Micro changes add up to something pretty big

On World Oceans Day last year Foodstuffs announced they would pull all microbead product from their shelves; a full year ahead of a government ban. 2018 sees Foodstuffs showing just how well their customers have taken to recycling and to making small changes which have a major impact.

Steve Anderson, CEO Foodstuffs South Island says, "We care deeply about our community, our people and our planet. Foodstuffs is doing everything we can along with our customers to reduce our environmental footprint, and nowhere is it more evident how much this matters than in Kaikoura.

"Here, New Zealanders and international visitors are able to get up close and personal with some of the most amazing creatures on Earth and we'd all like to be able to ensure this for generations to come. Getting plastic out of our oceans is a top priority. Today we're unveiling a gift to the team at Whale Watch Kaikoura, which is made from recycled microbeads and soft plastics.

"When we announced our microbead ban we invited customers to swap old microbead product for new microbead-free Essano product - made by another fantastic New Zealand owned and operated company. The tubes and containers we collected in our New World stores were recycled and we captured the microbeads to ensure they didn't make their way down the drain. The beads were blended with soft plastics, collected from our stores, by the team at Replas and MetalArt, and we've created the bench seat that we are donating to Whale Watch Kaikoura today."

Foodstuffs were excited to take the lead on the microbead ban which set out to reduce the level of plastic in New Zealand's waterways and oceans. "I'm happy to announce today that, like microbeads, we will have banned plastic stemmed cotton buds by October this year. What's more, this week we have outlined our support for the NZ Plastics Packaging Declaration, which will see less and less waste end up in landfill and on our beaches," says Anderson.

All these changes with the support from our customers add up to a big and positive impact on the environment.