Monday June 17th

Charlie’s backs down on recycling claims

Charlie’s is removing all recycling claims from its Honest Water Eco Bottles, following an investigation by the Commerce Commission.

The investigation was initiated by a complaint sent to the Commerce Commission by community recycling organisation Wanaka Wastebusters.

The Commerce Commission confirmed the recycler’s position that PLA [Polylactic Acid] cannot be recycled in New Zealand, at present, because the limited amount of PLA sold in New Zealand makes it uneconomic.

Following the investigation, Charlie’s decided to remove the “Please recycle” label from its Honest Water Eco Bottles from its next print run.

The company has also removed all potentially misleading claims about the recyclability of the water bottles from its website.

Wanaka Wastebusters spokesperson Gina Dempster said that the community enterprise was delighted that Charlie’s had revised their stance that it was the responsibility of recyclers to deal with the bottles at the end of their life.

Last year, Wastebusters sent 1,232 Honest Water Eco-Bottles back to Charlie’s because they couldn’t recycle them, and asked Charlie’s to recycle them. The bottles ended up being composted at the Envirofert facility in Tuakau.

Ms Dempster said that Wanaka Wastebusters had taken the case to the Commerce Commission to protect the goodwill that people have towards recycling.

“When people put their recycling out, they trust that it will actually be recycled, and that trust needs to be protected.

“It’s misleading to put “please recycle” on the label, if the bottles are actually going to end up in the landfill.”

Ms Dempster said Charlie’s set a very high standard for themselves by marketing their water bottle as the Honest Eco Water Bottle, and they failed to live up to it.

“It’s the company’s responsibility to find out what is going to happen to their packaging at the end of its life and to make sure their labels reflect that.”

“We would encourage companies to talk to recyclers at the design stage, so that they don’t get any unpleasant shocks after they put their new packaging out on the shelves.”

Ms Dempster said that Wanaka Wastebusters has developed a smart packaging website for businesses www.smartpackaging.org with financial assistance from the Waste Minimisation Fund.

The Commerce Commission has sent a Compliance Advice Letter to Charlie’s in regard to the complaint, and has said that the investigation is now closed.

ENDS

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