Check It! Before You Chuck It, is a new campaign to educate Australians about sustainable packaging and inspire positive recycling behaviours. Developed in partnership by the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation and Planet Ark, and supported by the federal government, the campaign calls on all Australians to check the Australasian Recycling Label every time they are at the bin so that they recycle their packaging right.

Trevor Evans MP, Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management, says: “One of the best practical things we can do to help the environment is to recycle correctly. This new recycling campaign, funded by the federal government, is a fantastic reminder to always be mindful of recycling correctly by looking for the packaging label before chucking things in the bin. Recycling correctly reduces the amount of waste going to landfill and enables new products to be made and re-used again and again”.

The campaign comes off the back of a recent study, Community Attitudes to Waste and Recycling, which highlights the need for education around how to recycle right and develop positive recycling behaviours. The study revealed 81 per cent of Australians are not confident they recycle everything effectively. 

The study also revealed that of those Australians that identify as confident recyclers, one in five admitted that if they were unsure of whether an item could be recycled or not, they would dispose of it in their kerbside recycling bin regardless. This phenomenon known as ‘’wish-cycling’’ is a major contributor to contamination in the waste stream and valuable materials entering landfill unnecessarily.

Rebecca Gilling, Deputy CEO of Planet Ark, says: “We know Australians are passionate about the environment and want to do the right thing. The most common place people look for recycling information is on product packaging, therefore we need to have consistent labelling on that packaging that truly reflects Australia’s recycling infrastructure. The second step is to educate Australians to look for the Australasian Recycling Label when they are at the bin, which will help them recycle right, reduce contamination in our recycling streams and keep recyclable materials in circulation.”

The Check It! campaign aims to generate widespread awareness of the Australasian Recycling Label, an evidence-based on-pack label that clearly shows Australians how to correctly recycle. Since its launch in 2018, the program has gained widespread support from government and industry, with many of Australia’s best-known brands and retailers carrying the label on their product packaging.

The new behaviour change campaign is headlined by an engaging animation, a cast of interactive characters and a catchy song, all designed to reinforce the positive recycling behaviour of checking for the Australasian Recycling Label. For more information visit: www.arl.org.au.