Ai Group welcomes the opportunity to respond to the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s consultation on future actions within the state on single-use plastics and related issues.

We commend the NSW EPA for attempting to harmonise several of the categories covered in the consultation paper with other jurisdictions. However, in other instances there is a clear divergence with other jurisdictions already acting on these items.

Key messages from our submission include:

• Proliferation of different state and territory requirements on so many fronts risks creating a regulatory environment that cross-border companies struggle to comply with. This is readily apparent in the divergence on the issue of recyclable versus compostable packaging for food and some beverages.
• Transition times should be used to avoid sending waste to landfill unnecessarily.
• Regarding the proposal of an antilittering label applied to packaging, this should be addressed through:
  • Application of the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) as a first step, along with the current national-level packaging reform process and the proposed obligations for recycling labelling
  • consumer education and behaviour change initiatives.
• Any action on chemicals in plastics should be addressed at a national level, including through the current packaging regulatory reform or other national-level mechanisms and bodies.