The popularity of glass packaging for food in New Zealand continues its upward trend, the latest GS1 data shows.
Each year, GS1 produces a report on glass packaging volumes sold via supermarkets in New Zealand for the Glass Packaging Forum. The independent report incorporates Circana data of items scanned at checkouts across the country as part of its wider data set. The 2023/24 GS1 data shows an increase in food products in glass packaging, particularly within both the baking and cooking and shelf-stable snacks categories.
Glass Packaging Forum scheme manager Dominic Salmon says this year’s increase is a continuation of the trends shown in previous years, with a 75.5% increase over the past four years and an 18.2% increase from 2022/23 to 2023/24 alone.
“Glass continues to be a popular packaging type among consumers, in large part due to its ease of recycling through both kerbside collections and public drop-off points,” says Salmon. “There’s no confusion with glass – people can be confident in its recyclability. It’s also one of the few food and beverage packaging options which can be recycled over and over, right here in Aotearoa.”
The Glass Packaging Forum (GPF) is a voluntary product stewardship scheme, whereby its member levies fund better recycling and recovery outcomes for glass in New Zealand through a range of measures, including providing grants for community and council projects.
The GPF also recently conducted a consumer survey with over 300 Kiwis whose attitudes largely reflect the purchasing behaviour in this latest GS1 data set, Salmon says.
“Many respondents told us they actively choose glass packaging because they know it’s recyclable. And 72% said they always recycle their glass bottles and jars. That’s something we can all be proud of.”
Salmon says the GS1 data, alongside the GPF consumer survey results, also demonstrates a shifting attitude to sustainability, whereby New Zealanders want to be confident that their purchasing choices are not harming the environment and that producers are taking responsibility for their products’ waste.
“Seventy-nine per cent of our survey respondents told us they actually want to know which brands are contributing towards the cost of improving glass collection and recycling.”
He says this is where brands can take advantage of their GPF membership as part of their sustainability actions, in a public-facing way.
“Our members can tell their customers a clear, proven story around their packaging stewardship, because they are actively contributing to how we all collect and recycle glass across the country. It’s what Kiwis want to hear from the businesses they support, and our members can do that,” Salmon says.
“Glass has long been an excellent circular packaging option for brands wanting to reduce their waste streams at the end of their product’s life, so it’s heartening to see consumers also becoming more aware and engaged in their packaging purchasing decisions.”
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