Every year thousands of tons of plastic waste goes into New Zealand landfills.

We can dramatically reduce the amount of plastic we import and dump if we act now to create a circular economy.

PET plastic is the clear plastic marked with number one, the plastic bottles and food containers are made from.

PET plastic is fully recyclable and can be recycled multiple times.

Recycled PET is known as RPET.

Under the traditional linear economy model we import thousands of tons of PET plastic resin and PET trays and containers.

These imported plastic trays and containers made from the imported resin are then filled with products at food companies and supermarkets.

The consumer then buys the product, uses it, and disposes of the packaging.

Some of this is re-exported to be recycled offshore, but most of it ends up in our landfills where it can take hundreds of years to decompose.

This is the unacceptable reality of the take, make, use, and dispose linear economy.

So what's the solution?

The PET circular economy.

Mow when you put your PET products in your recycling bin, New Zealand's first PET recycling plant at Flight Plastics is remaking them into food grade PET packaging, which other consumers buy again and the cycle repeats, preventing waste every time.

This vastly reduces the amount of PET resin, trays and containers we import, and reduces the equivalent amount of waste to export or landfill.

Recycling PET here creates jobs in New Zealand, benefits our economy, and reduces the wider environmental impacts associated with producing and importing PET.

Research shows that consumers recycle more if they know we are actually using our own recycled PET.

In some countries over 70% of PET packaging is now recycled, and if Kiwis buy New Zealand recycled PET containers we can achieve that here.

You can support our New Zealand PET circular economy when you buy products and clear plastic containers and trays.

Look for the Flight logo and New Zealand recycled plastic.

You may see containers marked recycled or recyclable but if they're not New Zealand recycled then they’re made from imported material.

Ask your supermarket or favourite brand if their containers and meat trays are made from New Zealand recycled PET, and be sure to put all of your PET drink bottles, containers, and trays in your recycling bin.

Welcome to New Zealand’s PET circular economy, it's an opportunity for all of us.