Media Release
May 1, 2019
Recycled milk bottles win gold at trans-Tasman packaging awards
A new sustainable milk bottle made from recycled (rPET) plastics has won two gold medals at the 2019 Packaging
Innovation and Design Awards, announced in Sydney on Tuesday (30 April).
Lewis Road Creamery’s recycled (rPET) milk bottles won top honours in the beverage and sustainability categories at the
Awards, recgonising the company’s commitment to sustainability through the design of innovative packaging materials.
Last August, Lewis Road became the first milk producer in the country to change to rPET bottles made from entirely
recycled plastic, meaning no new plastic is created to produce the bottles, which can then be continuously recycled.
“This is an outstanding achievement for our team who have worked really hard with our bottle supplier Alto, to bring
these recycled bottles to market and offer New Zealanders a sustainable option in the dairy aisle,” says Lewis Road
Creamery founder Peter Cullinane.
To coincide with their awards win, Lewis Road has announced it will be transitioning it’s 300ml flavoured milk and cream
bottles to recycled rPET bottles by the end of the year.
“We love fresh milk, but not fresh plastic. So anything we can do to reduce new plastics being introduced into the waste
stream is a significant step forward. We are delighted that we are now in a position to have all our milk bottles – 1.5
litre, 750ml and 300ml – packaged in these award winning recycled bottles.”
Lewis Road says the move to rPET bottles for its 300ml range of milks and creams is estimated to save approximately 50
tonnes of plastic being produced and imported into New Zealand each year. This is in addition to the 210 tonnes of new
plastic saved annually when it introduced the new bottles for its white milk range in August last year.
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