Mixed Fibre Audit Results 2024
In 2023, APCO (owners of the ARL) initiated discussions with New Zealand paper recyclers to establish a recyclability threshold for complex fibre packaging, subsequently putting on hold the application of the ARL recycling label on these products. As a result, guidance regarding complex fibre packaging now differs between Australia and New Zealand.
To assess the prevalence of complex fibre packaging in mixed paper bales within New Zealand, APCO, The Packaging Forum, and the NZ Food & Grocery Council engaged Sunshine Yates Consulting to perform an audit on selected bales from four major Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) across the country. The audit was conducted in March 2024, before the roll-out of standardised kerbside collections that excluded liquid paper board from mandated materials.
The scope of the audit did not encompass all MRF types (e.g., automated versus manual operations), but instead focused on facilities with higher output volumes. Each participating MRF was requested to randomly select two mixed fibre bales for inspection. The audit’s findings are presented as averages across all eight bales, aggregated results by MRF, and individual bale analyses within the report.
You can read the report here: Mixed Fibre Bale Audit Results 2024