The new milk bottle, which is composed from HDPE made from sustainably sourced sugarcane; a natural and renewable resource which captures carbon dioxide (CO2) as it grows. The bottle is also 100% kerbside recyclable at the end of life.

The new packaging innovation is being released into the North Island as an additional product to the existing Anchor range with the plant-based resin being used to produce the Anchor Blue 2L Milk bottle packaging. It is the latest innovation to come as part of a longstanding partnership between Pact Group and Fonterra who have been working together for many years across a variety of products.

Pact Group Executive General Manager – Consumer and Industrial (New Zealand), Eric Kjestrup, welcomed the announcement which 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. 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,” said Mr Kjestrup.

Pact Group 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. This has meant the manufacturer will have the capability to produce a 100% rPET food packaging offering including meat trays, bakery trays, deli containers and more.

Pact Group continues to enhance its efforts to build local capacity to source and recycle waste to produce new materials, a process that contributes strongly to New Zealand’s circular economy.

It comes as the company continues to work towards its 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.