iconic KIWI PLASTIC PRODUCTS 2007 Improving their Environmental Footprint Contents Iconic Kiwi Plastic Products 2007 Foreword .......................................................................1 Cheese Pouches by Sealed Air .......................................3 DishDrawer® by Fisher & Paykel ......................................7 Expanded Polystyrene Insulation ..................................15 K-Line Irrigation System by RX Plastics ........................21 Ice Cream Containers by Tip Top..................................25 PVC Construction Pipe .................................................29 MAXIMISING THE GROWTH AND This report has been prepared as a special contractual requirement for the Minister for the Environment. The Ministry for the Environment SUCCESS OF PLASTICS does not necessarily endorse or support the content of the publication BASED TECHNOLOGY in any way. This work is copyright. The copying, adaptation, or issuing of this work IN NEW ZEALAND IN to the public on a non-profit basis is welcomed. No other use of this AN ECONOMICALLY, work is permitted without the prior consent of the copyright holders. SOCIALLY AND ISBN 978-0-473-12614-8 ENVIRONMENTALLY This document has been printed on 100% recycled paper with water RESPONSIBLE soluble vegetable dyes MANNER For more information go to www.plas tics.org.nz 1 FOREWORD Plastic products have revolutionised the way we live our Over the last four years our Plastics Environmental Best lives, in many positive ways. Examples include reducing fuel Practice Programme has received generous financial support costs, through weight reduction and insulation, to improving from the Minister for the Environment’s Sustainable the shelf life of foodstuffs by using intelligent packaging. Management Fund, which is administered by the Ministry for New Zealand’s agricultural sector has benefited greatly from the Environment. This publication about iconic Kiwi plastic the innovative plastic products available - from storage and products marks the end of the fourth year. It complements transportation solutions to animal health, viticulture and our previous Best Practice Programme publications; aquaculture applications. Some of these plastic products were recently celebrated by the New Zealand Kiwi Made • ‘Good News for the Environment from the New Zealand Campaign - www.buykiwimade.govt.nz/. Plastics Industry’ in 2005 and • The ‘Plastics NZ Design for the Environment Guidelines’ The local plastics industry has supported the international in 2006. success of the New Zealand electronics and whitegoods sector. We have featured components in the well known NZ We are indebted to Simon Wilkinson, Best Practice success story of the Fisher and Paykel DishDrawer®. The Programme Facilitator, and Ket Bradshaw, Environmental New Zealand Plastics Industry employs more than 8,000 Manager, for bringing this publication together. people and contributes more than $400 million in exports to our Gross Domestic Product. I encourage you to read these case studies and the team at Plastics NZ would appreciate any feedback. In this publication Plastics New Zealand has profiled six iconic Kiwi plastic products. These are the first in a series that will look at plastic products that have made a difference in the NZ environment and to the lives of New Zealanders and many people overseas. These case studies highlight the innovation and Kiwi Dennise Chapman, ingenuity that went into their design and manufacture. An Chair Environmental Committee, important part of these profiles is to identify improvements Plastics New Zealand made to the environmental footprint in the different phases of the product’s lifecycle. Introduction We have profiled six iconic Kiwi plastic products across the The iconic Kiwi plastic products are: plastics industry. Their iconic status is as varied as the internationally recognised DishDrawer® made by Fisher and 1 Multi-layer laminated plastic 20-kg cheese pack Paykel to the very Kiwi Tip Top 2-litre ice cream tub. Much [flexible packaging] of New Zealand’s infrastructure uses plastic piping and the 2 Fisher and Paykel DishDrawer® and components insulative qualities of our expanded polystyrene have long [electronic] been recognised as the cornerstone of exporting our primary 3 Expanded polystyrene insulation [construction] produce to the other side of the world. It’s no surprise, given 4 RX Plastics K-line irrigator [agriculture] New Zealand’s natural productivity, that we have also chosen 5 Tip Top 2-litre ice cream container [rigid packaging] two products from the agricultural sector that assist with the 6 PVC piping [construction] irrigation of our pastures and the packaging of our dairy products. 2 Each case study looks at how the product was developed companies in our 2005 report entitled: ‘Good News for the and demonstrates the environmental improvements made Environment from the New Zealand Plastics Industry’; http:// over this time. Much of this has been through finding www.plastics.org.nz/_attachments/docs/best-practice- innovative solutions to issues at the design, manufacture, prog-v2-e-final-draft-1.pdf. use and end-of-life phases of the product’s lifecycle. During the fourth year (2006-2007) of the successful Plastics Best Practice Programme we have worked with plastics companies and encouraged them to use the tools developed in the programme to date. We would like to Ket Bradshaw congratulate all our Plastics Best Practice companies on Environmental Manager their achievements to date. Plastics New Zealand In 2006 we published the Plastics NZ Design for the Environment Guidelines about developing products in a way that minimises their environmental impact; http://www. plastics.org.nz/_attachments/docs/bpp-dfe-final-4.pdf These guidelines profile some of their exciting design Simon Wilkinson projects, clearly demonstrating that good design improves Best Practice Facilitator performance and is good news for business and the Plastics New Zealand environment. We profiled our Best Practice Programme Acknowledgements Plastics New Zealand would like to thank the many people who have helped with these case studies and the Best Practice Programme participants who have generously given their time and resources. Environment Committee, contributors Best Practice Project Leaders and supporters Steve Lockie, Alto Plastics Hamilton Terry Mischefski, Expol Ltd Nick Guy, Alto Plastics Henderson Deryk Mason, Huhtamaki Henderson Ltd Iain Davis, Aotea Plastics Kim Bergersen, Iplex Pipelines NZ Ltd Frank Oskam, Axiam Morris Watson, Premier Plastics Ltd Patricia Au, Bonson Dennise Chapman, Clariant Mark Field, Elastomer John Gertsakis, Product Ecology Ltd Heather Allen, ES Plastics Helen Lewis, Product Ecology Ltd Fiona Logie, Expol Richard Bollard, Fisher & Paykel Appliances John Price, Fisher & Paykel Appliances Owen Hesp, Talbot Plastics Scott Laurence, Gallagher Group Mark Field, Elastomer Products Bob Gutsell, Millenium Plastics Frank O’Callaghan, Iplex Pipelines Jonny Gray, RX Plastics John McKee, Marley Bruce Cleland, Sealed Air, Hamilton George Harper, RX Plastics Grant Edwards, Sealed Air, Glendene Brian Wemyss, PIPA Sara Wallen, Talbot Plastics Craig Winkelmann, Tip Top Neeraj Choudry, Tru Test Rodney Bennett, Huhtamaki Paul Edwards, Viscount Plastics, Auckland Bruce Cleland, Sealed Air Brendan Hill, Viscount Plastics, Christchurch Peter Spackman, Long Plastics Lucy Green, Ministry for the Environment Josh Gluckman, Ministry for the Environment CHEESE POUCHES BY SEALED AIR 3 Packaging for maximum materials efficiency About the product This 20-kg cheese pouch is a silent yet iconic achiever, lies in the leading edge design and applied polymer rarely seen by the general public. It demonstrates Kiwi technology used to enhance the quality and safety of our innovation in flexible packaging, an area where New exported products. The cheese pouch is exported from Zealand has excelled over the last 30 years. Its significance Hamilton to cheese factories throughout the world. Material and process efficiency Lightweighting The multi-layered plastic protects the cheese from Since 1998 there has been a gradual degrading and allows the maturing process to take reduction in the thickness of the plastic place for up to 18 months. Many environmental pouches from 120 to 90 gains have been achieved through product microns. This represents development and improvements a 25% reduction in the such as automation of the material used in the filling of the pouches at millions of these bags the cheese factory. produced each year. Under the manual filling system, bag lengths were 690 mm. Now they are able to be manufactured to 670 mm – a reduction of 5% that represents a material saving of hundreds of kilometres of plastic every year. Distribution improvements Cheese pouches are now distributed to Recycling cheese factories in a vacuum bag rather than cardboard boxes. This has significantly reduced the The Sealed Air factory that makes volume of the product for distribution. The new system means the cheese pouches has reduced 160% more bags can be fitted onto a pallet within New Zealand and 240% manufacturing waste going to more bags on an export pallet. These improvements have reduced truck trips landfill by 80%. Since 2001 in New Zealand by 40% and the number of 20-ft containers used for export recycling has steadily increased has been reduced by 60%. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions have also been from 45% to more than 80% now saved through this reduction in transportation and the company no longer