As bans on single-use plastic bags are rolled out across Australasia, the New Zealand government has backed an initiative by a national real estate chain to replace its plastic corflute signage with recyclable aluminium.
"You've got to think there's a lot of plastic going down the gurgler,” Mike Pero (pictured), founder of nationwide chain Mike Pero Real Estate, told state-owned broadcaster TVNZ1.
The company has replaced its corrugated plastic or corflute signs with aluminium, where plastic is limited to the vinyl sticker or decal that's applied on top of the aluminium.
“Plastic bags, disposable coffee cups and plastic straws are all bad for our environment - and so are plastic signs,” according to the report by TVNZ1. “So far this year, 79,000 properties have been listed for sale in New Zealand, adding up to 79,000 plastic signs or corflutes.”
The New Zealand government has thrown its support behind the move.
“It’s a really good initiative because aluminium is recyclable,” said Associate Environment Minister Eugenie Sage. “I think Mike Pero is showing the way that there is an alternative to single-use corflute and that’s aluminium.
“A big part of our waste stream is commercial and industrial,” said Sage. “Markets for aluminium have held up, whereas corflute is a single use plastic, so I would encourage other companies to think about how they can reduce their use of single-use plastics.”
Pero said if other NZ real estate firms joined the program, they could save between 100 and 200 tonnes of plastic a year. “It’s not a biggie,” he said. “I think we all could do it.”
Mike Pero Real Estate
