Labels cut waste

Recyclable labels are the latest innovation in Fonterra's drive to reduce the waste the company sends to landfill.

Fonterra's national eco-efficiency program manager, Spring Humpheys, says the company has been working with suppliers Walker Datavision to develop a label that can be recycled along with the plastic wrap that goes around pallets of goods.

"In the past, we used thermal transfer paper labels. However, we couldn't put them through the same recycling process we use for the film; in fact if a label did go through it caused a chemical reaction that made the end product unusable," he says.

"WDV carried out a battery of tests to develop a label that is both recyclable and prints well. The company has come up with a material that fits our needs perfectly."

Fonterra's eco-efficiency program has now been running just over a year and has clocked up a number of notable successes - including a 75% reduction in waste to landfill over 12 months at the company's Maungaturoto operation, which led to it being awarded a Northland Regional Council Slash-Trash award.