A single-use plastic and metal drinking vessel, dubbed a 'franken-can', has been named Australia's worst packaging at the inaugural Unpackit awards. The hybrid can, which is not accepted by container refund schemes and is difficult to recycle, 'ticks every box for problematic packaging,' according to campaigners.
Franken-Can Wins Dubious Honour
The Unpackit awards were established by the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Plastic Free Foundation, and WWF-Australia to highlight the estimated 1.3 million tonnes of plastic packaging used annually in Australia. The plastic-metal hybrid can, already banned in Western Australia, was singled out for its 'completely unnecessary' design.
Cip Hamilton, plastics campaigns manager for the marine conservation society, said: 'The franken-can is a completely unnecessary plastic-metal hybrid can that essentially ticks every box for problematic packaging.' She noted that cafes are using these single-use items for dine-in customers, and they often end up as street litter because they are not accepted by container refund schemes.
Call for National Packaging Laws
Hamilton criticised the current state-by-state approach to packaging regulation, urging the Australian government to implement national packaging laws. 'We really need the government to be making producers responsible for the full life cycle of their packaging,' she said.
Dishonourable Mentions
Other 'worst packaging' nominees included major supermarkets for wrapping avocados in unnecessary plastic netting and individually wrapped Mentos mints. Almost 60% of litter collected in Australia is packaging, highlighting the scale of the problem.
Best Packaging Winner
The award for Australia's best packaging went to Udder Way's 18-litre refillable milk kegs, which work like beer kegs and have saved an estimated 4.5 million single-use plastic milk bottles since 2021. WWF-Australia's No Plastic in Nature policy manager, Malene Hand, described the system as 'a brilliantly simple alternative to single-use plastic milk bottles,' inspired by a Tasmanian cafe owner tired of plastic bottle waste.
Honourable mentions included Bearhug's reusable pallet wrap system, which displaces 350kg of single-use plastic over its lifetime, and Cercle's reusable coffee cup system for cafes.
Incentivising Change
Independent MPs Allegra Spender, Sophie Scamps, and Kate Chaney announced the winners in Canberra. Dr Scamps said: 'These awards show that solutions to our plastic pollution crisis already exist – but packaging producers need an incentive to make the switch to more sustainable practices.' She called for a national extended producer responsibility scheme, noting rare alignment between the packaging industry and environmental organisations.
Stuart Alexander & Co, which manages the Mentos portfolio in Australia, was contacted for comment.
