The Packaging Forum, and a group of its Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme members, have come together to donate $150,000 worth of fence posts made from recycled plastic to provide a boost to recovery efforts in communities of the North Island, impacted by severe storms and floods since January this year.
This week, seven trucks and trailers have delivered more than 7,000 fence posts to the communities of Wairoa, Gisborne and the Paeroa (for the Hauraki Rail Trail).
This donation will contribute to the restoration of more than 30 kilometres of fencing across these regions, and has been made possible through funding from The Packaging Forum and Scheme members, including Essity, Gryphons, James Crisp, Mondelēz, Nestle, Pepsico, Sanitarium and Woolworths.
Manufactured by New Zealand business Future Post, the donated post products are made from 100 percent recycled plastic waste, including soft plastic collected through the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme bins at supermarkets around New Zealand.
Each fence post contains approximately 1,500 soft plastic bags and wrappers, meaning this donation diverts more than 10.5 million plastic bags from landfill, or 68 tonnes of soft plastic waste.
“Some of these communities have had a tough start to the year, with storms and floods causing significant damage to pastures, paddocks, fencelines and walking trails,” said Packaging Forum CEO Craig Miller.
“We are incredibly appreciative of the members that are working with us to make this donation happen. And we are incredibly grateful to the members of the community who are avid supporters of the Scheme and regularly drop off their soft plastic to their local Foodstuffs, Woolworths or Warehouse store across New Zealand.”
Miller added that this initiative reflects the strength of collaboration across the Packaging Forum’s membership.
Together, we’re able to take materials that would otherwise go to landfill and transform them into something that delivers real, tangible benefit for communities facing significant recovery challenges.
More than 3,600 fence posts will be delivered to Ruatoria, near Gisborne and Wairoa, supporting farmers in the hardest hit areas in the region. The Forum has been working alongside local councils, local rural advisory groups and FIRST72 to facilitate the process.
Almost 4,000 fence posts and rails will be delivered to Paeroa to restore a section of the Hauraki Rail Trail, which was severely damaged in January.
The Trail, one of the 23 Ngā Haerenga Great Rides of New Zealand, suffered severe damage during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, prompting a monumental recovery effort by Trail organisers and volunteers over the past two years to repair and future-proof the track.
The Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme is a voluntary product stewardship programme, operated by the Packaging Forum, and is 100 percent funded by its 250+ Scheme members.
An estimated 87 percent of New Zealanders now have access to soft plastic recycling, within 20km of home or work, at more than 320 public drop-off points across the country. The Forum operates other programmes, including the Caps and Lids Recycling Scheme, the Food and Beverage Recycling Scheme, and the Glass Packaging Forum.
The Packaging Forum supports members’ sustainability goals by creating the conditions for industry to collaborate and deliver meaningful progress toward a circular future.
Maybe you should be a member? visit www.packagingforum.org.nz
More local news here
