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    25 September, 2019

    Lion and Redcycle team up to take on plastics

    25 September 2019: Lion is pleased to announce that it is the first major brewer in Australia to partner with REDcycle – a national soft plastic recycling initiative – which collects and reuses soft plastics that cannot go into kerbside recycling.

    REDcycle has nearly 2,000 drop-off bins located around Australia at Coles and Woolworths supermarkets, giving over 90 per cent of the Australian population access to a REDcycle bin. Over 2.75 tonnes of Lion packaging were returned by consumers between July and December 2018.

    REDcycle currently collects over 750,000 pieces of soft plastic per day, accepting a diverse range of grocery packaging such as bread bags, frozen vegetable bags, biscuit packaging, and shrink wrap from beer packaging. The recovered plastic is then sent on to local partners, Replas in Victoria for conversion into valuable products such as benches and bollards, or Close The Loop, also in Victoria, who blend the soft plastic with waste ink toner to create an additive for asphalt for municipal roads.

    CEO of Lion Stuart Irvine said the impact single-use plastics have on the environment is a key concern at Lion.

    “For more than 20 years, Lion has invested in reducing litter, improving recyclability and increasing the use of recycled content in our packaging,” Mr Irvine said.

    “In the beer industry, plastic rings have been a real focal point in the war on plastic, and Lion was well and truly ahead of the curve in phasing out these rings 10 years ago, with the last plastic rings removed from Lion-owned products over three years ago. This is something we are very proud of.

    “We are now evaluating alternative packaging technologies to further reduce our reliance on single-use plastics. We are also working with industry partners, such as the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, to develop broader industry solutions that minimise the impact of our packaging and promote the circular economy to minimise waste in the environment. While we work our way through these big supply chain changes, actively supporting programs such as REDcycle helps raise awareness and encourages our consumers to ramp up their recycling efforts.

    “We continue to work towards making 100 per cent of our consumer packaging recyclable by 2025, and our packaging made from at least 50% recycled content in the same time frame, and we are well on track to achieve this.”

    The partnership with REDcycle will see Lion add the REDcycle logo to its soft plastic packaging over the next 18 months, a process which it has recently commenced.

    Director of RED Group Elizabeth Kasell said: “The REDcycle program would not be possible without the support of our partners, such as Lion. We are so pleased to see organisations demonstrate their commitment to corporate stewardship and the circular economy by partnering with REDcycle for a better end of life outcomes for their soft plastic packaging.”

    For more information on REDcycle:

    What to REDcycle

    Where to REDcycle

     

    ENDS.

     

    About Lion:

    Lion is a leading beverage company with a portfolio that includes many of our region’s favourite brands. With more than 1,500 people employed across Australia, the company operates historic breweries, such as Tooheys and XXXX Castlemaine Perkins, and is a leader in craft brewing, with brands such as James Squire and Malt Shovel, Little Creatures, Kosciuszko, and Furphy. Lion is part of the Lion Group, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kirin Holdings.

    www.lionco.com

    www.linkedin.com/company/lion-co/

     

    For more information please contact:

    Elizabeth Bold

    External Relations Manager

    Lion

    [email protected]

    +61 421 765 446