APCO had recommended phasing out carbon-black and EPS trays, but progress has been slow and several jurisdictions have only partially addressed the issue, leaving shelves still stocked with black trays.

There is a push for government leadership to ban carbon-black packaging, with public consultations showing support for a national ban on problematic packaging inputs, though no definitive federal action has been taken yet.

Major retailers are moving forward: Woolworths and Coles have stopped using black trays for home-brand meat and produce, while Aldi is prioritizing reduction or replacement of black trays; Metcash reports not supplying black trays nationally, and Costco did not respond.

Black plastic trays and carbon-black-containing packaging are hobbling Australia’s recycling efforts and ending up in landfills because optical sorting systems cannot identify and separate black items.

Two main problems are that some trays are made of non-recyclable polystyrene and that the black color prevents sorting, with opaque plastics effectively non-recyclable in practice.