Voluntary news media recycling scheme receives government accreditation

A voluntary recycling scheme administered by a consortium of the nation’s news media organisations has been officially accredited by the Albanese government.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek in Melbourne on Tuesday. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

A voluntary recycling scheme administered by a consortium of the nation’s news media organisations has been officially accredited by the Albanese government after it resulted in nearly 100 per cent of newspapers being diverted from landfill.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek said it was “great to see Australia’s major news publishers at the forefront of the waste and recycling transition” after ­officially accrediting the vol­untary National Environmental Sustainability Agreement.

Administered by ThinkNewsBrands – a consortium of Australia’s major news publishing media companies including Nine, News Corp Australia and Seven West Media – the “product stewardship” scheme has been operating for more than 30 years.

The industry-led scheme has helped to lift printed news recycling rates and last year only 0.2 per cent of all printed news­papers went to landfill.

Chief executive for ThinkNewsBrands Vanessa Lyons said news publishers were “committed to environmental sustainability and have for nearly 35 years been making real strides together to drive more sustainable industry practices”.

“The industry is immensely proud of its world-leading product stewardship scheme, and the impact it has made for Australia,” she said.

“It’s great to see our news industry success being recognised and celebrated.

News Corp Australasia exec­utive chairman Michael Miller said print media companies had “always maintained a healthy competitive streak so it’s always terrific to see bipartisan support when it comes to important issues such as environmental sustainability.”

The managing director of Nine Publishing, Tory Maguire, said printed newspapers and magazines were “here for the long haul” so it was “vital we continue to make improvements to the sustainability of our products”.

“This accreditation of our industry’s voluntary scheme is recognition of how seriously we take our responsibilities to protect people’s health and the environment,” she said.

The managing director and chief executive of Seven West Media, Jeff Howard, upheld a commitment to recycling “as a key sustainability focus”.

He said Seven West aimed to “use the power of our print, digital and TV platforms to raise awareness of important environment initiatives and help drive positive behavioural change”.

Chief executive of Are Media Group Jane Huxley said supporting product stewardship was a “key component in ensuring we deliver the best environmental outcomes for the magazine industry and our customers”.

The government said accreditation of the voluntary scheme would strengthen it and provide members with “deeper compliance obligations and reporting criteria for environmental initiatives – from energy efficiencies to waste reduction strategies.”