Sara Orsborn with Sharpes Stock Feeds’ new recyclable bag in front of their ‘recycled’ meeting wall, made from wood from their old woolshed. PHOTO/GIANINA SCHWANECKE
GIANINA SCHWANECKE
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Despite celebrating 120 years last year, Carterton-based Sharpes Stock Feeds is still innovating having just launched their latest product this week – 100 per cent recyclable feed bags.
The bags are made of recyclable paper with a cotton thread – meaning they can be chucked in with usual paper recycling or even composted.
It’s a project more than a year in the making, third-generation owner and operator Sam Orsborn said, and was part of efforts to make their products more sustainable.
“We’ve just done one product – our 10-kilogram hilay poultry pellets,” he said.
“It’s our most popular product, especially with lifestylers. It also goes into our local supermarket.”
It took several months of testing and planning to perfect the paper packaging, wife and marketing manager Sara Orsborn said.
“We thought we’d start with a small bag. It’s got to be durable.
“There have been quite a few tests done, chucking bags from great heights and things like that.”
The team was really excited though this initial stage was part of a trial, she said.
“We are always trying to think outside the square.”
She said they hoped to roll out similar packaging for their other lifestyle products in the coming months.
About two tonnes, equivalent to 200 bags, of the 10-kilogram hilay poultry pellets have been prepped so far with more being bagged this week.
