98% of vineyards and wineries have waste reduction and recovery/recycling programmes.
Walk around our vineyards and wineries and you’ll see that the New Zealand wine industry’s shift towards a circular economy is well underway. From organic waste diversion on the vineyard to smart packaging design in the winery, our members are making a difference by putting waste to work.
As part of its strong support for recycling and composting programmes, SWNZ has started recording waste to landfill, while a working group with close to 100 members is focused on product circularity and repurposing initiatives. The group has introduced packaging recycling for low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastic bags in both winery and vineyard uses, repurposed polyethylene terephthalate (PET) label backing recycling, and repurposed copper chrome arsenate (CCA) treated timber posts so they can be utilised again in agricultural land use.
75% of wineries have waste reduction initiatives.
- 55% of wineries are using recyclable/biodegradable materials
- 23% of wineries have improved packaging efficiency (e.g., redesigned for smaller sizes or spaces with no dividers)
- 22% of wineries have on-site composting of food and fibre
- 13% of wineries are using refillable kegs
Grape marc comprises of the skins and stems left after pressing grapes. It is a significant by-product of winemaking and is managed in different ways.
- 49% of wineries compost it
- 36% of wineries spread it back onto the vineyards or woodlots
- 31% of wineries turn it into stock food
- 4% of wineries send it for offsite reprocessing such as drying
New Zealand boasts a highly respectable glass recovery rate of 75%, and the ability to recycle back into glass containers onshore – an example of the circular economy in action
The Glass Packaging Forum Product Stewardship Scheme accreditation report 2019-2020