Meet the Kiwi who’s found recycling is really the final straw
AS Kiwis dig more and more into their takeaways and food deliveries, we’re in danger of buying into the disposable society – but this trend has been the final straw for one eco-minded Kiwi businessman.
Tony Small is the founder and brains behind the fast-growing, 3-year-old company Innocent Packaging, which makes disposable products out of straw.
‘‘We produce plates, food containers and coffee cups from a wheat waste product called wheat straw,’’ Small said.
The wheat straw is bought from Chinese farmers, who used to burn the husk or straw left behind from wheat crops.
‘‘Because of air pollution the government banned any burning of straw. So they’re left with huge fields of straw, and we purchase that from local farmers and take it to our factory and put that through what’s essentially a big washing machine and turn it into mulch.’’
Heat is then used to mould the products. No other chemical apart from water is used in the process.
‘‘There’s no bleach, no chlorine, no petroleum or oil. It’s literally just wheat straw,’’ he said.
Innocent Packaging is Auckland-based and recently opened an office in Christchurch to service the South Island.
But this isn’t Small’s first attempt at making Kiwis more sustainable. His first business manufactured reusable coffee cups, but he quickly realised the product was doing little to reduce waste.
‘‘We were doing quite well, we were exporting to Japan and Australia,’’ Small said.
But after talking to friends who said they stopped using reusable mugs after a few weeks, he realised the business was doing little to help the earth.
‘‘Their intention is great. I think people buy reusable products based on the best intentions and feel good factor, but then after a couple of weeks they find it in their car and it smells and they’re too busy to wash it and most people I speak to have four or five of them in their cupboard.
‘‘To have any impact we need to simplify things, to a point where people don’t know they are doing something better or more sustainably.’’
A challenge the business faced early on was the amount of waste water the process created.
So Small put his sustainability hat on and decided to design a giant worm farm next to the factory.
‘‘We transfer the waste water to the worms and the worms are sold every 28 days as fish food. The fertiliser goes back to the farmers we purchase the wheat straw off.’’
Innocent Packaging products are bought by Auckland coffee roasters eighthirty, Kokako, and 3 beans.
Best Ugly Bagels was using packaging made from tree fibres and recently jumped on board with Innocent Packaging’s wheat straw range when it joined Uber Eats.
Although Small manufactures in China and Taiwan, from where the finished product is shipped to New Zealand, Small ultimately wants to bring manufacturing over to New Zealand.
‘‘There are amazing things happening globally – plastic bags have been banned in Kenya and I don’t know why we don’t do the same thing. We can live without plastic bags and single use polystyrene.’’
People buy reusable products based on the best intentions and feel good factor, but then after a couple of weeks they find it in their car and it smells and they’re too busy to wash it.’ TONY SMALL