Australia’s retailers pledge on plastic waste pact

They have signed to ensure that 100% of their plastic packaging is recyclable.

Leading Australian retailers such as Woolworths, Coles and Aldi have signed up to the ANZAC plastics pact promising to significantly reduce plastic waste from supply chains by 2025, IGD reported.

The new pact will be adopted by business and governments across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. As part of the pact, businesses like Woolworths, Coles and Aldi will commit to four targets by 2025.

In particular, they must eliminate unnecessary and problematic plastic packaging, and ensure 100% of plastic packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable. They must also ramp up the current volume of plastic packaging that’s effectively recycled by at least 25%.

Further, they are required to ensure that there is an average of 25% recycled content in plastic packaging across the APAC region.

A number of leading suppliers have also signed up to the pact, including Arnott’s Group, Asahi Beverages, Coca-Cola South Pacific, Colgate Palmolive, Mondelez, Nestle, PepsiCo and Unilever, IGD added.