Global giant Mars Petcare Australia has partnered with REDcycle, which provides a route for its dry pet food bags and flexible pouches to be recycled into a range of outdoor products.
The Australian pet food company said in a statement last Friday it joined the program, which represents an opportunity for millions of tonnes of plastic to be recycled helping to stop the progression to landfill and contamination of the environment.
“We’re proud to join the REDcycle Program and share the responsibility for the packaging’s best end-of-life outcome by collaborating with our retailers and our customers,” said Mars Petcare Australia’s general manager Barry O’Sullivan.
“Our (Mars) Sustainable in a Generation Plan is designed to help us grow in ways that are good for people, good for the planet and good for business. Today we’re thrilled that through the initiative of our Associates, we have a solution to help combat environmental harm and supports our ambition to be a leader in sustainability.”
The pet food company said REDcycle’s program is a supermarket-based recycling program that invites consumers to gather together their empty soft plastic packaging and unwanted shopping bags and return them to their nearest Coles or Woolworths supermarket for recycling.
“We are delighted to welcome Mars Petcare to the program. Our process represents a great use for consumer soft plastic waste. Not only is it diverted from landfill, it is turned into something valuable,” Elizabeth Kasell, director of RED Group the Melbourne-based company behind the REDcycle program said.
“Since the program commenced in 2010, thanks to the efforts of Australian consumers and REDcycle, over 380 million pieces or 1930 tonnes of soft post-consumer packaging waste have been diverted from landfill, that’s enough to circle Australia 3.5 times.”
In partnership with Coles and Woolworths, REDcycle currently provides Australian consumers with over 900 retail drop-off points. By partnering with REDcycle, Mars Petcare Australia joins FMCG brands such as Helga’s, Kellogg’s, Arnott’s and Birds Eye.
Once collected, REDcycle in conjunction with Australian manufacturer Replas, recycles the plastic into a range of sturdy products suitable for use in schools, parks and public spaces. The range includes outdoor furniture, decking, dog agility and human fitness circuits, signage, bollards and traffic control products.
Currently, Mars Petcare said just over three million pieces of soft plastic (bags and packaging) returned by Australian consumers are recovered and recycled every week by RED Group. The model is aligned with the objectives of the Australian Packaging Covenant and provides a way for each participant in the product packaging lifecycle, from brand owners to retailers and consumers, to play a role in a more sustainable and worthwhile end of life outcome.
