New Zealand′s Paperboard Packaging Industry

Paperboard packaging is regarded as a most ecologically sound and environmentally friendly packaging option, with benefits in product protection, waste and disposal properties and easy recyclability. New Zealand has a paperboard packaging industry, small by international standards, manufacturing 245,000 tonnes of packaging annually. Over 100,000 tonnes of recycled fibre (25 per cent of all paper and paperboard consumed in New Zealand is recovered for recycling) are included in packaging boards for a variety of uses. New Zealand′s forest management is world‐renowned; the pulp and paper industry sources its virgin fibre requirements from plantation pine forests. The country′s major manufacturer of pulp and paperboard has developed a new pulp‐bleaching technique which avoids chlorine use. It is also 50 per cent self‐sufficient in energy generation. Packaging manufacturers are urged to avoid overpackaging and take responsibility to ensure environmental‐friendliness by suppliers of inks and coatings.