Sustainability
Environmental Benefits
New Zealanders dump an estimated 380,000 tonnes of plastic every year and we rank poorly against other western countries on a per capita basis.
Of particular concern is flexible plastic packaging such as films, bags and pouches. While these products are indispensable to food safety and human health, because they are so light, they can easily get dispersed through our environment, creating visual pollution and posing risks to marine and bird life.
Before Future Post, recycling or repurposing options for these plastics were - for all practical purposes - non-existent in New Zealand due to the material being light, multi-coloured, containing attached paper labels and other “contaminants” (e.g. organics such as food residues) and the fact that there was no substantial market for recycled plastic products using these materials.
In its short life, Future Post has already achieved remarkable success. In the last year to March 2023, it diverted over 1,800 tonnes of waste plastics including over 550 tonnes of soft plastics collected nationwide from households via the Packaging Forum’s Soft Plastics Recycling Scheme (SPRS). Absent Future Post, all that soft plastic waste would have ended up in our landfills or scattered through the broader environment.
Each Future Post contains over 19 kilograms of plastics waste and comprises the equivalent of approximately 250 milk bottles and 1,100 plastic bread bags. Considering that the domestic market for wooden posts exceeds 200,000 tonnes per annum, Future Post has the potential to make a huge impact on New Zealand’s plastic waste problem.
From plastic to post
Future Post recycle domestic and commercial mixed grade waste plastic including “difficult to recycle” types 2, 4, 5 and 7 of all colours, into premium 100% recycled, UV stabilised products.
Step 1
Domestic and commercial waste plastics are sourced as raw ingredients. Milk bottles, single-use plastic, soft plastics, buckets, drums and more.
Step 2
The waste plastic is ground into a consistent form ready for processing.
Step 3
The blended plastic is UV stabilised and extruded into posts.
Step 4
The finished posts are QA inspected and packaged into our unique crate system, ready for delivery.
Types of Plastic We Recycle
High Density Polyethylene is extremely strong and durable. Household containers, 20– 200 litre drums, milk bottles, mussel floats, conduit piping and wheelie bins are common forms of HDPE that we recycle daily.
Low Density Polyethylene is valued due to its strength ratio and the main plastic used in all flexible packaging. Pallet wrap, food packaging, irrigation drip pipe and plant growing sleeves are common LDPE items now able to be recycled in New Zealand thanks to Future Post.
Polypropylene products that we can recycle include many everyday household products such as ice cream containers, detergent bottles, yoghurt pottles and plant pots as well as PPE such as face masks, hair nets and shoe covers.
Type 7 comprises “all other plastics” and includes safety glasses, headlight lenses and acrylic bottles. We can recycle small quantities of these.
