The partnership being developed between
Projections that the partnership could see 18,000 tonnes of newly made plastic replaced with locally-produced recycled plastic each year would relate to an estimated decrease in carbon emissions of almost 25,000 tonnes (equivalent to planting more than 37,000 trees) and a saving of almost 500 Olympic swimming pools-worth of water annually1.
The intent of the proposed partnership is to establish Pact as
Under the proposed partnership, Pact will use recycled plastic to make more sustainable packaging for products across Woolworths' product range, including in milk bottles, meat trays and beverage bottles, drawing on plastic collected from household recycling and container deposit schemes.
Pact currently operates five plastic recycling facilities in
Woolworths Group Managing Director of Format &
'We're working hard to remove plastic from packaging like our bakery trays, however it can be necessary to protect quality and food safety in some products - which is why replacing it with recycled plastic is the next best thing.
'Across the scale of our range, the real challenge is sourcing quality recycled material in the volumes we need and ensuring it's coming from within
'We're working with Pact on a partnership that would propel us closer towards our sustainable packaging goal than we've ever been before, while also helping to grow the Australian recycling industry to meet demand in the years to come.'
'Plastic packaging that is designed effectively, that is recyclable and recycled properly in
NSW Minister for Environment
'It is great to see businesses working in partnership with their customers, to move to more sustainable packaging and help develop a circular economy.'
In addition to its recycling facilities, Pact is also investing
Earlier this year, Woolworths became the first major supermarket to announce the removal of reusable plastic bags from all stores nationwide by June next year. The progressive state-by-state transition is expected to remove 9,000 tonnes of plastic from stores and online orders annually.
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For further information, contact Woolworths Group Media: 02 8885 1033 or media@woolworths.com.au
1 Estimates based on calculations using the Packaging Impact Quick Evaluation Tool (PIQET), a life cycle assessment tool designed to measure the environmental performance of packaging designs.
Notes to editors:
Images available here.
Woolworths currently uses 50 million of Pact's reusable crates in its fruit and vegetable supply chain. They circulate in a continuous loop from suppliers' packhouses to Woolworths' distribution centres and into stores, replacing traditional single-use corrugated cardboard, waxed cardboard and expanded polystyrene boxes. Together, Pact and Woolworths plan to scale up the use of reusable plastic produce crates over the next three years to approximately 80 million crates per year. Unlike a single-use cardboard or polystyrene box, the reusable crates are designed to be used more than 140 times before being recycled.
Woolworths' plastic reduction:
In 2018, Woolworths removed single-use plastic shopping bags and in June this year it became the first national supermarket to commit to removing reusable plastic shopping bags from checkouts altogether.
In 2018, Woolworths and BIG W removed single-use plastic straws from stores nationwide, removing more than 435 million straws from circulation since.
Last year, Woolworths removed single-use plastic cutlery, cups, bowls and plates from its range nationwide, eliminating approximately 2.1 million kilograms of plastic from circulation annually.
In
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