Correspondence with Sealord Fisheries

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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 2018Source: https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11998063

Here's just a couple of other sources:

 http://www.recycle.co.nz/page.php?ref=recycled-waste&id=edit4cf831d8d2d96
http://www.reclaim.co.nz/productitems.php?id=anytime4908294936a39
You appear to have missed our point. You as the manufacturer are shrugging off your responsibility as the creator of the problem to us, the consumer. If you really wanted to you could choose to use a plastic that CAN actually be recycled.

 As a consumer of your product we are telling you, that if you continue using packaging that is not able to be recycled in NZ, we will have no choice but to deliberately select against your products in the stores.

 Hei konā

 Greg and Cheryl



On 28/05/2018 11:26 AM, Information @ Sealord wrote:
Dear Greg & Cheryl
Thank you for writing to us! These are collected by councils here for re-cycling – please see below
Kind Regards

 Sealord Consumer Care Co-ordinator



From: Comforts
Sent: Saturday, 26 May 2018 6:34 p.m. To: Information @ Sealord
Subject: Plastic packaging you use for your products
Kia ora ngā tangata ō Sealord

 We recently purchased one of your fine products, New Zealand Greenshell Natural Flavoured Marinated Mussels in a 375g container. Ka tino pai, they were wonderful.

 However, we were very disappointed to find they were packaged in a single-use container, made from plastic no. 5 PP, which cannot be easily recycled in this country, or anywhere close by in the Pacific area.

 Printing the "Please recycle" symbol on the container does not get you off the hook, pun intended, as basically it can't be.

 As we are sure you are aware, the environmental harm from plastic packaging is a terrible problem, especially in the ocean, and it may already be too late for humans to address it. Essentially, we are poisoning the environment with plastic.

 Please stop packaging your otherwise excellent products in such packaging. Go the extra mile and find a solution that delivers a beautiful product, in an environmentally safe way.

 Ngā mihi

 Greg and Cheryl Comfort

 147 Marshland Road, Christchurch 8061

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