Read More: The Packaging Word Newsletter – Autumn 2017

Lyn Mayes, Communications Manager for the Packaging Forum said: “Over 90% of the coffee and cold cups which are consumed are either manufactured or sold by our members.

“Over the past few years many New Zealand cafes and businesses have moved from paper cups lined with plastic to PLA lined coffee cups which are compostable only if they are sent to a commercial composting facility.

“There is however confusion about how consumers actually know what type of cup they have and how and where they should dispose of it. Compostable cups and lids are made of different materials and how they break down in a compost facility and how long it takes is dependent upon the process.

“We have established a Working Group which includes all the major cup manufacturers, distributors as well as representatives from materials collectors to develop an industry position.”

Kim Renshaw, Director Beyond the Bin said: “Beyond the Bin has started work to review the product range and identify the exact composition of coffee cups and lids and how they have been certified. This will provide the information required by compost facilities to verify whether the materials are compatible with their processes.

“In our 2015 study we found that the success of New Zealand composters to process PLA and C-PLA was largely related to process. C-PLA (coffee cup lid material) takes much longer than PLA (clear bio-plastic) to break down because it has been crystalised to withstand the heat of a hot drink. Some New Zealand composters have adjusted their processes to speed up the composting process, to effectively break down this type of bioplastic.”

“Beyond the Bin estimated there were 14 commercial composting facilities around New Zealand capable of composting clear and crystalised PLA when we undertook the survey last year but we will now revisit each facility with specific questions around the compostable cups and lids manufactured by Packaging
Forum members. This will allow us to provide very clear guidance to manufacturers about where their products can be processed. We expect to publish this guidance over the summer.”

Mayes said “As Kim says, there are commercial facilities in New Zealand which can process PLA cups and lids now but we need a Guide which shows which products can be composted where. This study will also allow us to investigate with recyclers whether there are overseas markets for the more traditional paper cups lined with Polyethelene. It is important that we conduct thorough research so that we can develop an industry strategy around products which have become such a routine part of our lives.”

See Summary of Research: Assessing the Availability of Composting Facilities for events in New Zealand (2015).

John Webber, Manager of The Packaging Forum’s Glass Packaging Scheme says that the funding to Rotorua Lakes District is part of an overall funding programme which has allocated $501,000 in the past year to support Council.

Community and Commercial projects. “48% of our funding is to Councils to assist with the purchase of public place recycling bins and infrastructure to increase the recovery of glass containers. We are particularly keen to support projects which allow ratepayers to separate their glass containers from other recyclables so that the recovered glass is of a high quality and can be processed into new glass containers which is the optimum recycling outcome.

“It is great to see that Rotorua Lakes are introducing separate glass and mixed recycling bins along with a waste bin at key public place recycling stations around the region. Through our Glass Scheme we have also supported the funding of separate glass collections at kerbside in the region.”

“Our schemes support projects in regions which have relatively low permanent residents and high tourist / visitor numbers and Rotorua Lakes District meets these criteria. We have also supported projectsin Marlborough, Thames Coromandel, South Taranaki, Mackenzie District and Ashburton.”

Webber added that voluntary product stewardship provides a value for money solution to increasing packaging recycling rates: “We believe that our voluntary product stewardship schemes provide a best cost solution to increase recycling rates. Research by economist consultancy Covecshows compelling economic evidence that the cost of introducing a 10 cents charge on every beverage container in New Zealand far outweighs the forecasted increase in the recycling rate, which is already increasing through voluntary product stewardship at a fraction of the cost.

“The glass recycling rate in New Zealand is already at 73% having benefited from a decade of voluntary product stewardship and the overall beverage containers recycling rate is over 69%. New Zealanders are used to the ease and convenience of kerbside collections and setting up hundreds of collection facilities around the country to allow people to take back their bottles makes no economic sense at all.”

The Packaging Forum operates two industry funded voluntary product stewardship schemes for glass recycling and public place recycling and in November 2015 introduced a soft plastic recycling programme.

Press Release Packaging Forum invests $500,000 in new recycling projects 29th August 2016 The Packaging Forum allocated $501,000 in direct funding to support Council, Community and Commercial projects in the year to end June 2016.

The Packaging Forum operates two industry funded voluntary product stewardship schemes for glass recycling and public place recycling and in November 2015 introduced a soft plastic recycling programme. Lyn Mayes, Communications Manager for the Packaging Forum explains that each scheme has its own contestable fund with allocations made on a quarterly basis by the relevant Steering Committee.

“Over the past year 48% of our funding or around $240,000 was allocated to Councils to assist with the purchase of public place recycling bins and infrastructure to increase the recovery of glass containers. We also contributed $81,000 to support community recycling and composting around the country as well as $180,000 in commercial projects including the introduction of soft plastic recycling collections at supermarkets and The Warehouse stores in Auckland, Waikato and Canterbury.”

“Our schemes are funded by voluntary levies paid by members. Over the past year we increased membership by 30% adding 42 brands showing that industry is behind the initiatives which we champion from supporting high value glass recovery to addressing litter and increasing recycling through our Love NZ branded public place recycling bins.”

“Funding is allocated according to criteria set out by the various schemes but we are keen to support projects in regions which have relatively low permanent residents and high tourist / visitor numbers. For example, we have supported a number of projects in Marlborough, Thames Coromandel, South Taranaki, Rotorua, Mackenzie District and Ashburton.”

“As a result of our projects every year we are increasing the amount of packaging which gets recycled. We are adding an extra 300 Public Place Recycling Bins every year and we monitor what gets recycled through these facilities and through our other projects.”

John Webber, Manager of the Glass Packaging Scheme added that voluntary product stewardship provides a value for money solution to increasing packaging recycling rates: Page 2 Packaging Forum invests $500,000 in new recycling projects “We believe that our voluntary product stewardship schemes provide a best cost solution to increase recycling rates. Earlier this year we commissioned research by economist consultancy Covec into the cost of introducing a mandatory Container Deposit System in New Zealand.

Covec’s research shows compelling economic evidence that the cost of introducing a 10 cents charge on every beverage container in New Zealand far outweighs the forecasted increase in the recycling rate, which is already increasing through voluntary product stewardship at a fraction of the cost.

“The glass recycling rate in New Zealand is already at 73% with a target of 78% by 2017, having benefited from a decade of voluntary product stewardship. Our current systems (including industry-led solutions) are making gains in overall beverage container recovery rates which will see us bridge the gap between the current 69/70% beverage container recycling rate and the target 80% rate over time, without incurring the large expense which CDS would put on consumers.”

That’s equivalent to around 1.6 million units of packaging with volumes increasing every week as people get used to collecting the bags at home and dropping them off when they go shopping.

From the 1 st March, 22 stores in Hamilton and Cambridge will start the service with plans to expand to Canterbury mid-year and Greater Wellington region in October.

Lyn Mayes, Project Manager says: “Soft plastic food and grocerypackaging was destined for the rubbish bin until we launched the Love NZ soft plastic recycling initiative in Auckland in November. This week we reachedfor the first time 1 tonne of soft plastic or 180,000 units of packaging collected from customers at 70 Auckland stores.”

“REDCycle which operates the programme tracks progress by suburb and by store. Out in front at the moment is North Auckland which benefits from having the Countdown stores involved in the trial and has contributed 39% of the total tonnage to-date, followed by Central and East Auckland (25% share).”

“Customers at New World Eastridge and PAK’Nsave Wairau have collected the most so far with a massive 1310kilograms from these two stores since the start of the campaign.” “New signage has been introduced to help reduce contamination in the bins and stores have experimented with the best place to position the bin for best results. Repositioning the bins has had customers contacting us because they were concerned the bins had been taken away. We’ve just launched a Facebook page so encourage people to tell us what they like and make suggestions.

“We know that people around the country want to have the new recycling service in place now but we need to move at a pace which allows us to provide stores with individual support as they introduce the new systems and implement a cost effective logistics solution. We will expand the service as quickly as we can.”

Andrew Hewett, Chair of The Packaging Forumsays:- “This is one of a raft of programs that Industry funds, with support and funding from the Government, to educate kiwis on the value of recycling and the critical role waste minimisation plays in reinforcing New Zealand’s clean, green reputation. It’s incredible to think that less than 12 months ago we were talking about a concept to recycle plastic bags and we are now moving from a trial in Auckland to a national roll out.

“Whilst the project is part funded by the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund, industry has to match fund the three-year project and ensure it is sustainable beyond this period.” “In addition to funding from The Packaging Forum and the participating retailers, this programme is supported by Asaleo Care, Cottonsoft, Goodman Fielder, Kimberly-Clark, Mars, Mondelez, Mother Earth, Nestle, NZ Post, Pams, Pure Delish, Simplot, Sunrice, Wrigley, Amcor, Astron, Elldex and Replasand we encourage other brands to get involved.”

What the Stores Say?

Foodstuffs Foodstuffs New Zealand’s Sustainability Manager, Mike Sammons says that stores and customers have been massively supportive of the programme as demonstrated by the quantity of packaging between placed in the bins. The programme is a very important part of the strategy to move our stores towards having 100% recyclable packaging for our customers.

Progressive Enterprises National Communications and Corporate Affairs Manager Affairs James Walker, says “Countdown has been delighted by our customers’ response in our North Shore stores participating in the programme, and we encourage them to keep bringing in their soft plastics for recycling”.

The Warehouse Paul Walsh, GM for Community & Environment, says “We’re absolutely thrilled by the recycling efforts of the community which have been brought about by this programme. This is a significant first step towards creating a more sustainable New Zealand, and we’re looking forward to rolling this programme out to more of our stores throughout the country.”

The Packaging Forum operates two voluntary product stewardship schemes for glass and for public place recycling which provide funding to support waste minimization at events.

As part of the funding arrangement event organisers provide detailed information about what has been collected for recycling compared to what is sent to landfill.

Festivals, concerts and sporting events around the country supported by the Packaging Forum already this summer include Taste Auckland; Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge; Summer Starter Christchurch; ACDC Concert at Western Springs; Sol 3 Mio at Villa Maria; Auckland Festival of Tennis; Sounds Splash at Raglan; Marlborough Christmas Parade; Auckland Christmas in the Park; Northern Bass; Fat Freddy’s Drop concert at Waipara Hills Winery and the NZ Football Masters Tournament in Dunedin.

Lyn Mayes, Public Place Recycling Scheme Manager said: “Data collected so far from shows that we have diverted around 50 tonnes from landfill and achieved a 70% recycling rate overall. This is a marked improvement over last year when the recycling rate across the events which we funded was 65%.

We hope to continue these excellent results at upcoming events including the Lantern Festival; Splore; Big Gay Out; Havelock Mussel Festival; Central District Field Days and Round the Bays.” “This year we have partnered with event services specialists such as Clean Event, GreenShoot Pacific (GSP), Xtreme Zero Waste and Fairfax Media Events which are committed to the greening of events.

“There are some stand out performances: 96% waste diversion at Sol 3 Mio Concert at Villa Maria and 85% at ACDC concert (Clean Events) 91% waste diversion at Taupo Cycle Challenge (Greenshoot Pacific) Page 2 Summer festivals are getting greener 88% waste diversion at Sounds Splash (Xtreme Zero Waste) Mayes added that: “We are also placing our new soft plastic recycling bins at the Splore festival next weekend so that festival goers can also recycle their chip packets, confectionery, ice cream wrap, bread bags and any other plastic packaging that can be scrunched in a ball. This means that there is very little packaging that can’t be recycled.”

George Seton, Managing Director Clean Event says that the secret of achieving high levels of recycling is good planning. “Achieving high levels of recycling at events comes down to good planning prior to the event; you need to know and influence what types of wastes will be produced and have a thorough plan on how you are going to separate them” Dave Watson, Director of GSP, emphasises the importance of collaboration in producing great waste results.

“The opportunity is for all stakeholders to contribute and become part of a good story where high recycling statistics reflect best practice. Putting practical solutions in place, such as manned waste stations, create pathways for good behaviour and give attendees a better experience while enhancing the brand image of the event and their sponsors.”

The Australian Institute of Packaging is the professional body for packaging technologists and other individuals involved within the packaging industry throughout Australasia.

The primary function of the Institute is to offer educational and technical training for individuals within the packaging industry as well as cross-functional networking opportunities.

The AIP is the only association in Australia and New Zealand designed to recognise, educate and assist the individuals who make up the diverse packaging industry.

Our members will now have access to the AIP programme at discounted rates and we are looking at developing tailor made programmes for our members.

Lyn Mayes, Manager of the Public Place Recycling Scheme said, “The Scheme funds programmes which increase recycling at venues and events and decrease waste sent to landfill. One of the biggest contributors to waste at events is food scraps, food containers, cups and plates and if all this can be composted it makes a huge difference to the waste diversion rate. Using compostable packaging sent to a compost facility turns waste into a valuable compost material.

“However before event organisers choose compostable packaging they want to know that there is a facility nearby that can take this waste because putting it in a landfill makes no sense.”

“The Gourmet Night Market in Tauranga is one event waste composting success story. They have been achieving over 95% waste diversion through having an effective local composting solution so we were pleased to fund a national research project by Beyond the Bin which has been behind this initiative and others around the country.”

Kim Renshaw, Director, Beyond the Bin said, “The composting industry is slowly developing across most regions in New Zealand to be able to process compostable packaging. Our research identifies twelve composting facilities around the country currently able to accept and process event waste and thirteen which are currently working towards it.

“Some of these facilities are running trials; finalising consents; or awaiting service providers to grow their services to support the process. Decontamination and education are the key solutions to processing event waste through NZ’s composting facilities.”

The majority of these facilities use the windrow composting process.The research identifies a further 30 facilities which may be able to process compostable event waste in the future with 43 facilities unable to process this type of waste.

Mayes says that the Packaging Forum will use the research results to help inform packaging manufacturers, event organisers and the hospitality sector about the availability of suitable compost facilities.

“The report notes that because compostable packaging is not currently recognized or certified by industry bodies in New Zealand as a suitable input for organic compost, some facilities which are capable of processing food packaging waste are unable to do so. As the development of composting facilities continues, it is important that we aim to make sure that the compostable food packaging used at events is compatible with the requirements of the end user.”

Nearly a year after The Packaging Forum launched as a new packaging association to build on the platform of its two accredited voluntary product stewardship schemes for glass and public place recycling, the organization shows record growth with 32 new members joining one of our schemes or associated projects.

Andrew Hewett said his appointment comes at a great time in the organisation’s growth: “Few membership organisations grow at a rate of more than 2 new members a month which shows that our voluntary product stewardship schemes provide industry with an effective way to invest in end of life recycling solutions.

“There is a view that if it is voluntary it can’t work but over the past decade the Glass Packaging Forum (now The Packaging Forum) has shown what can be achieved through industry led voluntary product stewardship programmes.”

“New Zealand’s Glass Recycling Rate is now 72.8% and matches the EU average for 28 countries. Four years ago ahead of the Rugby World Cup we took over the operational management of the Love NZ public place recycling programme and since then we have tripled public place recycling bins nationwide and have a target to triple them again by 2020.

“Since kick off at Eden Park in September 2011, around 12,000 tonnes of packaging has been diverted from landfill by PPR project partners. That’s enough bottles, cans and cartons to fill Twickenham Stadium to half way up the stands.”

“This year the Packaging Forum commissioned the first national Litter Survey which provides a benchmark for measuring litter and targets a 10% reduction by 2020 through partnerships between industry and local government.

“A Working Group comprising representatives from leading brands, councils and recyclers is using the survey data and analyzing collection costs to develop recommendations to reduce littering and increase what gets recycled in public places.”

“Next month we launch the first drop off recycling bins at participating New World, PakNSave, Countdown and The Warehouse stores in Auckland. This will allow shoppers for the first time to recycle the wide range of soft plastic packaging which every household uses such as bread bags, frozen food bags, confectionery wrap, pasta and rice bags, toilet paper packaging, sanitary hygiene packaging and courier envelopes. The aim is for over 70% New Zealanders to have access to drop off facilities within a 20km radius of their home or workplace.”

“Thanks to the funding provided by the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund for the soft plastics programme, we will be able to move faster and to more regions than we would otherwise be able to do and as importantly their financial support shows that this is a true partnership between Industry, Government and the Community working together to promote recycling and the Love NZ brand.”

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The project will initially trial at New World, PAK’nSAVE and The Warehouse stores in Auckland before rolling out to Countdown stores in Hamilton with further expansion to Wellington, Canterbury, Otago, Bay of Plenty, Manawatu and other regions over three years. The objective is to provide access to recycling for soft plastics for over 70% New Zealanders.

Lyn Mayes, Manager of the Public Place Recycling Scheme which will manage the project said: “Soft plastic bags are not currently collected for recycling by councils because they can contaminate the recycling process. New Zealanders use over 1.6 billion plastic bags in the home every year.

“The new project will take all soft plastic bags including bread bags, frozen food bags, toilet paper packaging, confectionery and biscuit wrap, chip bags, pasta and rice bags, courier envelopes, shopping bags, sanitary hygiene packaging- basically anything made of plastic which can be scrunched into a ball.

“Customers can bring their used soft plastics back to store and put them in the recycling bin. This will be collected from store by REDcycle who also run the programme in Australia.

“Initially the materials will be sent back to Australia where they are made into park benches and fitness circuits for playgrounds until there are facilities in NZ such as those planned at Astron Plastics that can process these products. One of the really great opportunities is to make recycling bins out of these soft plastics so we can buy them back for our Public Place Recycling Scheme. We expect the first new specially designed REDcycle bins to be in participating Auckland stores by the end of September.”

Andrew Hewett, Chair of The Public Place Recycling Scheme said: “This project shows what can be achieved by industry working in partnership with Central Government. The Public Place Recycling Scheme is focused on increasing recycling away from home and reducing litter and this project goes one step further by providing households with the opportunity to take their soft plastic bags back when they go shopping and providing a cost-effective recycling solution for the wide range of soft plastic packaging which every household uses.

“This is a voluntary, industry-led initiative and a true product stewardship model where everyone involved in the life cycle of a product – manufacturers, distributors and consumers – choose to share responsibility for the best end-of-life outcome.”

The project is already supported by major brands including Cottonsoft, Goodman Fielder, Huggies, Kleenex, New Zealand Post, Pams, SunRice, Tuffy, Astron and Elldex Plastics with many others committed to joining the programme.

Shoppers in Australia and in the UK have demonstrated that collecting soft plastic packaging and dropping it off at a collection point is simple and effective.

A survey of New Zealanders by Horizon Research in June found that 61% respondents would take their soft plastic bags back to a drop off recycling bin at supermarkets and other locations if this service were provided; and 78% would be likely to use this service if they knew that the soft plastic bags would be made into useful products such as park benches, recycling bins or fitness circuits.