red meat industry.

Panellists: Alan Adams, Sealed Air; Jo Galletly, Bindaree Food Group; Owen Hogan, Southern Cross University; Alicia Waddington, MLA; Richard Smith, Amcor

Learn more on Meat Industry Day here.