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OUR VISION

Working with our customers, we will encourage the use of recyclable and Certified Compostable products that positively contribute to the ecology of our planet.

WHY IS SWITCHING TO COMPOSTABLE PRODUCTS IMPORTANT? 

Our Certified Compostable products are made from annually-renewable plant-based sources that can be composted back into the soil to help grow new plants.

 

Our commercial, catering and over the counter food service trays and containers can be collected with food scraps and commercially composted. Several of our products can be successfully home composted rather than entering the commercial composting or residential waste bins.*

 

By using Certified Compostable food serviceware that is suitable for home or commercial composting, your business can potentially:

 

  • reduce landfill waste disposal costs by reducing the volume of waste going to landfill

  • help to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from landfill by diverting food scraps to composting

  • create a better ecological outcome for packaging waste

  • encourage better food waste collection as the plate and food scraps can be disposed of together for composting

  • communicate your commitment to better packaging solutions and environmental outcomes.

 

Certified Compostable packaging is designed to break-down into raw materials that can be potentially be reprocessed into compost here in New Zealand, either at home or in commercial composting facilities, where collection services allow.

Please check with your Local Council about what products are approved for collection in Residential kerbside collection bins, including Certified Compostable bin liners or food packaging for Organics or standard Recycling bins.

WHY IS CERTIFICATION IMPORTANT?

Compostable Certification is an important difference between our products and many other products that are available around NZ.

 

When we indicate that an Eco-Express product is "Certified Compostable" this means that the product has met the criteria for compostability to a particular Standard, such as EN13432 - this Standard means that the product has been certified by an independent authority as commercially compostable.

 

This Certification may provide an opportunity for our clients and their customers to dispose of our products to commercial composting,* rather than landfill.

 

Some of our food packaging products also meet the requirements for Home Composting by OK Compost.

 

There are some products available in NZ that claim that they are "biodegradable" or "oxo-degradable" or "degradable".

 

This maybe actually petroleum-plastic with an additive chemical called "d2W" or "TDA” that enables fragmentation of the plastic to occur that can cause widespread pollution of air, waterways and eco-systems.

 

These products are not sustainable or annually-renewable, and cannot carry "compostable" Certification as they do not comply with the criteria required for compostability. For more information about oxo-degradable plastics, refer to the Plastics NZ website under FAQ.

 

 * based on approval from local waste management operators and composting facilities.

SUSTAINABILITY

Our range includes products made from plants grown for the purpose, or from the by-products of plants. When our products break-down through composting, they contribute to the compost mixture that can be used to grow a new crop of plants.

 

Traditional plastics are made from crude oil that is pumped or mined out of the ground. This is very finite resource and is not a sustainable source of raw materials to make many familiar packaging items.

 

Currently in NZ, approximately 25% of all plastic packaging is collected for recycling. ** Most of this plastic is shipped off-shore to other countries for reprocessing or stock-piling.

 

Most post-consumer plastic reprocessing results in "down-graded" plastic products e.g.: cable covers, pellets.

 

Globally, there is significantly more "virgin" plastic product being produced than can be presently recycled.

 

** Source: Plastics NZ

REDUCED WASTE

Our compostable products do not need to go to landfill or to recycling.

 

They can be effectively composted, either at home or through commercial composting, for a more sustainable packaging solution.

 

If your business would like to enquire about how to reduce your waste going to landfill, please enquire about the types of waste collection and diversion opportunities that maybe available in your area for our products....we would be happy to assist with this goal.

CARBON FOOTPRINT

From “cradle to cradle”, most of our products have a significantly lower “carbon footprint” compared to conventional petroleum-based plastics.

 

Recent studies have shown that some plant-products consume up to 70% less energy and produce significantly less carbon that their plastic equivalents.

 

For more information in regard to the PLA Products in our range, please visit the Natureworks LLC website to learn more.

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