PlasticFools

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment (PCE) has published a useful FAQ and technical guide to Biodegradable and compostable plastics in the environment Two useful diagrams are included.

RNZ Business news reported today that the First Retail Group were recommending food retailers need to cut their use of plastic before consumers start to reject their packaging options. Chris Wilkinson, MD of First Retail Group, said "businesses need to stop selling food or serving takeaways in plastic." Listen to the story here:

It's time we stopped packaging things in materials that can't actually be recycled. Plastics going straight to landfill as China waste ban bites  — RNZ “WasteMINZ chief executive Paul Evans said while plastic in grades 1 and 2 could be recycled in New Zealand, grades 3 to 7 were much harder to deal with. “Manufacturers have continued to pump those out over the years, despite the fact that there aren't viable or economic markets available for those, and this has really been exacerbated by the moves in China.” Which means we have stop manufacturers using these plastics. “The associate environment Minister Eugenie Sage said it was likely more New Zealand recyclers would be refusing some waste types. She said increasing the costs for dumping waste at landfills could be one way of tackling the problem.” Disagree with the Minister here. Charging for dumping at the end of the consumer process is daft. Stop making the stuff in the first place. What we need is some leader...

I'm very impressed with the woman from Countdown I heard on The Panel recently, talking about what Countdown are doing to minimise the amount of plastic waste Countdown contributes to through the products it sells and the packaging it uses. Kiri Hannafin talked about how they are tackling the plastic problem head on, including talking to 800 of their major suppliers recently about reducing the use of plastic. She sounded very well informed and mentioned several initiatives Countdown are starting, to eliminate plastics wherever possible. It's good to see stores like Countdown leading on this, helping consumers make wise decisions on packaging. Countdown is my local supermarket, and I'm definitely starting to look more closely at products in stores now, deciding not to buy some products because of the type of packaging it is supplied in. Listen to Kiri Hannafin talking on The Panel  [opens MP3 sound file]

On 31/05/2018 10:42 AM, Information @ Sealord wrote: Dear Greg & Cheryl Thank you for your reply – we will pass this on to our marketing and innovation teams. Kind Regards Sealord Consumer Care Co-ordinator From: Comforts Sent: Wednesday, 30 May 2018 8:11 p.m. To: Information @ Sealord Subject: Re: Plastic packaging you use for your products Hey, thanks for your reply. Unfortunately the No 5 plastic used in your products may well be collected at the gate here in Christchurch, but it is not recycled, it now goes straight to landfill. There are numerous articles and sources that will tell you plastic number 5 is not easily recycled in Australasia any more, and hasn't been for some time. It is well known that this type of plastic is not recycled in New Zealand. "In New Zealand only numbers 1 and 2, the commonest plastics used in bottles, are recycled." — NZ Herald, 25 Feb 2018 Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=...

Dear Delmaine people We recently purchased one of your fine products, Chicken, Bacon & Mozzarella Ravioli. We love this product, and buy it regularly, along with your other pasta flavours. However, we were very disappointed to find the packaging is  made from plastic no. 7, which is not recycled in this country. Printing the "recycle" symbol on the container doesn't mean it actually can be recycled. It is well known that this type of plastic is not recycled in New Zealand. Here's just a couple of information sources: "In New Zealand only numbers 1 and 2, the commonest plastics used in bottles, are recycled." — NZ Herald, 25 Feb 2018   http://www.recycle.co.nz/page.php?ref=recycled-waste&id=edit4cf831d8d2d96 http://www.reclaim.co.nz/productitems.php?id=anytime4908294936a39 Is there a reason you use No 7 for this product? Could you not use No 1 PET, which is very easily recycled in NZ. There are excellent suppliers of PET in NZ now, us...

I've noticed that much of the rhetoric around recycling and waste disposal berates consumers for how much we waste, as if it was our fault. This seems the wrong way around. The real polluters are the manufacturers who don't make it easy for us to recycle packaging and spent products. I believe many people would like to do more than they currently can, and I believe if the packaging on more things was reduced and made easier to recycle, it would make it easier for consumers to reduce and recycle more. And I don't just mean giving households more recycling bins. Government has a contribution to make. If we wanted to, we could pass a law making it illegal to sell products in packages that cannot be recycled in NZ. And let's not just blame the manufacturers – let's make it easier for them to access and choose good packaging materials. Make it easier to find out about packaging types, plastic types, and the impact of the packaging being used with products. Relate...

Read more: What are bioplastics? Factsheet [PDF]