Climate change is one of the big issues facing our planet today. But new packaging from ecostore helps people play their part in tackling this global challenge at a local level.
Last September ecostore became the first manufacturer across the Tasman to switch to the new plastic bottles, which we've called Carbon Capture™ Paks. They're made from a renewable sugarcane crop that's a safer alternative to regular plastic and helps reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. The sustainable, fast-growing crop comes from Brazil and there's 92 percent renewable content in each bottle.
The ethanol in the sugarcane is dehydrated to make ethylene, then polymerised to become polyethylene - the plastic made from sugarcane. That's what we use to make our plastic bottles. The biggest advantage is each bottle can be recycled in the same way as other HDPE2 plastic bottles.
Carbon Capture™ Paks are a big achievement for ecostore, according to co-founder and CEO Malcolm Rands.
“Plastic is one of the world's greatest problems and for some time I have been searching for alternatives for ecostore,” he says. “Our petrochemical plastic bottles have been a real bugbear to me. Finding a safer alternative has been a priority. This is huge for me personally and for ecostore and the world.”
When it comes to helping tackle climate change, Carbon Capture™ Paks are a small step that add up to a big difference. The plastic traps carbon from the atmosphere, every 1kg of Carbon Capture™ plastic that gets produced stores as much as the equivalent of 2kg of atmospheric CO2. That compares with the 1.83kg CO2equivalent released into the atmosphere from traditional plastic packaging.
Carbon Capture™ Paks will start appearing in stores this month. The bottles look identical to traditional plastic packaging, so look for the green neck tags on the new packaging and the embossed ‘Carbon Capture' stamp on the base.
And if you want to find out more, visit the Carbon Capture Pak website.