News Going green

Going green

SUSTAINABILITY IN ACTION

Sustainability has become a key focus of the fresh produce supply chain. Consumers want it, and the planet demands it.

Recently innovation has taken table grape supply chain partners to great places in the quest for sustainable and eco-friendly practices, due to mounting pressure on fresh produce suppliers to take up the fight against plastic pollution and reduce their carbon footprint.

The pursuit of going green might not be a simple process, however, as preserving the environment, along with grape quality and production practices, is a delicate balance.

Here, we explore some of the current and future initiatives and trends in industry. The rise of the conscious consumer

Consumers have generated a movement in consciousness, particularly over the past few years. Research shows Australian consumers are increasingly using their collective power to hold businesses to account to ensure they’re not only using eco-friendly and sustainable practices, but overall are environmentally and socially responsible.

According to the New Daily, a recent Finder report showed more than half of Australians have become more mindful of their environmental impact since the start of Covid-19, and 44 per cent of consumers consider a brand’s green efforts to be “very” or “extremely” important when making a purchasing decision. Sustainable packaging

The 2025 National Packaging Targets apply to all packaging that is made, used and sold in Australia. Industry targets requiring attention include the increase in the amount of recycled plastic used, and an increase in the amount of plastic recycled. These targets, combined with shifting consumer sentiments, mean businesses must demonstrate change.

Michael Dossor is the group general manager of Result Group, which specialises in streamlining packaging, product identification and distribution processes.

Michael echoed the sentiments from a packaging perspective. “According to research the consumer will always choose board over plastic,” Michael said. “We are now seeing a move towards board-based trays with plastic flow wrap, the next step is using linerless label technology to completely remove plastic.

Many table grape producers are leading the charge, including Costa Group.

Costa entered the sustainable packaging space for grapes last season, with the launch of its 100 per cent recyclable punnet.

“The base is cardboard, the lid is PET, that has been made from 100 per cent recycled materials,” said Campbell Banfield, Costa’s divisional manager, grape marketing. “As there is no label (glue), the whole punnet is 100 per cent kerbside recyclable. All components of the punnet are also produced in Australia.”

Campbell said the concept for their sustainable packaging had been in the pipeline for “well over a year, from initial conception to production and launch”.

“As the packaging is entirely bespoke, all elements had to be created from scratch,” he said. “Additionally, as

a cardboard base was initially an unknown quantity, trials regarding shelf-life, etc., were required to ensure the integrity of the packaging and the produce inside.

“Costa wanted unique packaging that would showcase our premium white seedless variety (AUTUMNCRISP®), and a pre-pack allows differentiation and space for consumer messaging at point of sale.

“We chose to move to a sustainable premium option, in line with consumer sentiment around eco-friendly packaging for their produce, and to showcase our premium grape varieties.”

The flexibility of the cardboard also allowed for “creative elements”, with the cardboard base also opening into a serving platter. Postharvest storage

The shift in packaging has been joined by a mission to replace other postharvest storage and transportation inputs with sustainable and eco-friendly options.

Recyclable sulphur dioxide generating sheets are now available commercially in South Africa, and trials have been completed in Australia.

“Uvasys Vivo not only reduces waste by protecting table grapes against spoilage, but the polypropylene plastic sheet is fully recyclable,” said Gill Ambler, the Australian agent for Tessara, which makes the Uvasys product.

“Uvasys Vivo has the same active ingredient as Uvasys, namely sodium metabisulphite. It, too, is a dual release sulphur pad. The first stage emits high amounts of sulphur dioxide to sterilise the surface of the berries and kills any botrytis spores. The second stage will continue to emit a low concentration of sulphur dioxide for 8—10 weeks.”

The product is currently in the process of registration with the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority before it can become available in Australia. Alongside packaging plastics, agricultural plastic waste can be a challenge for primary producers.

“Plastic waste is a huge problem for our primary producers in Australia,” said Dr Anne-Maree Boland, RMCG principal.

RMCG is tasked with leading a pilot program that is informing the development of the National Agricultural Plastics Stewardship Scheme to recover table grape covers and other agricultural plastics in order to divert them from landfill.

“As there are limited options for recycling this type of waste, it is often disposed of in harmful ways that can pollute our environment,” Anne-Maree said.

“We know industry want to do the right thing and this pilot provides an opportunity to work with industry leaders, collect end-of-life agricultural plastics and turn these products back into new ones to help farmers reduce waste and save money.”

Growers in the Sunraysia region are still able to dispose of old plastics for free or arrange on-farm collection for larger volumes of waste until the end of October. Further information and bookings can be made at www.rmcg. com.au/agplasticpilotvic With consumers, governments and industry on a mission to reduce plastics, producers have a role to play, according to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

“Tackling the plastics problem is a shared responsibility,” it said in its National Plastics Plan factsheet for businesses.

“Businesses can play a key role in addressing plastics through its entire life-cycle – including design, use, recovery and re-use.

“Prevent – stop plastic at its source. We need to act now to reduce our plastics, and avoid plastics that cannot be recycled.

“The simplest way to do this is to avoid generating unnecessary, single-use and problematic plastics and design your products and packaging for sustainability.

“You can: transition away from unnecessary single-use plastics used in your business; ask your suppliers to use sustainable alternatives; shift to easily recyclable plastics such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (high-density polyethylene), LDPE (low-density polyethylene) and PP (polypropylene).”

While it can be confusing to understand if and how these plastic types can be recycled, using easily recyclable plastic types makes the process much easier for a business, and the product’s consumer. v