Did you know?

Our customer care team is happy to answer questions about our packaging and our sustainable packaging journey. Here are some answers to common questions we receive:

1. I love UP&GO™ but can you replace the plastic straw with a paper straw?  I’m concerned about how straws are polluting our oceans and environment.

UP&GO’s carton with straw provides the ultimate in convenient nutrition when you’re on-the-go, however we’re actively seeking sustainable packaging solutions. There are many suggestions, including paper straws, bamboo straws and metal straws - all have their positives and negatives. 

While we try to find a solution that keeps food safe, convenient and easy to use, there is one simple thing you can do to minimise the environmental impact of the straw – push the straw back inside the empty pack and recycle them together through the Container Deposit Scheme or relevant disposal method. This will ensure the straw doesn’t become litter or landfill if separated from the pack.

• Did you know? We’ve recently light-weighted the UP&GO plastic straw, reducing its plastic content by 15%! Learn more…

2. I'm a Weet-Bix™ kid, but I don’t like the plastic liner on the inside. Can't you use paper, wax paper, a biodegradable or recyclable bag/liner?  I want to reduce the use of plastics in my home.

3. Do your cereal boxes contain recycled material?

Our cereal boxes are currently made from 'virgin' materials, meaning they don't contain recycled paperboard.  This is due to our stringent food safety standards, as we metal detect every single pack we make. Recycled cardboard can have microscopic fragments of metal, which can trigger our very sensitive metal detectors.  These packs then need to be discarded, which creates a food waste issue, even if the food inside the pack is perfectly safe to consume. We’re actively looking at solutions to this problem.

However, much of our packaging materials used to protect our products during transport contain significant recycled content, and our cartons are fully recyclable.

• Learn more Weet-Bix packaging 

4. I’m a big fan of So Good™​ however I’m struggling with the idea that the long-life cartons are not recyclable.  When will you use recyclable cartons?

Our So Good long-life cartons are recyclable, however not all councils currently accept long-life cartons for recycling as facilities vary from state to state and in regional areas.  We’re reviewing what information we can have on our packs and website to help give you clearer guidance. You can check if your council provides recycling of the carton here.

You might be interested to learn that long-life cartons, like we use for So Good™ and UP&GO™, have the lowest carbon footprint of the most commonly used packaging in Australia? Tetra-Pak™ is lighter and more space efficient than other packaging formats, plus it’s made from 65% paper from wood fibre, a renewable resource. Learn more about long-life cartons...

Another thing to keep in mind is that long-life products can have lower environmental footprints as they don’t need to be refrigerated until they’re opened. Plus the carton helps reduces food waste too by protecting and preserving the quality of the product – including it’s taste, it’s colour and even the nutrition it offers. 

5. Are So Good™ and UP&GO™ plastic bottles recyclable?

Yes, they are recyclable and accepted by kerbside recycling systems that accept plastic bottles.  Our So Good goes into opaque PET plastic bottles and these are recyclable in mixed stream recycling.  Keep the PET soft plastic ("scrunch-able" PET plastic) sleeve on the bottle and recycle it too.  If removed, it’s difficult to separate it from paper at a Material Recovery Facility. The cap is recyclable by most kerbside recycling pickups if it is still attached to the bottle.

• Learn more about So Good packaging
• Learn more about UP&GO packaging

6. Do your Tetra Pak cartons contain an aluminium inner lining? Can I recycle the pack if it does?

Yes, our long-life cartons contain an aluminium inner liner.  The barrier helps preserve the nutritional and taste qualities of the product without requiring refrigeration.  It is recyclable where councils accept Tetra-Pak/long-life carton packaging. You can check if your council provides recycling of the carton or bottle here.

Another option is to purchase So Good in a recyclable plastic bottle available in the chilled dairy section of major supermarkets.  

7. Can I take my So Good™ packs to a Return & Earn recycling depot?

The 10c Return & Earn Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) is designed by government to reduce litter from beverage containers consumed ‘on the go’.  UP&GO is considered one of these. Other Sanitarium beverage packaging, such as So Good Tetra Pak cartons and PET bottles, can generally be recycled (where available) through the kerbside recycling system.

8. You use rPET plastic for Marmite™​. Wouldn’t a glass jar improve the sustainability and recyclability of the jar?

Marmite and Sanitarium Peanut Butter are packed into PET (plastic) jars which are 100% recyclable (but remember, they must be cleaned for recycling). 

Clear PET is the most environmentally-friendly of all the plastics as it can be recycled again and again. The plastic lids are recyclable too, but check with your local council whether they should be left on or off the jar for recycling. ​

• Learn more about our Sanitarium spreads packaging

Our main concern is that glass increases the risk of breakage and food contamination in our factories. Glass breakage throughout the supply chain also increases food waste which is a significant environmental issue, contributing to more than 5% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions and costing the economy $20 billion each year. Plus glass jars are more resource intensive to make than PET and they’re heavier which results in increased transport emissions. So it’s our assessment that PET is best!  

9. Which of the Vegie Delights packaging is recyclable?

Our Vegie Delights canned range of products are fully recyclable and now carry the Australian Recycling Label to help remind you to recycle the empty can. 

The Vegie Delights chilled products, like Vegie Delights Sausages and Mince, come in a sleeve with an inner wrap. These are not currently recyclable, however we’re working with packaging suppliers and industry experts to find sustainable solutions while ensuring the food we make maintains our high standards of food safety and nutrition.

10. REDcycle are no longer collecting soft plastics – what can I do with my soft plastics now?

REDcycle have temporarily paused their soft plastics collection program from 9 November 2022, due to several unforeseen challenges.

The full details are available on the REDcycle website here. If you are not in an area with Curby or other kerbside soft plastic recycling trial options, for the short term, please place soft plastic in the rubbish, do not put soft plastic in your home kerbside recycling bin as it is not recyclable in that system.

Sanitarium will continue to look for packaging options that are recyclable, reusable or compostable solutions that keep our products safe for you and are better for the planet.

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