Marking an industry first, New Zealand milk brand Anchor has launched a 2L plant-based bottle manufactured by Pact Group for brand owner Fonterra.
The new milk bottle is converted from HDPE made from sustainably sourced sugarcane, a natural and renewable resource which captures carbon dioxide (CO2) as it grows. According to Pact, the bottle is also 100 per cent kerbside recyclable at the end of life.
This is the latest innovation resulting from the longstanding partnership between Pact Group and Fonterra, who have been collaborating for a number of years across a variety of products.
The new Anchor Blue 2L Milk bottle packaging has been released into New Zealand's North Island market as an additional product in the existing Anchor range.
Pact Group executive general manager – Consumer and Industrial (New Zealand) Eric Kjestrup welcomed the packaging's launch, which he said serves as an innovative step to uncovering alternative and sustainable packaging solutions.
“Fonterra’s appetite for innovation and commitment to sustainable packaging has helped us produce the iconic Anchor Blue 2L bottle in a plant-based resin which is not only fully recyclable, but also made from renewable bio-matter,” Kjestrup said.
“This type of outlook, committing to exploring and defining new solutions, will be critical in helping lift the bar and raise the ambition around what can be achieved in sustainable packaging.”
This development adds to Pact Group's other sustainability intitiatives – it is also involved in the recycling of plastics, collecting containers at end of life and converting them into recycled plastic resin as part of its Astron Recycling operation.
Pact Group was the recipient of funding from the New Zealand government as part of its Waste Minimisation Fund. According to Pact, this means the rigid plastics converter will have the capability to produce a 100 per cent rPET food packaging offering including meat trays, bakery trays, deli containers and more in eth new Zealand market.
Pact Group says that is continuing to boost its efforts to build local capacity to source and recycle waste to produce new materials, a process that contributes to New Zealand’s circular economy.
The Group has clearly defined aspirational targets laid out in its 2025 End of Waste Strategy:
- By 2025 Pact Group will eliminate all non-recyclable packaging that it produces.
- By 2025 Pact Group will have solutions to reduce, reuse and recycle all single use secondary packaging in supermarkets.
- By 2025 Pact Group will offer 30 per cent recycled content across its packaging portfolio.
