A Waikato Regional Council-commissioned report has found strong support among the region’s farmers for reducing waste and moving towards a circular economy.
The report, titled Reusable packaging systems on farms in the Waikato region, explored the state of play, barriers and key opportunities for increasing reusable packaging in Waikato’s agricultural sector.
Prepared by Reuse Aotearoa, the report involved a desktop study and interviews with representatives of the farming community in the Waikato, producers/suppliers of agricultural products, industry representatives, and those involved in packaging logistics and processing.
Waikato Regional Council Waste Prevention Advisor, Valerie Bianchi says that, in general, the landowners interviewed supported increased uptake of reusable packaging and identified multiple benefits, particularly environmental sustainability.
“Most of the farmers are already incorporating reuse on their farms, and many had suggestions for where single-use packaging could be replaced with reusables,” says Ms Bianchi.
Several successful reusable packaging systems operating in the Waikato were highlighted, alongside third-party packaging providers and processors that offer some systems with critical logistical support, including collections and reconditioning/washing services.
However, most of the systems operate in a niche capacity.
Report lead author, Polly Brownlee says waste prevention on farms is often overlooked in the broader waste minimisation conversation.
“As someone who grew up on a farm, I understand that dealing with single-use packaging waste can be a real challenge – so it’s great to see the sector stepping up to provide farmers with better solutions,” says Ms Brownlee.
“Reusable packaging systems are a practical solution that fits well with the culture of resourcefulness among the farming community. For example, one returnable keg for animal feed saves around 30 polypropylene bags from the waste stream.
“The supplier that introduced this keg system, Dunstan Nutrition, has avoided the use of roughly two million woven polypropylene bags since 2010.”
Ms Brownlee says to enable the provision of more reuse packaging, such as that by Dunstan Nutrition, a number of barriers need to be overcome.
These include cost, management and logistical challenges, concerns about contamination and safety, and a lack of time or awareness about the possibilities.
The report highlighted several key opportunities, including targeting specific agricultural products where there is a recognised desire to introduce reuse systems or where reuse could be most feasible, and collaborating regionally or locally to coordinate reuse efforts.
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