The Federal and NSW Governments announced a joint $24 million investment into greater recycling capabilities across the state on Monday, a decision which will see 22 projects greenlit with the intention of reducing waste.

ARA boss Paul Zahra said the scheme will provide retailers with more options to recycle, and will go a long way to help the industry make more sustainable decisions.

“For the ARA, this means a sustainable recovery where we establish a solid foundation for sustained economic growth while creating positive community and environmental outcomes,” Zahra said.

“These joint government-industry projects will help our members continue to increase the amount of recyclable materials they divert from landfill and drive the innovation we need to solve some of our industries biggest challenges, like single-use coffee cups.”

Zahra noted, however, that many retailers have already implemented strong sustainable initiatives across their business, and that this investment from Government will serve to help them to hit their targets sooner.

“[We look] forward to working with government and industry to support the implementation of these initiatives, as our sector starts on our journey towards the net-zero, circular economy of the future,” Zahra said.

The ARA also entered into a partnership with not-for-profit Good360, which takes retail-ready surplus stock from businesses in order to help people in need – giving many businesses an easy way into the circular economy.

The announcement, made on Monday afternoon, came ahead of the release of a tentpole climate change report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which found the impacts of climate change are accelerating – and that the Australian Government has not been doing enough.