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Without plastic packaging, we would see a significant increase in food spoilage, leading to other types of environmental problems. Photo: Getty Images

Associate Professor Johan Verbeek is from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Auckland.

Johan Verbeek studied the work done in the field of plastics to reduce single-use and recycling options, and believes that certain plastics are necessary, especially during a pandemic

Comment: The problem of plastic waste has been a favorite of everyone in recent years, and the problem has always existed. This has led to the mentality of "bad plastic"-but this is not entirely true.

Plastics are very valuable materials and have no inherent defects; this is how we use them. As a society, we need to change our behavior to reduce waste, but it is worth remembering that we do need plastic!  

During the current Covid-19 pandemic, we have seen a good example of this need, which requires a variety of disposable plastic products for personal protection, including masks and gloves. Similarly, the medical industry requires a large number of sterile products, such as needles for vaccination programs, and this benefits from well-designed plastic packaging. Without plastic packaging, we would see a significant increase in food spoilage, leading to other types of environmental problems.

The trick is to carefully design these products to avoid unnecessary packaging-we must do things well. Earlier this year, a New Zealand company was warned for misleading advertisements about the recyclability of its products. Although in theory most plastics are recyclable, this may not be practical if New Zealand does not have the proper infrastructure.

But this is not all doom and pessimism. In the past few years, many things have happened in New Zealand to solve this problem. Different parliaments and governments have made great efforts to improve our infrastructure for collecting and sorting plastic waste. The government has launched a number of initiatives in the past few years to promote change, such as banning the use of disposable plastic bags and introducing product management programs.  

Earlier this month, Auto Stewardship New Zealand was the first agency to be recognized as a regulated vehicle product management program, named Tyrewise. This is a wonderful move for the tire industry to move towards circularity, and it will provide many opportunities for the use of used tires to create new products.

The most inconspicuous is usually what measures the industry has taken to reduce its reliance on single-use plastics or reduce the amount of waste generated. In August of this year, Goodman Fielder announced the partial replacement of plastic bread labels with cardboard labels, a move that may transfer a large amount of waste from landfills.

Recently, it was announced that Meadow Fresh milk bottles will now contain 30% recyclable HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) and no white plastic, which makes it possible to recycle into new plastic bottles and other food packaging.  

In November, Mitre 10's new program "Pot Recycle" was also announced to collect and recycle polypropylene plant pots. The plan will prevent flower pots from eventually entering landfills and reduce reliance on new plastic flower pots. Under this plan, the clean pots were actually remelted and processed into new pots for use by the same plant supplier as Mitre 10.

People may not know the option of recycling expanded polystyrene in many hardware stores, which is provided free of charge by Expol of Onehunga.  

Another example is Better Packaging Company, which recently launched sustainable e-commerce packaging made of 100% marine plastic. Since most plastic in the ocean enters through rivers, this company works with coastal communities around the world to collect plastic before it enters the ocean and recycle it into packaging. This is a mutually beneficial arrangement. These communities can earn substantial income while cleaning the environment.

Other examples are initiatives such as the Flexible Plastic Recycling Program, which converts plastic film into products such as fence posts. Other innovative products use wool as an additive in plastics to reduce the amount of raw materials. One industry that surprisingly relies on petrochemical plastics is gardening.

Growing tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables requires a lot of twine and clamps to support the growth of the plants. These cannot be composted with organic materials or easily recycled. Some wonderful innovations have emerged in New Zealand to solve this problem; for example, Extrutec's compostable twine.

One thing is certain, the situation in New Zealand will change, even if it is a bit slow. The government attaches great importance to promoting change, and recently announced the establishment of a 50 million Australian dollars Plastic Innovation Fund, which aims to reduce plastic waste and cultivate innovative solutions to make better use of plastic materials.

Over time, as our behavior changes, what we want to see is that consumers can safely recycle the materials they use at home, and there will be sufficient infrastructure to collect, separate and reprocess plastic into value-added Products such as my initiative and innovation are highlighted.

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