Coles partners with Planet Ark to tackle waste and recycling

To mark World Environment Day, 5 June, Coles has announced a new three-year partnership with environmental not-for-profit, Planet Ark, to help further its efforts to reduce food waste and packaging, and to tackle plastic waste and recycling.

The two organisations will work together on a range of waste reduction and recycling initiatives, including during National Recycling Week and School Recycle Right Challenge, of which Coles is the major sponsor.

Brooke Donnelly, Coles General Manager, Sustainability, said the retailer is proud to partner with the not-for-profit and help further Australia’s transition to a more circular economy.

“Through this partnership, we can significantly assist Planet Ark to boost its program of work, including delivering additional campaigns, events and resources, with the overall aim of driving positive environmental change,” Donnelly said.

“We understand for many consumers recycling can be confusing, but we’re confident that through this partnership and the work we are doing at Coles to make packaging more reusable, recyclable, and compostable, we can help build trust and understanding for this important process.”

Rebecca Gilling, Planet Ark Chief Executive Officer, said the partnership with Coles would not only help to spread Planet Ark’s positive environmental actions among Coles customers around Australia, but also to drive positive change across the retailer’s operations.

The partnership announcement comes as Coles has added the Australasian Recycle Label (ARL) to the packaging artwork across all Own Brand products. The ARL provides Australians with easy-to-understand recycling information that helps to remove confusion at the recycling bin, save time for users and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

Recently Coles also announced it will phase out soft plastic bags both in-store and online by the end of June, a move that will remove 230 million plastic bags from circulation in one year. In addition, the retailer is supporting the delivery of Australia’s national packaging targets of 100 per cent reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by 2025.

Coles is a signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant and a Member of the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO), tasked with delivering Australia’s 2025 National Packaging Targets, the aim of which is to drive the transition to a circular economy.

Other Coles partners with a focus on improving environmental outcomes include the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and Clean Up Australia.

For more information, visit: www.coles.com.au