Punchbowl Packaging’s fibre trays have gained valuable recyclable status from key Australian packaging evaluation tool
Trays, made from our renewable waste stream material, can be recycled at the kerb
Punchbowl Packaging has achieved a sustainable packaging
milestone in the discerning Australian retail market. Our fibre trays and punnets, made from a waste product
called wheat straw, have been deemed kerbside recyclable. The product was put through an evaluation tool known as
PREP (officially the Packaging Recyclability Evaluation Portal). This robust tool uses testing and analysis to assess the
recyclability of a product. PREP is run by the Australian Packaging Covenant
Organisation.
Punchbowl Packaging general manager Shane Craig says our
trays and punnets are among the first fibre-based products to be awarded
recyclability status under PREP evaluation.
“The fact our fibre trays and punnets can be accepted in
to paper waste streams for recycling is a real coup for Punchbowl Packaging. It comes down to the quality of fibre processing in initial manufacture. Our
competitors have not been able to achieve PREP endorsement for the
recyclability of their fibre-based packaging.”
PREP approval is a huge win for Punchbowl Packaging as most of the biggest retailers in Australia rely on this system to determine whether they will use a form of packaging. Retail giants such as Coles, Aldi and Woolworths have shown a clear preference for products with PREP approval, as they work towards ambitious recyclability targets for products on their shelves. Shane Craig says: “Supermarkets look more favourably on products that can be recycled, as this is easier for the consumer than composting, and therefore more likely to happen.”
At this stage there is no New Zealand equivalent for PREP
approval.
Punchbowl Packaging sales and business development
manager Tünde Lovestyán says the PREP approval is a major endorsement of the
sustainability direction Punchbowl is pursuing with determination.
"We are unwavering in our determination to
be at the forefront of sustainability innovations; with that in mind, PREP
approval is a huge achievement. We will continue to focus on finding new ways
to develop products which are environmentally considerate but still have that
all-important strength and integrity."
