Custom-Pak is first New Zealand plastic packaging manufacturer to sign Global Commitment
Custom-Pak Plastic Products 1997 ltd, who design and manufacture 100% recyclable plastic packaging, has become the first New Zealand plastics packaging producer to sign the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment.
The Global Commitment was established by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in 2018 in conjunction with United Nations Environment, to encourage businesses and governments to work towards circular, rather than linear ‘take, make, dispose’ systems for plastic packaging. At the heart of the Global Commitment is a vision for plastic in which it never becomes waste.
In the New Plastics Economy 2019 Report released today, more than 350 organisations, representing every part of the plastics system globally, have now signed the Global Commitment. Signatories include well-known consumer businesses such as Danone, H&M Group, L’Oreal, Mars, PepsiCo, The Coca-Cola Company, and Unilever; and major global packing producers such as Amcor. New Zealand signatories include the Ministry for the Environment, New Zealand King Salmon, The Better Packaging Co, Earthwise, Ecostore, and the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) is an official endorser.
For Custom-Pak - who are known for their clear RPET (recycled polyethylene terephthalate) packs designed for fruit and vegetables, baked goods, and fresh meat and fish - signing the Global Commitment seemed like an obvious choice in supporting their core business direction.
“While we are already making 100% recyclable packaging, we need to make sure that PET is being recycled in New Zealand and understand the part we can play in moving to a circular economy. The Global Commitment has given us a global benchmark for that and we have set ambitious targets around continuing to increase the recycled content of our products, from New Zealand sources”, says Dene Wilson, General Manager at Custom-Pak.
The Global Commitment targets include:
Eliminate problematic or unnecessary plastic packaging and move from single-use to reuse packaging models
Innovate to ensure 100% of plastic packaging can be easily and safely reused, recycled, or composted by 2025
Circulate the plastic produced, by significantly increasing the amounts of plastics reused or recycled and made into new packaging or products
Establishing a circular economy for plastics in New Zealand has become even more urgent, as offshore recycling markets have become increasingly restricted. SBN’s 2018 Circular Economy Accelerator report on New Zealand’s plastic packaging system points to 47 broad actions for plastic producers, users and the government to achieve a plastic packaging system based on circular economy principles by 2025.
Wilson recognises the important part Custom-Pak can play in this. “Ultimately, we have the opportunity to innovate at the start of the plastic packaging journey and done well, we can also make the most of the opportunities to give that packaging a new life at the end. The success of this will depend on supporting those who use and dispose of our product, and the services available to support its journey back to us. Joining the Global Commitment signals our commitment to taking an industry lead on this process.”
The full list of 2019 signatories to the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment is available here: https://newplasticseconomy.org/news/spring-2019-report
Oxygen Consulting can help your business to become a signatory to the Global Commitment - contact sarah@oxygen-consulting.co.nz to find out how.