Lion New Zealand has announced that its staff across the country removed almost 1,600 litres of rubbish from Aotearoa’s beaches, waterways and parks last year.
Over the course of five Sustainable Coastlines clean up events, 124 Lion staff collected everything from road cones and broken plastic chairs to discarded takeaway packaging and single use bottles.
“We’ve supported Sustainable Coastlines for more than a decade and each year we invite our team to participate in clean-up activities,” says Lion New Zealand’s Sustainability Advisor, Lorietta Bahr.
“Volunteering is a core part of our company sustainability strategy to be a ‘force for good’ and these events bring home the importance of our sustainable packaging targets and giving back to our communities.”
Bahr says the Lion team took part in clean ups in Auckland, Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch and collected 1,575 litres or 384 kgs of litter.
“You go out hoping to see as little rubbish as possible, but inevitably you end up with full bags,” she says.
“Litter on our beaches can have a devastating effect on the environment. Disposing of rubbish correctly is critical and we have a responsibility as a drinks company to ensure as much of our packaging is reused or recycled as possible.”
Bahr says on average, Lion’s packaging in New Zealand is made from 63.3% recycled material, while more than 99.2% of its packaging is recyclable or reusable.
“We will continue to push past our recycled content target of 50 % to get it as high as we can, and we have been making small, but meaningful changes to our packaging design to reduce weight and increase recyclability even further.”
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