Environmental cleaning and care product company ecostore has converted its entire product line of petrochemical plastic packaging into plastic made of sugarcane in an effort to cut pollution.
The sugarcane plastic containers which the company has used for their new "carbon capture paks',
has been around for a number of years but according to ecostore chief executive Malcolm Rands their company is the first in New Zealand to replace their entire product line with the sugarcane alternative. "There's a very good reason why we're calling this our carbon capture pak," Rands said. "As sugarcane grows it captures CO2 from the atmosphere, which is then stored in the plastic. This natural process actually reduces our carbon footprint, which effectively helps to reduce climate change," he said.
Research conducted on the sugarcane containers by its producers in Japan and Brazil showed that every kilogram of carbon capture plastic produced captured 2kg of atmospheric CO2. Comparatively every kilogram of petrochemical produced caused just under 2kg of CO2 to be generated and released.
According to Rands, the new carbon capture paks would result in a saving of 639 tonnes of CO2 each year, the equivalent of 123,000 daily commutes based on an average commute of 28 kilometres per day.
