Reusable Packaging in Aotearoa – getting back to the future 

The state of play today, barriers to growth, opportunities for innovation, and recommendations for action.

JUNE 2022 

About this report

Reusable Packaging in Aotearoa paints a picture of current reusable packaging systems in New Zealand, outlines the barriers and opportunities for growth, and makes practical recommendations to councils, industry groups and government on how to support reuse. The report’s findings and recommendations are based on interviews with businesses, desktop research, and a literature review. The report has three sections:

1.0 Setting the scene

2.0 Sector snapshots

3.0 Taking action

Click below to read the full report, or scroll down to read individual chapters. We recommend reading the Setting the scene chapters before embarking on the other sections.

This report was funded through the Resource Wise Community Fund, managed by Tauranga City Council.  The grant was awarded to explore reusable packaging in the Tauranga economy, and to produce recommendations to support the growth of reusable packaging in the city. Reuse Aotearoa has included additional chapters to the report for context – namely, the two Setting the Scene chapters, and Chapter 3 of Taking Action – which have been self-funded.

The three sections and their chapters

1.0 Setting the Scene

This section frames up the rest of the report. Chapter 1 explains what reusable packaging systems are, why they are important, and what a best-practice system looks like. Chapter 2 explores some of the barriers to reusable packaging systems in New Zealand.

2.0 Sector Snapshots

The chapters in section 2.0 dive deep into reusable packaging systems across six sectors of the economy. The chapter contents draw on desktop research and interviews with businesses knowledgeable about reusable packaging systems in Aotearoa. To understand how we chose the sectors and participants, check out the introduction page here.  

3.0 Taking Action

The chapters in this section provide practical recommendations for different stakeholders on how to support an increase in reusable packaging systems. The recommendations reflect what interviewees told us would be helpful to them, and what we learned from our wider research. 

If you have any queries about our work, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Location

56D Newton Street

Mount Maunganui New Zealand 3116

 

Contact

(027) 669 6955
reuse@reuseaotearoa.org.nz