The International Fresh Produce Association Australia and New Zealand (IFPA ANZ) has joined the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (Apco), assisting the fresh produce industry’s transition to more sustainable packaging practices.
IFPA ANZ’s industry association membership allows it to participate in Apco’s problem-solving collective, working with local and global sustainability leaders in government, industry, community groups, and academia and joining the movement as it transitions to National Packaging Targets.
The objectives include requiring 100 per cent of packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable; 70 per cent of plastic packaging to be recycled or composted; a 50 per cent average recycled content across all packaging; and the removal of problematic and unnecessary single-use plastic packaging.
“The fresh produce and floral packaging sector face challenges in finding circular packaging that preserves product freshness due to the short lifespan of perishable goods,” said Apco CEO Chris Foley.
“Apco is excited to work more closely with IFPA to help drive innovation in sustainable packaging solutions, support industry-wide collaboration, and ensure that the sector’s unique needs are met in line with the National Packaging Targets and beyond.”
Apco is a non-profit organisation that aims to create a collaborative packaging value chain that will keep packaging materials out of landfills while retaining the greatest value of materials, energy, and labour in the economy.
