The Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) and Accolade Wines have together developed the first Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) of its kind for the Australian wine industry as part of the nationwide drive to encourage greater recycling among consumers.

Under the partnership, Accolade Wines will be the first major wine producer to roll out the easy-to-read ARL on all new packaging.

By 2024, Accolade Wines expects total coverage of its portfolio, which includes Hardys, Grant Burge, House of Arras and Petaluma, among many others.

The ARL is designed to replace the existing single-image recycling label, combining several components that provide recycling instructions for every part of a wine bottle’s packaging – including the glass or plastic, cap or cork and other elements such as the foil found on champagne bottles.

As a ‘Combined-Micro ARL’, it is specifically designed for the smaller label size typically found on wine bottles, making it easier for a range of wine producers to adopt the new label.

APCO – the agency charged by government to facilitate the delivery of 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025 – believes the new ARL will drive greater uptake of recycling practices at home by giving wine drinkers information on how to correctly recycle or dispose of all parts of a bottle’s packaging.

Going forward, the combined Micro ARL can also be used by pharmaceutical companies, which also have multiple regulatory requirements on limited labelling space.

APCO CEO Chris Foley said, “It has been a pleasure working with Accolade Wines to create the combined Micro ARL. This partnership plays a critical role in expanding the scope of the ARL and showcases the importance of working with industry organisations to develop new solutions to increase packaging recyclability across the country.

“The 2022 Consumer Insights Report highlighted that consumers are looking to brands for packaging recyclability information and it’s fantastic to be able to continue to make improvements to the ARL to meet the present needs of consumers and the 2025 National Packaging Targets.”

Accolade Wines chief marketing officer Sandy Mayo said, “Our number one imperative at Accolade is to be consumer-centric. We put the consumer at the core of everything we do and, by working with APCO, we’re extending that work to the ARL and our labels by rolling out the ARL on new products in a first for the wine industry. This is a major step for consumers who love our brands and will now have even more information about how to best recycle wine containers.

“At Accolade Wines, we’re committed to constantly delivering an even more compelling reason to enjoy our portfolio of world-class products and that extends to a dynamic and exciting packaging agenda including flat rPET bottles and rethinking traditional packaging formats.”