The Visual Media Association (VMA) has formed the Labels and Packaging Coalition, a new initiative to provide industry technical expertise into government policy, targets and regulations.
The Labels and Packaging Coalition will address industry feedback and offer expert advice drafted policies and potential legislative recommendations at both federal and state levels.
Comprising of members from various sectors of the labels and packaging industry, the coalition welcomes close collaboration with the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), Australian Institute of Packaging, brand owners, and key stakeholders.
Its mission is to provide technical expertise and scientific evidence from independent laboratory results to support the informed implementation of regulations affecting labels and packaging manufacturing in Australia.
Speaking at the recent FPLMA Conference, VMA CEO Kellie Northwood outlined the role industry must play as both educators and technical advisors to government, end-users and each level in between those two.
“The VMA and our members are committed to advancing sustainable labels and packaging solutions. However, some recent recommendations, such as the shift from water-based to soy-based inks, may be based on misconceptions that could have unintended negative environmental impacts,” she said.
“Improving recovery rates are terrific; however, we do not want to see repeats of recovered packaging sitting in warehouses with no recycling waste stream solution. We also need to understand the criteria for labels and packaging assessments, as the current assessment tools for labels and packaging design does not always align with science.”
Northwood said industry leaders have lobbied to the VMA to unify the industry position and challenge the misrepresentation across the APCO PREP Tool which prioritises the kerbside recyclability of packaging which includes labels.
The Packaging Recyclability Evaluation Portal (PREP) tool is an online tool that assesses packaging specifications to determine how a piece of packaging will perform in the Australian and New Zealand resource recovery systems.
Currently, Northwood said the industry claims there are errors in the technical advisory across the PREP tool, and that the Labels & Packaging Coalition has committed to providing technical advice across all products, finishes and print manufacturing processes for APCO and the government.
“The generalisation of terms like ‘aqueous’ needs closer scrutiny. It is our responsibility as an industry association to offer precise technical advice to APCO and government departments. Our members have local and global expertise in these areas and it makes sense to include them in the decision-making process – thus the formation of the Labels and Packaging Coalition,” she said.
“Collaborating with APCO, government ministers, and key stakeholders is crucial to ensuring that policies and legislation are accurate and effective. We call on all members and non-members in this sector to join us in this important initiative.”
