Micro changes add up to something pretty big
Foodstuffs
On World Oceans Day last year Foodstuffs announced they would
pull all microbead product from their shelves; a full year ahead of
a government ban. 2018 sees Foodstuffs showing just how well their
customers have taken to recycling and to making small changes which
have a major impact.
Steve Anderson, CEO Foodstuffs South Island says, "We care
deeply about our community, our people and our planet. Foodstuffs
is doing everything we can along with our customers to reduce our
environmental footprint, and nowhere is it more evident how much
this matters than in Kaikoura.
"Here, New Zealanders and international visitors are able to get
up close and personal with some of the most amazing creatures on
Earth and we'd all like to be able to ensure this for generations
to come. Getting plastic out of our oceans is a top priority. Today
we're unveiling a gift to the team at Whale Watch Kaikoura, which
is made from recycled microbeads and soft plastics.
"When we announced our microbead ban we invited customers to
swap old microbead product for new microbead-free Essano product -
made by another fantastic New Zealand owned and operated company.
The tubes and containers we collected in our New World stores were
recycled and we captured the microbeads to ensure they didn't make
their way down the drain. The beads were blended with soft
plastics, collected from our stores, by the team at Replas and
MetalArt, and we've created the bench seat that we are donating to
Whale Watch Kaikoura today."
Foodstuffs were excited to take the lead on the microbead ban
which set out to reduce the level of plastic in New Zealand's
waterways and oceans. "I'm happy to announce today that, like
microbeads, we will have banned plastic stemmed cotton buds by
October this year. What's more, this week we have outlined our
support for the NZ Plastics Packaging Declaration, which will see
less and less waste end up in landfill and on our beaches," says
Anderson.
All these changes with the support from our customers add up to
a big and positive impact on the environment.
