Environment minister to outline Australia's goal for recyclable packaging by 2025

Business leaders will stand with the environment minister to pledge their support for Australia's ambitious 2025 recycling targets, prompted after China's refusal to take on 1.3 million tonnes of Australian waste.

Environment Minister Melissa Price will today outline the recycling targets at a packaging industry event in Melbourne.

China's decision earlier this year to ban imported waste put pressure on former environment minister Josh Frydenberg, who announced in April that all Australian packaging would be recyclable or reusable by 2025 or earlier.

Australia produces 64 million tonnes of waste a year and recycles 35 million tonnes, with four million tonnes exported overseas, 1.3 million tonnes of which went to China.

Ms Price is set to explain that the national recycling targets also include 70-per-cent of plastic packaging to be recycled or composted, and 30-per-cent of packaging to be made of recyclables by 2025.

Single-use plastic packaging will be phased out through design, innovation or introduction of alternatives.

Representatives from businesses and environment groups including Aldi, Coca-Cola Amatil, Unilever, and the major supermarkets will attend the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation event.

The environment minister will also champion the Australasian Recycling Label, which tells consumers how to correctly recycle individual items.

Ms Price says it removes confusion in the "few seconds" when people are deciding which bin to put items in.

More than 50 Australian businesses use the label on their products.