Have you noticed some cardboard bread tags on your supermarket shelves? Australia’s most iconic bread manufacturer, Tip Top, is ditching plastic bread tags in favour of 100 per cent recyclable bread tags! The rollout began in SA late last year, and now, you should be able to see cardboard bread tags in VIC and NSW.
Tip Top’s Recyclable Bread Tags
If you eat a lot of bread, you’ll know that there really isn’t much to do with single-use plastic bread tags! Aside from recycling your bread tags with Flora & Fauna (which we’ll talk about later), most of our bread tags will end up going in the bin, and then straight to landfill.
That’s why Tip Top is rolling out cardboard bread tags across Australia and New Zealand within the next two years. It’s all part of the bread manufacturers goal to have 100 per cent recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging by 2025.
According to Tip Top ANZ’s Graeme Cutler, “we want to be proactive, rather than wait for our customers to ask us to address our waste. When it comes to working together as a nation to eliminate single-use plastics, we want to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.”
Saving 400 Million Plastic Bread Tags From Entering Landfill!
It’s hard to imagine tiny bread tags causing mountains of waste, but, it’s estimated that the rollout of cardboard bread tags in SA, VIC and NSW will prevent 100 million plastic bread tags from entering landfill! Plus, once the rollout is completed across Australia and New Zealand, Tip Top estimates that 400 million single-use plastic bread tags will be removed every year. That’s huge!
Planet Ark’s Deputy CEO, Rebecca Gilling, says that plastic bread tags are problematic in recycling and waste streams. “For this reason, Planet Ark is pleased to see Tip Top designing out waste by replacing plastic bread tags with a circular solution made from 100% recycled cardboard”. To recycle your cardboard bread tags, simply tuck the tag inside other paper or cardboard products and pop it into your kerbside recycling bin.
Flora & Fauna Will Recycle Your Plastic Bread Tags
Did you know that you can recycle your plastic bread tags via Flora & Fauna’s Recycling Program?
Recently, we decided to become an official collection point for Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs. It’s a wonderful organisation that recycles bread tags to raise money to buy wheelchairs for disadvantaged people in South Africa!
If you’d like to support an amazing cause, cut down on your plastic waste, and receive a $10 Flora & Fauna store credit — please send your bread tags to us! All you need to do is keep your Flora & Fauna box (or a shoebox) and start filling it up with plastic bread tags and other items that we accept. Read more about how to recycle your bread tags with us here.
Grab A Reusable Bread Bag At Flora & Fauna!
We love that Tip Top and other bread manufacturers are aiming to achieve 100 per cent recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging by 2025. But, if you’re wanting to cut down on unnecessary plastic waste ASAP, we recommend using a reusable bread bag!
We have some awesome Bread Bags at Flora & Fauna — including the super durable Onya Reusable Bread Bag, which is made from recycled and BPA Free plastic bottles! The bag will fit one standard loaf or six small bread loaves. Plus, it’s double-lined to prevent freezer burn.
When you head to your local bakery, all you need to do is bring your reusable bread bag and ask for a fresh loaf of bread that isn’t plastic-wrapped!
Thanks to Tip Top, this is definitely a step in the right direction to reduce unnecessary plastic waste, and we hope other bread manufacturers will follow suit!
If you live in other states and territories in Australia or New Zealand, you should expect to see Tip Top’s cardboard bread tags popping up in your supermarkets over the next year or so.
For more exciting eco updates, head to the Eco News and Zero Waste categories and check out the blogs below!
Reuse & Save | Sustainable Kitchen
