Making strides on its sustainability path, iconic Australian food and drinks manufacturer Bega Group is rolling out nationally a 100% recycled plastic bottle (excluding cap and label) for its impulse milk beverage range, while its PIDA-nominated product The Juice Brothers has achieved Carbon Neutral Certification.
The rPET bottle is for Bega's flavoured milk and ice coffee products under 1L, which the company says will be fully converted to the 100 per cent rPET packaging by September this year. Brands in the first phase of the rPET rollout are Dare Iced Coffee, Big M, and Dairy Farmers Classic, on shelf as of today, with Farmers Union Iced Coffee transitioning from May and Masters from July 2023.
Carolina Arango, group manager Environment for Bega told PKN: "The rPET bottles are being delivered from several suppliers to cater to the group’s different manufacturing sites across the country," adding that the rPET bottles are Australian made and the materials for the rPET bottles have been sourced within Australia, where possible.
The 100 per cent rPET bottles can be recycled repeatedly, although this does not apply to the cap and label. Arango told PKN that the company is looking into creating washable labels to facilitate easier recycling, and also has projects in place to improve the recycability of the caps.
It's not Bega's first foray into rPET. Its juice range branded The Juice Brothers, packaged in 1.5L rPET bottles, is already available on shelf, and has now achieved Carbon Neutral certification. According to Bega, this means that the brand has an “ambitious carbon reduction program” and is offsetting the carbon emitted in the production of its 1.5L juice products with 100 per cent Australian Carbon Credit Units, becoming carbon neutral – a carbon footprint equal to zero. This Carbon Neutral certification is awarded by Climate Active in conjunction with The Australian Government.
The Juice Brothers’ 100% recycled and recyclable plastic bottles is a finalist in the ‘Sustainable Packaging Design of the Year’ category at this year’s Australasian Packaging Innovation & Design Awards, with winners to be announced on 29 March.
Bega Group's packaging sustainability goals, embodied in its 'Planet Pledge' sees a commitment to having approximately 50 per cent of its products use recycled materials and 100 per cent of products being either reusable, recyclable or compostable by 2025.
Arango also told PKN: "We launched rPET packaging in Tasmania a few years ago, and are currently in the process of rolling this out nationally to have all of our sites produce our bottles using rPET by September 2023. Our labels are set to be updated throughout this transition period, indicating that the bottle is made from 100 per cent rPET recycled plastic," noting that the labels for both ranges will carry the Australasian Recycling Label.
According to Darryn Wallace, executive GM of Bega Dairy and Drinks, 82.5 per cent of Bega’s packaging is already reusable, recyclable or compostable. He said, “The launch of rPET will contribute to our packaging targets further by significantly reducing the amount of virgin plastic we use as a business in line with the APCO packaging targets.”
More broadly, the business has also set targets around waste reduction and water reduction, alongside other climate focuses.
Arango said, “Bega Group is delighted to invest in nature-based solution projects that provide environmental and community benefits to Australia as well as reduce carbon emissions. Squeezing instead of crushing our orange, apple and pear fruit to preserve the peels and re-use that as local animal feed, as well as committing to making our 1.5L bottles out of 100 per cent recycled and recyclable plastic (excluding caps & labels), are features of our products that are proudly Carbon Neutral and delicious.”
The Juice Brothers’ Climate Active Certification for its 1.5L range is part of the pathway to achieve Bega Group’s goal of reducing its carbon emissions by 40 per cent in 2030, to net zero in 2050 in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
