Environmental organisation Planet Ark has partnered with a sustainable packaging company to tackle the rise in plastic waste.
Planet Ark and Planet Protector, the distributor of award-winning sustainable packaging innovation Woolcool, are responding to the sharp rise in plastic waste caused by home delivery services using primarily Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) packaging.
One of their strategies will be to encourage businesses to embrace more environmentally conscious alternatives.
Options to recycle EPS are not widely available, according to Planet Ark, and rates remain low.
Less than 30 per cent of EPS is currently recycled nationally, and rates are much lower through local council systems.
Planet Ark likes Planet Protector's insulated packaging range, which is made from waste wool.
"Woolcool is ideal for the delivery of products requiring temperature control," Planet Ark’s partner relations manager Kristie Baker said.
"Testing has shown that Woolcool maintains pharmaceuticals and food contents at their required temperature for longer than conventional materials.
"Beyond its packaging potential, the wool is biodegradable, recyclable and compostable."
Woolcool provides a greater yield to wool growers, and is providing farmers with another outlet for waste wool."
Baker said the partnership would both promote the use of responsible packaging and help Planet Protector refine its Woolcool product range.
Planet Protector CEO Joanne Howarth said the insulated packaging outperforms polystyrene and is also cost-effective.
The Woolcool product range includes lined cardboard boxes, pouches and postal packs.
