So far, we've removed
virgin plastic bottles from landfills and oceans
When you throw something away, where is away? Are we taking something that was useful and sticking it in a hole in the ground? We admit, there is no perfect solution for sustainable packaging. Apia Honey, as a brand, but more importantly as custodians of the earth, has a responsibility to think deeply about the choices we make when it comes to how we produce our products and distribute them. The decision of which material to package our products and ultimately to choose recycled plastic (rPET) or glass, was an example of this.
Apia Honey has chosen to use bottles & jars made from 100% Recycled Post Consumer Resin (rPET). This is the process of taking poor quality PET plastic often destined for incineration or landfill and turning it back into high quality food packaging material, in effect closing the loop.
All glass bottles start out as raw materials. These materials such as sand, soda ash, and limestone are mined materials from the earth that can never be replaced once used for glass production. We decided to use a material that has already been introduced into the system (PET or plastic) and then reuse it to reduce the overall total amount of plastic left in the system.
Distributing products throughout the world via air freight, sea containers and via trucks on land leaves a carbon footprint. The physical weight of using glass as a packaging material over rPET makes it physically heavier to transport which leads to more fossil fuels being consumed to deliver our products. More air fuel, more diesel and significantly more time to move products made the decision to use rPET a more sustainable choice.
1. Sorted plastic waste is collected from households and businesses.
2. Waste is sent to a recycling facility that further separates different types of plastics before washing and shredding it into smaller pieces.
3. Plastic pieces are melted down and extruded into a rope-like texture.
4. Plastic 'rope' is then chopped into uniform granule pieces. These granules are ready to be melted down into 'new' packaging and other plastic goods.
5. Apia Honey jars are formed from recycled plastic, thanks to your own recycling efforts.
(Rinse, and repeat!)
The decision to package some of our skincare products in food & medical grade aluminum tubes was a conscious decision to choose a sustainable material with the least amount of impact on the environment as possible. This low footprint is partly achieved by the ease at which aluminum can be recycled and processed without a significant reduction in quality, leading to lower recycling costs and reduced carbon emissions.
An estimated 75% of all aluminum ever produced is still in use today making it a sustainable option to package our skincare products into and continue to encourage our customers to recycle their tubes once they’re finished using our products.
Our aluminum tubes are lightweight, strong and are 100% recyclable.
Apia Honey takes packaging decisions very seriously with a heavy focus on sustainability so please continue our passion for the environment and recycle our tubes so that our impact is as minimal as possible.