The news you need to know: March 2026

Welcome to Food & Drink Business PLAY. Here are our top stories for March. It was a big month for deals, policy and industry shake-ups. Let's get into it.

Packaging News

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners has installed a new Return and Earn reverse vending machine at its Northmead site, strengthening EPR in practice and expanding community access to container recycling.

Good news for last-minute nominators – the entry deadline for the 2026 PKN Women in Packaging Awards has been extended to midnight 2 April. Entries have been rolling in this week, don't miss out!

As pressure builds ahead of Friday’s Environment Ministers Meeting, the Australian Council of Recycling is again calling for urgent action on packaging reform, warning that without it Australia’s recycling system is at risk.