Reducing Polystyrene Packaging

To support the national sustainable packaging target for packaging materials to be reuseable, recyclable or compostable, we have changed the packaging of key yogurt and cream brands, including market leading Farmers Union and Dairy Farmers.

In June 2020 a major project was initiated to redesign some of our packaging for yoghurt and cream. At the time, approximately 70% of those tubs were made from a non-recyclable rigid polystyrene. Changing to a polypropylene tub involved simplifying the number and type of tubs across multiple production lines and two sites at Morwell and Chelsea. It was also an

opportunity to change the design for consumers and align with initiatives to improve delivery efficiencies and reduce storage space. The project excluded multi-packs.

The project has already reduced our overall use of nonrecyclable rigid polystyrene packaging by more than 50% and will keep a significant amount of polystyrene packaging out of landfill. Using PET in the lids of the medium sized tubs also gives us the opportunity to consider the use of rPET in the future, which has been successfully implemented in some of our other product categories.