With Australia’s waste now accumulating in landfill, the Federal Government has recently announced a $190 million investment into transforming the waste industry through the Recycling Modernisation Fund.
The investment by government and industry to close the current gap in local recycling infrastructure is a critical step in developing a packaging circular economy—where greater volumes of post-consumer packaging is recycled into high quality food grade packaging or other high value uses.
However, food, beverage and grocery manufacturers need considerable capital investment to innovate their packaging. It comes at a high cost as packaging with high levels of recycled content is currently scarce, inflating costs.
Associate Professor, Karli Verghesi, a principal research fellow in the School of Design, RMIT University and is also the Reduce Program leader in the Fight Food Waste said, “Simple changes in consumer behaviour can help reduce Australian households’ contribution to national food waste figures, easing pressure on waste management infrastructure.”
Zero Waste Shepparton, a Facebook group established by local Nikita Thomson offers tips on how people can help reduce some of the 66,000 tonnes of waste produced in Shepparton each year..
