The National Packaging Covenant (Covenant) CEO Mr Ed Cordner and incoming NPC Council Chair Cr Dick Gross have met the Federal Environment Minister, Peter Garrett for talks in Canberra.

The Covenant is a unique Australian initiative set up by governments and industry as a model to stop packaging waste from ending up in landfill.

This year it faces a mid-term review, which will determine its fate beyond 2010.

Mr Cordner provided information to Minister Garrett in relation to successes of the Covenant.  

“Through strategic partnerships the Covenant works together with governments, community groups and the packaging supply chain to find better ways to re-design, recycle, reuse and recover packaging to make it sustainable,” Mr Cordner says.  

“With environment Ministers currently considering a number of issues relating to packaging waste and the recent media attention on recycling rates, it is important that we meet with Minister Garrett to bring him up to date on what the Covenant is doing."

Packaging is a complex matter and we are striving to dramatically improve the way data on recycling is collected and reported.  

“Minister Garrett said he would be watching the Covenant’s data and performance review, however we are quietly confident of showing good progress towards our targets of a national recycling rate of 65% by 2010,”  Cordner says.

Mr Cordner says the Covenant is beneficial as a model in that encompassed all forms of consumer packaging in a holistic process rather than treating packaging on a material by material, or use-by-use basis.  

“A key feature of the Covenant is that it takes into account the whole packaging lifecycle right across the supply chain to consumers, governments and the various recycling collection systems,”  he says.

Mr Cordner also says the Covenant empowers brand owners to make a difference.  

“Brand owners sign the Covenant and agree to certain environment outcomes or don’t sign and face state legislation," he asserts.

"Covenant signatories represent more than 80% of retailed packaging brands sold in Australia.”  

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