The Australasian Recycling Label Program (ARL Program) has passed the 500th member mark and welcomed a variety of new household brands.
As of March, more than 44 new organisations joined the ARL Program in 2021, including KFC, Northern Valley Packers, Straughton Group, Bluebird Foods and Bostik Australia. They will start their ARL Program journey by assessing their packaging recyclability using the online Packaging Recyclability Evaluation Portal tool.
A range of organisations have also had their first ARL artwork approved and will soon have product packaging containing the label appearing on shelves to help customers recycle correctly. This includes Paper Australia, lululemon Athletica Australia, Swisse Wellness and Nerada Tea.
In the past 12 months, 193 businesses have joined the ARL Program taking the total membership to 530.
APCO CEO, Brooke Donnelly congratulated and welcomed the new ARL Program members.
“The ARL was a key focus of the Australian government’s inaugural National Plastics Plan, with the innovative labelling program recognised as a key consumer recycling education tool,” she said.
“With the Australian government committing to work with industry to apply the ARL on at least 80% of supermarket products by December 2023, there has never been a better time for Australian businesses to get involved.”
Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, Trevor Evans, also congratulated the new businesses doing their bit to make recycling easier by joining the ARL Program.
“The Australasian Recycling Label is a fantastic initiative that’s endorsed by all Australian governments to help make recycling easier,” he said.
“Under the National Plastics Plan released in March, the Australian government has committed to working with industry to see the ARL displayed on 80% of supermarket products by 2023. For anyone that hasn’t yet joined up – what are you waiting for? I strongly encourage businesses of all sizes to get in touch with APCO today to find out more about the program and get started.”