Goodbye
Plastic - Hello Potato Plate!
Just
under 20% of the waste collected over a five year period from
the beaches during the International Coastal Clean-Up comes
from plastic food containers and plates, placing these items
in the top five of types of debris found on beaches.
Here
on Rarotonga surveys also show that 10% of all waste at the
Nikao landfill comes from plastic, while on Aitutaki 14% of
the waste is comprised of plastic.
Now,
a new product offers a possible solution to the problem - food
containers, plates, trays and cups made from potatoes (naturally
produced potato starch) rather than plastic. These new products
are non-toxic, 100% bio-degradable and 100% compostable.
Thanks
to CITC Foods and REAP this new environment friendly product
is now available here in the Cook Islands.
CITC
Manager Steve Matthews said REAP's Bruce Gray brought to his
attention the product information and samples from Potato Pak
New Zealand Ltd.
"After
reviewing product information and testing samples we decided
to bring the product to Rarotonga. CITC has long been committed
to responsible environment action and we are happy to offer
this new environment friendly product to our wholesale and retail
customers. The environmental advantage of the Potato Plate product
is that they can be fed after use to pigs or goats, etc. and
the alternative is to compost them - they do not go to the landfill."
REAP's
Bruce Gray said "he was very pleased to see CITC take this positive
step to protect the environment and to reduce landfill waste.
CITC has been very proactive in its support of responsible environmental
programmes from recycling to the introduction of the BioBag
which is a bio-degradable plastic bag. This is another example
of the Cook Islands private sector environmental leadership
and REAP congratulates CITC for their initiative in this area."
The
Potato Plates are just as sturdy as the plastic plate and come
in a wide variety of colours which make them perfect for that
party, catered affair or government function.
Another
advantage of the PotatoPak products is that food stays fresher
longer as the product absorbs a certain amount of moisture thereby
keeping food from getting soggy.
PotatoPak
products are available in various colours and sizes, are suitable
for commercial and domestic use, are competitively priced, fully
bio-degradable and have great insulation qualities.
PotatoPak
Products Ltd. were winners of the New Zealand Environmental
Packaging Award (1999) and were debuted by McDonald's at the
2000 Olympic Summer Games in Sydney, Australia.
Cook
Islands News 2nd May 2003
