Sustainability

PACK TECH IS COMMITTED TO WORKING WITH OUR CUSTOMERS IN MINIMISING THE IMPACT OF OUR PACKAGING ON THE ENVIRONMENT.

We can do this by

Providing the best sustainable options commercially available and ensuring all packaging manufactured is re-useable and made from materials that can be recycled.
Finding innovative and responsive ways to deliver improved outcomes for our customers and the environment.
Through design placing high importance on working in mono materials so that they can be easily recycled
Achieving a good balance between product performance and the amount of plastic used.
Having a zero waste to land fill policy ensures that all waste generated on site is either processed back into products we manufacture or sent off site to a local compounder for conversion.
Continuing to educate ourselves and others and to continue to seek ways to recycle, re-use and actively participate in finding viable solutions through design that help in developing our circular economy.

Carbon Footprint

Pack Tech has undertaken a number of major initiatives in 2022 around our Carbon Footprint, this includes:

Completing our first Annual Carbon Footprint for the year ended March 2022. We welcome the opportunity to provide and discuss the results with interested parties and work with our customers in providing innovative carbon reduction solutions.
Purchasing a forestry block in the Catlins (bottom of South Island) that has a mix of existing native forest, newly planted native areas and pinus radiata. (please click on video below).
New Zealand has a headline target of a 50 per cent reduction of net emissions below our gross 2005 level by 2030. We are in the process of setting what will be a significantly tougher target for Pack Tech which will reflect our commitment to protecting the environment. The challenge in setting the target is to make it relevant as the business grows and enable us to match words with deeds. These goals will be set by the end of 2023.

Our strategy around reducing our Carbon Footprint is:

Measure it – Complete Pack Tech's Annual Carbon Footprint.
Analyse it – Break the Carbon footprint down into more detail.
Develop strategies to reduce it – Within our Pack Tech systems as well as through discussing with our customers options around different polymers and package design options.
Only offset those areas that can’t be reduced and do this through Forest Carbon sequestration.

Recycling

Many non-food-grade containers can be made with recycled plastic, this is a growing market which Pack Tech encourages and can provide for. Pack Tech plastics are manufactured using Polypropylene ( ) and High-density polyethylene ( ).

PP and HDPE is easily recyclable, this is in addition to its other properties of being flexible, translucent/waxy, weatherproof, good low temperature toughness, easy to process by most methods and good chemical resistance.
All plastic containers should have a recycling code from 1 – 7 on them. Numbers 1 , 2 and 5 have been identified by the New Zealand Government as being easier to recycle and in conjunction with local Councils are in the process of improving our kerbside collection systems for these items.
Single use Plastics are being steadily phased out in New Zealand, these include items with the recycling numbers 3, 4, 6, and 7. Specific items that are being phased out from 2022 to 2025 includes:
- Hard to recycle food and drink packaging made from PVC and polystyrene and some degradable plastic products (e.g, oxo and photo degradable).
- Single-use plastic items, including drink stirrers, cotton buds, single-use produce bags, cutlery, plates and bowls, straws, and fruit labels.