I’ve just come back from the 2025 Australasian Packaging Conference in Sydney. We need to talk about what wasn’t said.
What actually is plastic?
Our supermarkets are so full of single-use plastic packaging that sometimes it’s easy to forget how unusual it actually is.
Plastic packaging is mostly made from crude oil extracted from the ground, which is processed and mixed with chemicals, shipped across the world (in Australia, just 22% of our plastic packaging is manufactured domestically¹), used for mere moments, then discarded. The amount of plastic packaging used in Australia keeps growing each year, meaning we’re producing more, not less, packaging.²
Our food is wrapped in it, it’s often unavoidable, and when there is a plastic-free option it often costs you more.³
Plastic packaging that gets into our waterways can harm marine animals through ingestion, entanglement and smothering. Chemicals commonly found in plastic packaging can cause harm to our marine life.⁴⁻⁵ And almost every day, we learn more about the terrifying impacts of plastics on human health too, like the amount of microplastics in our brains.⁶
Microplastics have been found in the depths of the Mariana Trench, in the krill blue whales feed on near Antarctica, in nearly two-thirds of the fish in Australian waters, and in the shellfish we eat.
‘Reimagining packaging’ only gets us so far
Despite all these problems, disposable plastic packaging is still the norm.
At the 2025 Australasian Packaging Conference, big brands spoke about the need for more action from their industry. They said a lot of good work has been done, but there is still more to do.
The Australian Institute of Packaging (AIP) created a brilliant schedule of speakers under the theme ‘Reimagine Packaging’ to solve some of the most pressing issues facing the packaging industry today. I heard all about innovations that companies are using to make packaging more sustainable – using different materials, new technologies, changing inks and dyes and using recycled content.
The 2025 AIP Australasian Packaging Conference was themed around ‘Reimagining Packaging’. But what wasn’t said?
What wasn’t said
There are two critical pieces of information that were not talked about enough though: removal and reuse.
Removal – reducing unnecessary packaging – must be the first step. We place the highest priority on this action because avoiding plastic makes the biggest difference to reducing ocean plastic pollution. There are plenty of examples of plastic packaging that we could simply remove, like some of the packaging found in the fresh produce sections of supermarkets.
Bananas sold loose and in unnecessary packaging at an Australian supermarket in 2024.
Reuse – using reusable and refillable packaging over and over again – is something that is talked about aspirationally. Yet when it’s suggested as a solution for supermarkets and other businesses, we are met with barriers, challenges, and excuses.
Reuse and refill get firmly shoved into the too hard basket for many retailers and brand owners. Reuse and refill becomes something that someone else should do, but for many businesses it is, “not us”, “not now”, “not for this product”, and “not for our clients”.
The ocean needs a packaging revolution
While some of the innovations in packaging that were showcased and celebrated at the conference were remarkable and impactful, they were mostly still single-use options.
Plastic packaging and other pollution at Discovery Bay, Victoria, in 2023. Photo by Colleen Hughson / BeachPatrol 3280-3284.
We know reuse and refill is not only necessary to solve the plastic pollution crisis, it’s also possible. Results from an exciting reuse trial in the UK have recently demonstrated customer satisfaction (96% of customers said they would re-purchase through the in-store refill system) and high return rates. The trial resulted in an 86% return rate, even without deposit schemes to incentive returning the packaging.⁷
While the packaging industry publicly acknowledges they need to do more, there is a lack of urgency. ‘Evolution, not revolution’ was the mantra I heard over and over again. At the rate plastic pollution is harming our marine wildlife and ecosystems, as well as our own health, I would argue they have had enough time already.
If you think we need to see less plastic production, help us push for a strong Global Plastics Treaty by signing our petition now.
References:
- Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation Ltd (2024). Australian Packaging Consumption & Recovery Data 2021–22.
- Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation Ltd (2024). Australian Packaging Consumption & Recovery Data 2021–22.
- Australian Marine Conservation Society and Boomerang Alliance (2024). Unwrapped – Plastic use in Australian supermarkets.
- WWF Germany. (2022). Impacts of plastic pollution in the oceans on marine species, biodiversity and ecosystems.
- Rochman, C. M., Hoh, E., Kurobe, T., & Teh, S. J. (2013). Ingested plastic transfers hazardous chemicals to fish and induces hepatic stress. Scientific Reports, 3(1).
- Nihart, A. J., Garcia, M. A., El Hayek, E., Liu, R., Olewine, M., Kingston, J. D., Castillo, E. F., Gullapalli, R. R., Howard, T., Bleske, B., Scott, J., Gonzalez-Estrella, J., Gross, J. M., Spilde, M., Adolphi, N. L., Gallego, D. F., Jarrell, H. S., Dvorscak, G., Zuluaga-Ruiz, M. E., & West, A. B. (2025). Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains. Nature Medicine, 31.
- Moore, D. (2025, May 2). Aldi and Ocado trials prove reuse systems can outperform single-use plastic. Circular Online.