PAC.NZ releases progress report for Packaging Product Stewardship Scheme

The Packaging Council of New Zealand (PAC.NZ) has released the Year Two Progress Report for its Packaging Product Stewardship Scheme, which reports a second year of success for the scheme.

“In just the second year since the scheme’s launch, we can report an impressive 93% diversion rate of packaging waste from landfill by scheme members within their operations,” said PAC.NZ Executive Director Paul Curtis.

Curtis said scheme members have also put considerable effort into embedding the principles of the ‘waste hierarchy’ (reduce, re-use, recycle) into their operations:

• 83% have put an internal program in place to reduce the amount of packaging waste they send to landfill and to increase packaging diversion from landfill
• 89% have put packaging re-use systems in place and 83% use packaging with recycled content

PAC.NZ President Richard Manaton has challenged the council to achieve formal accreditation of the Packaging Product Stewardship Scheme from the Ministry for the Environment, which will lift the visibility of the scheme among its key stakeholders and observers.

Launched in 2010, the Packaging Product Stewardship Scheme is a voluntary industry initiative that demonstrates industry’s willingness to reduce the environmental impact of packaging in New Zealand.

The scheme has three key goals:

1. Improve packaging design and systems to reduce packaging waste
2. Increasing re-use and recycled content of packaging
3. Enhancing consumer awareness and understanding of sustainable packaging

Members of the Packaging Product Stewardship Scheme report annually to PAC.NZ on their performance against the scheme’s policies, procedures and key performance indicators, which include adopting the principles of its Code of Practice for Packaging Design, Education and Procurement.

“While great progress has already been made by scheme members, we have also identified a number of specific areas for improvement around areas such a target setting, education and improved packaging-design processes,” Curtis said.

“These areas will be a focus for the foreseeable future and will be part of the overall waste minimisation targets we will establish when we apply next year to have the scheme accredited by the government under the Waste Minimisation Act”.