Kiwi manufacturing company ecostore is changing the plastic packaging of its entire product line to cut pollution and take a stand against global warming.
Their plastic bottles are currently made from oil-based products, but they're being replaced by bottles made from sugarcane in what ecostore believes is a New Zealand first.
The two plastic bottles look exactly same, but they're not. One is made from oil, which comes from fossil fuels, but the other comes from sugarcane.
When plastics from fossil fuels are made, the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, is released. But when plastics from sugarcane are produced, that doesn't happen. As sugarcane grows it absorbs carbon dioxide.
"People can feel good about the plastic they're using because it's actually helping the planet," says ecostore founder Malcolm Rands.
Ecostore estimates 3 million sugarcane bottles will make up for carbon emissions from 120,000 car trips to work each year.
"It's a relatively small amount of the total emissions of New Zealand, which are about 30 million tonnes a year, but every bit counts and we need all the help we can get."
That is especially true for a country that has got the fourth highest greenhouse gas emissions per capita in the world.
"If we can reduce the use of fossil fuels and use alternatives instead, then it will certainly help climate change over the next decade or three," says professor of sustainable energy Ralph Sims.
Most of the magic happens in Brazil, where the sugarcane is made into plastic pellets. The plastic's then turned into bottles here.
Mr Rands says even shipping the plastic halfway around the world makes for a relatively low carbon footprint.
Mr Rands has a message for other plastic manufacturers.
"I'd like to challenge all the big corporations. Why aren't they doing the same?"
The company will have to spend an extra quarter of a million dollars a year to use the sugarcane bottles. But don't worry; they say they won't be passing the cost on to consumers. They'll just put it down to doing their bit for climate change.
3 News
source: newshub archive
