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National Packaging Covenant

Australia Post became a voluntary signatory to the National Packaging Covenant (NPC) in 2002. Since then we have been investigating opportunities to increase the use of recycled materials, as well as the recyclability of our products. By doing so, we have gradually decreased the amount of waste that is going to landfill.

We achieved the following key results for our Australia Post branded products during the 2008-09 financial year.

  • The average amount of recycled content in our packaging was 41%
  • The average percentage of packaging that was recyclable was 91%
  • A product-to-packaging ratio of 20.4:1, which is a great outcome and reflects the fact that a large number of our products are sold without any primary packaging at all.

You can find further information on our initiatives and performance in our NPC annual report and action plan (pdf 430kb).

Reducing the impacts of packaging

The following initiatives have been undertaken to help reduce the impact of the packaging products sold by our retail shops.

Environmental Code of Practice for Packaging

One major achievement was the development of our Environmental Code of Practice for Packaging, which promotes excellence in packaging. The code is defined by two principles:

  • Packaging should be designed to have the minimum net impact on the environment.
  • Packaging still preserves the integrity of the product it contains.

The policy requires any new Australia Post products or changes to existing products to comply with these principles.

New bubble wrap

We have recently undertaken an initiative that has changed our bubble wrap products to a smaller bubble, called QC Bubble.

QC Bubble is stronger but smaller than previous bubble wrap and saves space on shelves, transportation costs and uses fewer boxes.

Shredded paper filled padded bags

A new padded bag has been developed that replaces the plastic protective inside a padded bag with shredded recycled newspaper.

This new bag has increased the recycled content of the product, reducing our use of natural resources and making the bag easier to recycle. The product is being made available in all Australia Post retail outlets.
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