May 18, 2022

Why We're Choosing Recycled Plastic Packaging

THE BENEFITS OF MANUKA HONEY IN rPET VS. GLASS

Better for our planet

Our packaging is changing - not only how it looks, but the materials we are using. Our jars are now rPET, which is made from recycled plastics and is fully recyclable.

The benefits of our new jars

Better for the environment
BPA Free
More durable
Fully recyclable
Made from food grade recycled plastics

Why not glass?

We wanted to genuinely do what was best for the environment whilst working with the constraints we have, and after a lot of research we found that all evidence points to recycled plastic having less of an environmental impact than glass.

According to a study published in the International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment, rPET is by far the best option, when comparing rPET, PET, Returnable glass, and non-returnable glass.

‘Glass is the worst packaging option because of high energy demand in the bottle production and its weight and in the transport phase. Some improvements can be obtained with returnable glass, but even if we consider that a bottle could be reused eight times, results are not comparable to the PET or R-PET bottles used only once.’

Read the full article here

We source our packaging from a 100% New Zealand owned and operated EnviroMark Gold Awarded supplier, meaning they have demonstrated a commitment to environmental stewardship in all operational decision making, and have gone above and beyond these requirements to allow zero pellet, flake and powder loss, making them an official Operation Clean Sweep® Partner.

THE STRENGTH OF rPET

Lighter and more compact than glass, PET is far less likely to break during transport and requires very little protective packaging material that adds weight, bulk and additional waste. As a result, PET uses less fossil fuel and energy over the course of the product’s entire lifecycle, not just its production. At the end of the day, PET creates fewer greenhouse emissions and less solid waste when compared to glass. Overall, plastics are lighter and more efficient than many alternatives. Their lighter weight reduces their environmental footprint by decreasing waste, energy use and carbon emissions.

THE WEAKNESS OF GLASS

Compared to PET, glass is incredibly fragile. Should it break or shatter, whole boxes or shipments can be spoiled as a result. Guarding against this requires bulky, costly protective packaging that not only increases weight and adds to fuel costs - it takes up space that could be used for product, driving transportation costs even higher. Furthermore, from its manufacture to shipping to recycling, glass creates far more greenhouse gases than PET.