New Zealand packaging recycling second-worst in global trial

In 2021, consumer organisations in 9 countries assessed packaging recyclability and labelling on 11 popular products. Consumer NZ took part with organisations in Australia, Brazil, France, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Portugal and the United Kingdom, coordinated by Consumers International. Combined, these consumer organisations represent 1.8 billion people.

New Zealand’s packaging recycling is a mess!

We were the second-worst country for packaging recyclability. Here in clean, green Aotearoa, 57% of the packaging we assessed wasn’t recyclable in practice. That’s not too bad when compared to Brazil (92%), but we have a lot of room for improvement. Especially when our Aussie cousins beat us by a mile with just 14% of packaging not being recyclable.

In this assessment, a “recyclable” product is “recyclable in practice”. This means there’s an existing collection, sorting and recycling system in place that recycles the packaging. In other words, consumers can actually recycle these products in their home countries – it’s not just a theoretical possibility.

The international research found:

• no assessed product was 100% recyclable in all countries
• labelling was often unclear and confusing for consumers
• sustainable packaging, labelling information and recycling infrastructure varied significantly between countries.

What the research found

While Brazil and New Zealand were the worst for recycling, the best country was Hong Kong, closely followed by Portugal.

The 3 most recyclable products were the Coca-Cola Mini 6 pack, Dove Body Wash and San Pellegrino Sparkling Water. The least recyclable were Pringles, KitKat, and M&M Peanut chocolates.

The packaging for Pringles was particularly bad. It’s a tube made of mixed materials (plastic, cardboard, foil and aluminium) that can’t be easily separated.

Percentage of packaging not recyclable by country

Of the 5 products that weren’t easily recyclable in Aotearoa, 3 were soft plastics. It is possible to recycle soft plastics here, but collection points aren’t widespread throughout the country yet. They’re located at selected stores in Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki, Wellington, and Christchurch.

The Packaging Forum – an industry group that runs the soft plastic recycling scheme – estimates 4976 tonnes of soft plastic packaging was used by Kiwis in a 12-month period up to August 2020. The forum estimates Aotearoa will only have capacity to recycle 700 tonnes of soft plastic over the next year.

Our government is working with councils and industry to standardise kerbside recycling and consumer packaging labelling.

Products assessed internationally

*Sometimes the packaging volume varied between countries.

Coca-Cola Mini 6 pack – produced by The Coca-Cola Company

This packaging was 6 aluminium cans and a cardboard sleeve. All parts are recyclable here. This product was the closest to being fully recyclable in all 9 countries (98%).

Coca-Cola is a signatory on an international commitment to make 100% of its primary packaging globally recyclable by 2025.

The Coca-Cola Company didn’t comment on the New Zealand results, but said: “We are focused primarily on consumer packaging … but we are also in the process of extending this work to our secondary packaging, such as plastic packaging that accompanies aluminium can multipacks.”

Dove Body Wash – produced by Unilever

This product is a plastic bottle (made of number 2 HDPE) and a plastic plunger cap, but you need to remove the plunger cap before recycling the bottle. The plunger cap then goes in the rubbish bin as it can’t be recycled. While the plunger cap is non- recyclable in Aotearoa, other countries did better. Internationally, an average of 82% of the packaging could be recycled. This product also had the informative Australasian Recycling Label (ARL), which explains how to dispose of each piece.

Unilever didn’t comment on the New Zealand results, but said “the definition of '100% recycled bottle' is that the bottle is made of 100% recycled plastic (PCR)."

"We make sure that the labelling of recyclability reflects this definition and is also in line with each local country’s own regulation.”

Our response: This is only relevant to UK consumers as the bottle sold there reads ‘100% recycled bottle'. It is unclear whether this means recycled content or recyclable.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup – produced by Kraft Heinz

This packaging is a number PET1 plastic bottle with plastic seal and cap, however only the bottle could be easily recycled here. For other countries, an average of 81% of this packaging was easily recyclable. However, you need to look carefully to find its embossed PET1 logo, as it’s hidden underneath the opaque white cap.

Kraft Heinz said: “The combined bottle with cap is ‘widely accepted’ for kerbside collection in both Australia and New Zealand (meaning that more than 80% of the kerbside population has access to a council service).”

Our response: This differs from our assessment as it doesn’t consider whether packaging is recycled in practice. In all participating countries, members worked with independent waste and recycling experts to confirm if packaging was recyclable in practice.

KitKat chocolate bar – produced by Nestlé

Even though this packaging looks like a foil wrapper, it’s a soft plastic that’s not widely recyclable in Aotearoa.

Nestlé is a signatory on an international commitment that by 2025, 100% of its packaging will be recyclable, reusable or compostable.

Nestlé did not respond to a request for comment on the findings.

M&M Peanut chocolates – produced by Mars

This packaging is a soft plastic bag and isn’t widely recyclable in Aotearoa. Labelling for this product was an issue around the world. For example, in Portugal, the packaging is 100% recyclable but the label states it should not be recycled.

Mars is a signatory on an international commitment that by 2025, 100% of its packaging will be recyclable, reusable or compostable.

Mars didn’t comment on the New Zealand results, but said “In 2020, we launched a range of new packaging innovations … reducing the size of our confectionary pouches in the U.K. We plan for this momentum to continue into 2021.”

Nescafé Original coffee – produced by Nestlé

This packaging is a glass jar with foil seal and a plastic cap. Only the foil seal and plastic cap couldn’t be easily recycled in New Zealand, making 95% of packaging recyclable. That’s a step above the global average (88%).

Nestlé did not respond to a request for comment on the findings.

Nutella Ferrero Hazelnut Spread with Cocoa – produced by Ferrero Group

This packaging comprises a number 1 PET plastic jar, foil seal and plastic cap. Only the jar could be easily recycled here (note: this may also be sold in glass jars, which are also easily recycled in Aotearoa). Globally, 84% of this product’s packaging could be easily recycled.

Ferrero Group is a signatory on an international commitment towards using 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025.

Ferrero Group didn’t comment on the New Zealand results, but said ‘“The total volumes of the Nutella jar, either glass or PET, show an average 97% global recyclability as both are valuable materials, with consolidated collection and recycling schemes in our core countries.”

Our response: This differs from our assessment as it doesn’t consider whether packaging is recycled in practice. In all participating countries, members worked with independent waste and recycling experts to confirm if packaging was recyclable in practice.

Pringles chips – produced by The Kellogg Company

This packaging is the least recyclable in our test with only 16% of it recyclable around the globe. In New Zealand, none of it’s recyclable. This is mostly due to the mixed materials used – it’s an aluminium and foil-lined cardboard tube can’t be separated easily, therefore they can’t be recycled.

The Kellogg Company is a signatory on an international commitment that by 2025, 100% of its packaging will be recyclable, reusable or compostable.

The Kellogg Company didn’t comment on the New Zealand results, but said “we are redesigning our Pringles can in Europe and have tested both a steel and a paper can there. The Pringles paper can trial in 2020 was well received by consumers.”

San Pellegrino Sparkling Water – produced by Nestlé

This packaging is a green number PET1 plastic bottle and plastic cap. In most countries 88% of this packaging was easily recyclable. However, in Aotearoa, colour PET1 plastics like this are commonly collected, but not often recycled. This is because the colour is undesirable for recycling as it can affect the colour of packaging made from it.

Nestlé is a signatory on an international commitment that by 2025, 100% of its packaging will be recyclable, reusable or compostable.

Nestlé did not respond to a request for comment on the findings.

Toblerone chocolate bar – produced by Mondelēz International

This packaging is a soft plastic wrapper. It isn’t widely recyclable in Aotearoa. In 5 of 9 countries this product was recyclable, but the labelling didn’t always state this.

Mondelēz International is a signatory on an international commitment that by 2025, 100% of its packaging will be recyclable, reusable or compostable.

Mondelēz International did not respond to a request for comment on the findings.

Whiskas mixed favourites 12 pouches – produced by Mars

This packaging comprises 12 foil pouches and a cardboard box. The pouches can’t be recycled here, but the cardboard box can be. At only 51% of the packaging recyclable, we’re a bit behind the rest of the countries (which averaged 60%). The packaging has the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL) and states the foil pouches can be returned to stores. However, this advice is applicable only to Australia, not here.

Mars didn’t comment on the New Zealand results, but said “In 2020, we launched a range of new packaging innovations … increasing recycled content in our Petfood pouches … We plan for this momentum to continue into 2021.”

What can you do?

You can also have a hand in improve the recyclability of packaging by:

• Choosing products with packaging that’s clear, sleeveless (or remove sleeves before dropping into your recycling bin), and made from plastics 1, 2 or 5.
• Avoiding mixed material packaging (for example, the Pringles tube).
• Calling on manufacturers to use more recyclable or alternative packaging, and for clear labelling explaining how to recycle their packaging.
• Taking a few moments in the supermarket to choose a product which is more recyclable.
• Choosing products that use recycled materials in their packaging.
• Checking with your council about what can and can’t be recycled in your area, and recycling as much as you can (and make sure it’s clean).

How we assessed the packaging

The global assessment involved types of food, drink, toiletries and pet food that are likely to be in an average monthly household shop.

Each country worked with a local recycling expert. Here, WasteMINZ sector projects manager Sarah Pritchett helped us assess whether the packaging was recyclable widely throughout New Zealand.

Once emptied, we separated the packaging into easily separable pieces, such as cap, seal and jar. Each piece was categorised:

1. easily recyclable from the home (kerbside)
2. easily recyclable outside the home (external collection or transfer stations)
3. not easily recyclable.

To be classed easily recyclable, the packaging had to be collected widely in New Zealand and able to be recycled here.

Each piece of packaging was then weighed to determine what percentage of the packaging was recyclable.

We also assessed the clarity of the labelling about how to dispose of the packaging and how much of it was made from recycled materials.

Once results had been gathered from the 9 countries, Consumers International sought feedback from the parent companies that produced the 11 products.

Our recycling expert

To help assess the recyclability of packaging in our trial, we worked with WasteMINZ Sector Projects Manager Sarah Pritchett.
WasteMINZ is the largest representative body of the waste, resource recovery and contaminated land management sectors in New Zealand. Formed in 1989, it’s a membership-based organisation with more than 1500 members – from small operators through to councils and large companies.