How many people today grab a takeaway coffee cup from the local cafe to drink on the go? We don’t know, but the number must be enormous.. Most every one of the above have a plastic top that will last 100s of years. Some cafes still use plastic cups that last a similar time. Is 10 minutes of coffee worth 100s of years of trash?
These items can be seen littering our gutters and on our streets all over the place. If they were all cardboard, they would still be littered, but they would, at least, be gone in a short time.
They do not need to be made of plastic.
On the way home from the gym last week, a distance of about 1 km (1/2 mile), I counted the items of plastic litter on the curb as I walked. In that short distance I counted 63 pieces of plastic litter. Plastic drink bottles, bottle tops, candy wrappers, plastic film, polystyrene fragments etc. That seemed to be a lot to me. I guess it is a generational thing. Our parents would have been horrified to see that amount, whereas it seems to go unnoticed by our youth of today. In another 20 years how many pieces will there be on this stretch, -- 200? What will today’s youth think of that new amount then when they are older? Will their children be so readily accepting of a higher amount of litter? Packaging reform needs a clear destination – Australia
Posted on August 11, 2026 by DrRossH in Plastic RecyclingAs Europe’s PPWR comes into effect this week, Australia’s packaging sector is still waiting for the regulatory certainty needed to turn circularity commitments into investment. Drawing on PKN’s coverage, Lindy Hughson examines the industry’s repeated call for clarity, consistency and firm policy direction.
Source: Packaging reform needs a clear destination – PKN Packaging News
Europe has established a direction with its PPWR. The regulation creates a binding framework covering packaging design, minimisation, recyclability, recycled content, reuse, labelling and producer responsibility across the EU market.
The contrast with Australia is difficult to ignore.
Australia’s packaging reforms remain under development, following consultation on options that included mandatory packaging requirements, an extended producer responsibility scheme and stronger administration of the existing co-regulatory framework.
In the meantime, the current arrangements remain in place, and industry continues to operate without certainty about the final shape, timing or cost of reform.
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