Pact Group has told a Senate inquiry committee it is in favour of proposed legislation that would make packaging producers responsible for the disposal and recovery of material they place on the Australian market.
The inquiry is reviewing the Extended Producer Responsibility Scheme for Packaging (No Time to Waste) Bill 2026, put forward by Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson.
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If passed, the legislation would impose a legal duty on producers, importers and distributors to manage packaging at the end of its life.
The bill would also turn Australia’s National Packaging Targets into compulsory legal requirements.
Pact is an Australian business engaged in plastic packaging and recycling, supplying packaging for food, drinks, dairy and household goods, and also produces reusable crates and clothing hangers. It runs eight large plastic recycling sites across Australia and New Zealand.
“Our vision is to lead the circular economy, and we work with our customers and the industry — from global brands to small Australian dairies — to design packaging that is 100% recyclable and increasingly made with recycled plastic”, the company told the committee.
The progress on sustainable packaging is not “fast enough,” highlighted the company.
In the last year, it made more than 189,000 tonnes of plastic packaging and related products, with recycled plastic accounting for 16% of that output.
Pact said the main barrier was not technical capability, but the absence of regulation and weak demand for recycled material.
It pointed out that while some brand owners have moved towards more sustainable packaging, others have not, as there is “no incentive” to do so.
The company said the present voluntary system and packaging targets have not produced the level of change required.
It backed the proposed direction of the bill and called for national packaging rules and a compulsory extended producer responsibility framework.
In a statement, the company noted: “We urge the Committee to support national action on packaging regulation and to ensure any scheme rewards design for recyclability, the use of recycled content, and investment in Australian recycling infrastructure.”
