Foodstuffs has removed PVC plastic wrap from its New World and Pak’nSave stores, replacing it with low-density polyethylene (LDPE) wrap across butchery, bakery, produce and deli departments. The move supports the co-operative’s commitment to reducing non-recyclable plastics and landfill waste.
Most New World and Pak’nSave stores across the North and South Islands have adopted LDPE wrap as of January. Foodstuffs plans to complete the transition from PVC to LDPE across all departments by the end of June this year.
Once completed, the initiative is expected to remove around 850 tonnes of PVC plastic from landfill each year. This is equivalent to some 1400 industrial bins.
The change lifts Foodstuffs’ overall packaging recyclability rate to 94 per cent, supporting its sustainability commitments for 2025–2030.
In-store trials and implementation
The transition follows more than three years of evaluation and testing conducted with packaging supplier Wedderburn. In-store blind trials assessed three criteria. These were performance compared with PVC, compatibility with the New Zealand Soft Plastics Recycling Scheme, and the cost impact on fresh products.
Foodstuffs New Zealand sustainable packaging manager Debra Goulding said the new wrap needed to work with existing machinery. It also needed to perform across fresh food departments and in customer use at home.
“PVC was difficult to recycle, and we’ve been working towards a goal of making all our packaging at least recyclable,” she said. “It took nearly three years to find a wrap that worked. There were a few issues to iron out, but we’ve arrived at a great, innovative solution.”
Foodstuffs said LDPE wrap achieved higher overall trial results than PVC, and stores adjusted equipment following initial setup changes. The wrap is used for chilled and ambient products, including meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables and baked goods.
Hot food items are being transitioned to alternative packaging formats, such as paper bags, tubs, and LDPE carry bags, to align with recycling requirements and operational needs.
LDPE is a single-polymer plastic that can be processed through New Zealand’s existing soft plastics recycling system. The material can be reprocessed into products including bin liners, recycled packaging and construction and agricultural materials.
Foodstuffs said it will continue to identify opportunities to remove PVC from its store network, with the shift to LDPE wrap supporting operational requirements and customer participation in recycling programmes.
The company has also rolled out other packaging-related programmes, including Foodstuffs’ cap-recycling initiative in Wellington.
