News & Events

GlobalPSC News – December 2017

 

SAVE THE DATE – International Stewardship Forum 4-5 April 2018, Sydney

 

The Global Product Stewardship Council, supported by the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy, is staging an international forum on product stewardship to gain practical insights from product stewardship and extended producer responsibility programs across a broad range of products and substances.

The forum will help inform the Australian Government’s review of the Product Stewardship Act 2011 (Act) and comprise two days of presentations, panel discussions and Q&A on 4-5 April 2018 in Sydney featuring key international and Australian speakers, followed by one day of exclusive invitation-only modified Chatham House discussions.

Confirmed international speakers include:

• Pascal Leroy, Secretary General of WEEE Forum (Europe and globally)
• Laurence Bouret, Déléguée Générale of DASTRI (France)
• Cheri Scholtz, Chief Executive Officer of PET Recycling Company (PETCO) (South Africa)
• Doug Woodring, founder of Plasticity Forum and Ocean Recovery Alliance (Hong Kong and globally)
• Rodrigo Leiva Neumann, Gerente of Valoryza (Chile)
• Andrea Chmielinski, Principal of Steward Wise (Canada)

The forum is designed to maximise engagement with stakeholders, both to broaden input to the review and to encourage greater involvement in product stewardship. Product stewardship approaches across the spectrum from purely voluntary approaches to regulatory frameworks will be considered.Presentations and discussions will be reflected in an Issues and Options Paper to help capture the extensive international expertise available.

The main venue for the forum is the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel at Circular Quay in Sydney, Australia.

Additional details will be forthcoming.

 

New GlobalPSC Sustaining Corporate Member – Close the Loop

Close the Loop (CtL) is an Australian-owned resource recovery and sustainability solutions provider. The company first applied its expertise to the printing and imaging sector where it helped major companies become sustainability pace-setters within the industry. Today, Close the Loop translates that success and experience across all industries, in all regions of the world, raising the bar by showing what is possible when companies commit to sustainable product end-of-life strategies that are supported by innovation and a zero waste to landfill guarantee.

Close the Loop strives to be the premier sustainability solutions provider while providing a safe and productive work environment for its employees. Established in Australia in 2001, the company now employs more than 200 people with operations in Asia Pacific, North America and Europe.

 

New GlobalPSC Sustaining Corporate Member – Paintback

Paintback® is taking unwanted paint and packaging’s colourful past to a brighter future of responsible disposal and innovative reuse. As a voluntary product stewardship scheme that has operated in all States and Territories of Australia from day one, it is a world-first initiative designed to keep unwanted paint out of landfill and away from vital waterways.

Most importantly, Paintback is driven by the Australian paint industry – by the major companies that supply around 95% of all the architectural and decorative (A&D) paint sold in Australia. DuluxGroup, Haymes Paint, PPG, Resene and Valspar are the founding members.

These companies have collaborated with Commonwealth, State and Local governments to provide a nationally consistent collection service for households and commercial painters.  Paintback repurposes valuable materials into recycled packaging, alternative energy and industrial processes, and is funding research to find better uses for unwanted paint.

Established in 2016, Paintback has been recognised by the Australian Business Awards, Sustainability Category for 2017.

For more information, go to www.paintback.com.au.

 

GlobalPSC Board for 2018

During the recent Annual General Meeting, all existing GlobalPSC Executive Committee members re-nominated and were re-appointed to their Board roles for 2018. GlobalPSC Board members for 2018 are therefore:

• Tom Ogonek – Chief Operating Officer of Close the Loop (North America, Asia Pacific and Europe)
• Joachim Quoden – Managing Director of EXPRA (Europe)
• Rodrigo Leiva Neumann – Gerente of Valoryza (Chile)
• Chris van Rossem – Director Technical Advisory Services at Canadian Stewardship Services Alliance
• Kylie Hughes – Manager Waste Policy and Legislation of Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (Australia)
• Scott Cassel – Chief Executive Officer of the Product Stewardship Institute
• Garth Hickle – Independent Consultant
• Ed Cordner – Executive Member of GlobalPSC
• Russ Martin – Chief Executive Officer of GlobalPSC, Director of MS2 (Australia)

 

New GlobalPSC Member – Steward Wise

Steward Wise is a Canadian environmental consulting firm specialising in zero waste policy implementation, stewardship reporting and ISO14001 for business. Steward Wise aims to develop easy-to-understand compliance programs for companies that will survive the long-run and employee turnover. Procedural development and cross-functional staff training are key elements of this solution. Follow Steward Wise on Twitter @OneWiseSteward and subscribe to their newsletter here.

 

New GlobalPSC Member – PREP Design

In 2014, the world’s first online packaging recyclability design guide was launched in Australia by GreenChip and Planet Ark.  In 2016, the tool was augmented to also reflect the New Zealand recycling industry. During 2017 work has commenced to adapt the tool to reflect the end of life fate of packaging disposed in the United Kingdom.

The Packaging Recyclability Evaluation Portal, or PREP, is used by brand owners and packaging designers to design more recyclable packaging and provide evidence to support accurate on-pack recyclability claims. Uniquely, the PREP advises the user why an item is not recyclable such as: it is too small to be captured by the Materials Recovery Facility; or the plastics are not compatible.

In Australia, the PREP underpins the Australasian Recycling Label launched by Planet Ark in 2015 and the plan is for the UK version of the tool to underpin the on-pack recycling label in the UK, launched by WRAP and OPRL UK in 2009.

In 2017, PREP Design Pty Ltd was founded by GreenChip, Planet Ark Environmental Foundation and Innovyz Waste & Recycling Technologies with a mission to expand the coverage of the PREP to other nations to provide a global, standardised assessment framework for consumer packaging.

 

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