The partnership is focused on fixing the current fragmentation between the national soft plastics collection and APCO’s recycling scheme infrastructure. SPSA will continue to lead the expansion of collection and recycling pathways, while APCO will embed the scheme into its established systems, including reporting, guidance and labelling frameworks, such as the Australasian Recycling Label Program. 

The collaboration is determined for a circular environment, focusing on reducing duplication, improving data integrity, and creating a more seamless participation model for the industry. For brand owners and retailers, that means clearer pathways to engage, more consistent reporting requirements, and stronger alignment between packaging design, labelling and end-of-life outcomes. 

Importantly, this alignment comes at a critical time. Following the collapse of REDcycle and ongoing scrutiny of soft plastics recycling, the industry has been under pressure to rebuild trust and demonstrate credible, workable solutions. The SPSA scheme, backed by the ACCC, aims to shift responsibility upstream and scale national capability. 

A more integrated stewardship ecosystem is emerging, with one that links packaging design decisions directly with collection infrastructure and recycling outcomes, signalling a future where packaging claims, recyclability statements and design choices will be in a capable system.

A greater expectation on businesses to align packaging, labelling and compliance with a system that is finally starting to take shape. If you’re navigating what this means for your packaging claims, recyclability labelling or upcoming artwork updates, now is the time to get ahead. We help businesses translate evolving stewardship frameworks into compliant, commercially workable labelling solutions.