Welcome & Agenda
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Why are we here?
What is smartpackaging?
Lifecycle of common packaging materials
New materials - bioplastics
Guest speaker – Nick Fry, Celcius Coffee
Packaging challenge
Questions and discussion
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What is the
problem?
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Packaging Waste Statistics
We make 172 kg of packaging waste per person
every year in New Zealand*
• 100 kg is recycled
• 72 kg is thrown out
*Packaging council 2008 mass balance data
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Photo of family
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Packing it all up
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Vote now
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Winners of 2011 Awards
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Consumer Expectations
• 94% of consumers want to choose packaging recycled
and reused.
(Unpackit Survey 2011)
• 86% of consumers are concerned with the amount of
packaging they have to deal with.
(Unpackit Survey 2011)
• 88% of consumers want to buy environmentally or
socially responsible products.
(Colmar Brunton research in New Zealand, 2010)
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What is smart
packaging?
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Smartpackaging
It's smart to use less packaging.
Where packaging is necessary, it needs to
be easy to reuse, compost or recycle.
Smart packaging doesn't frustrate you or
harm our environment.
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Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
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Reduce – no packaging?
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Reduce – fewer materials
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Reduce – lightweighting
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Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
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Reuse
• Industrial reuse – whole system
• Retail reuse – refilling
• Home Reuse – limited, consumer dependant
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Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
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Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
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Glass
Raw Material
Extraction
Manufacturing
Recycling
Made from silica (sand) which is
imported from Australia
NZ made glass is manufactured by OI
at their furnace in Auckland.
Infinitely recyclable but must be sorted
into different colours.
68% of glass packaging in NZ is recycled
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Paper and Cardboard
Raw Material
Extraction
Made primarily from wood fibre.
NZ has extensive pine plantations.
Manufacturing
There are eight New Zealand pulp and
paper mills in NZ.
Recycling
All kerbside recycling systems accept
paper and 99% take cardboard. Can
only be recycled 6 times before it
weakens.
73% of paper packaging in NZ is recycled
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Steel
Raw Material
Extraction
Manufacturing
Recycling
Made from iron ore from . NZ
extracts iron ore from tar sands in
the north island 60% is exported.
There are no manufacturers of steel
packaging in NZ. All steel used for
packaging is imported in sheet form.
Steel can be recycled infinitely. Steel
packaging collected for recycling is
either shipped offshore or recycled into
fencing wire or reinforcing rods in NZ.
68% of steel packaging in NZ is recycled
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Aluminium
Raw Material
Extraction
Manufacturing
Recycling
Made from bauxite mined in
Australia, West Africa or the West
Indies
There are no manufacturers of
aluminium packaging in NZ. The SI
smelter exports 90% of their
aluminium.
Aluminium can be recycled infinitely
and can save 95% of the energy
compared to raw materials.
All aluminium packaging collected in
NZ is exported for recycling.
48% of aluminium packaging in NZ is recycled
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Plastics
Raw Material
Extraction
Manufacturing
Recycling
The raw materials needed to make
most plastics come from
petroleum and natural gas.
In New Zealand all plastic materials are
imported in granular form as raw
materials or finished products.
Most plastics are shipped offshore,
mainly to China, for recycling.
Plastics cannot be recycled
indefinitely without loss in quality and
rarely back into the same product.
24% of plastic packaging in NZ is recycled
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Not widely recycled
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Polystyrene
Plastic and aluminium film
Composite packaging (eg TetraPaks)
Disposable Coffee Cups
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Maximising Recyclability of Packaging
• Minimise contaminants
• Choose materials with high recycling rates
• Choose materials that are universally accepted for
kerbside recycling
• Use recycled content – paper and cardboard, glass
• For paper – use FSC certified sources
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Bioplastics
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What are Bioplastics
• made from plants and/or biodegrade at the end of their
life.
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Biodegradable vs Compostable
• Biodegradable
– Capable of being decomposed by bacteria or other
living organisms and thereby avoiding pollution
• Compostable
– Standards
– Industrial vs home compost
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End of life scenarios
• How likely is it to be composted?
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Landfill
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Degradable Bags
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UK Department for Environment Study 2010
“We hope this research will discourage manufacturers and
retailers from claiming that these materials are better for
the environment than conventional plastics.” UK
Environment Minister, Dan Norris
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Labelling and
Making Green
Claims
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Labelling
• Need to be clear and accurate
• Build brand value
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Plastics Identification Code
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New or uncommon
materials
• What is it?
• Where to put it
when you are
finished
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Green Claims
• Obligations under Fair Trading Act 1986
• NZ Commerce Commission – Guidelines for Green
Marketing
• Claims should be specific and accurate.
• You should be able to substantiate any environmental
claim.
• Terra Choice – The 7 Sins of Green-Washing
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Making Smart
Choices
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Where do you start?
• Look at the requirements of
your packaging
• Set goals
• Measure progress
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Things to consider
• Minimal packaging to do the job
• Which materials to use
• Sourcing materials
• End of life options
• Clear and accurate labelling
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More information
• NZ Packaging Council – voluntary product
stewardship scheme
• Sustainable Packaging Coalition – US
• Smartpackaging.org.nz
www.smartpackaging.org.nz
A Packaging
Challenge
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Need to think about
• What does the product require?
• What are the possible options that could work?
• What are the end of life options for recovery?
• Communication/instructions for consumer – how, what,
where?
• Make a recommendation..explain how it adds value
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