Reforming plastic packaging regulation: Outcomes from stakeholder interviews and regulatory analysis

Abstract

Regulators worldwide are considering how to significantly improve the regulation of plastic packaging in response to the world's plastic pollution crisis and the future UN treaty on plastics. In Australia, where plastic packaging regulations have remained largely unchanged for over two decades, the government now aims to introduce comprehensive reforms. This study, which brings together a team of chemists and lawyers, seeks to understand the key reform options and the ways in which these interventions should be designed to ensure accountability and sustainability and avoid unintended consequences. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with twenty-six (26) stakeholders within the plastic packaging sector from leading government, industry and civil society bodies. A qualitative analysis was conducted of the interviews to identify common ground among stakeholders regarding reform options and to develop an understanding of the various issues regulators would need to consider when developing new regulations for plastic packaging. This qualitative component was interlinked to a regulatory analysis of both the broad trends in laws and policies for plastic packaging worldwide and Australia's existing regulatory responses to plastic packaging. Results show that stakeholders commonly agree on several regulatory interventions, but that each intervention brings a host of complexities within the current system that regulators will need to address to ensure success. This paper's findings are valuable for actors seeking to improve plastic packaging regulation within their own jurisdiction.