A new report has found that supermarkets still aren’t doing enough to help reduce plastic waste. The federal government is working on mandatory packaging requirements. But critics say it won’t be enough to stop Australia missing targets that were set for 2025.
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00:00Supermarkets are back under the microscope when it comes to plastic.
00:06As plastic production increases, so too does plastic pollution.
00:11The latest report from the Marine Conservation Society has found that shoppers are still
00:15being forced into difficult choices.
00:18Supermarkets are giving a perverse incentive for shoppers to purchase plastic-wrapped produce.
00:25The cost is significantly cheaper for pre-packaged items.
00:32And that's not the only thing chains are being marked on.
00:35The report ranks Woolworths first across all criteria, but just like the others, it's still
00:40been given a rating of not good on plastic reduction, reuse and recycling.
00:46Woolies did rate well on policy and planning, and was the only group that could be rated
00:49on transparency.
00:51The AMCS says the others didn't provide enough information.
00:55There's a shocking lack of transparency when it comes to supermarkets telling us just how
01:00much plastics they're pumping out.
01:03Coles and Woolworths say they're reducing single-use plastics, and have taken hundreds
01:08of millions of plastic bags out of circulation this year.
01:12While the main industry body, APCO, says there are plans to introduce membership fees to
01:15go towards improving packaging design.
01:18But huge amounts of waste are still ending up in waterways and landfill.
01:23We know that by 2030, our landfill capacity will be running out in Greater Sydney.
01:29With only 20% of plastic being recycled, the Commonwealth is working on mandatory packaging
01:34requirements as state and federal governments directly fund projects that embrace new technology.
01:39We have been able to increase the processing capacity in New South Wales by an extra 140,000
01:46tonnes of materials due to partnership between government and industry.
01:52It's the start of a long process.