Ziptrek staff are getting involved in Plastic Free July!

ZIPTREK STAFF ARE GETTING INVOLVED IN PLASTIC FREE JULY!

Our on-going work to improve and maintain the natural environment in Queenstown and across New Zealand shows no sign of slowing. We've planted over 4,000 native trees and shrubs on Bob's Peak and supported a number of like-minded organisations, both local and global over our nine years of operation.

Our next challenge throughout July 2018 and beyond is to reduce our plastic consumption as a company. As you are likely aware, plastic is a permanent polluter. It can end up in waterways and oceans which causes harm to fish and as a result, transfers into the food chain, causing further issues to the ecosystem.

SOME WORRYING FACTS ARE:

- Globally, we use over 10 billion plastic bags per week

- 80% of the oceans marine debris has come from the land

- More than 270 of the world's marine animal species are affected by marine debris

- In the marine environment, plastic bag litter is lethal, killing at least 100,000 birds, whales, seals and turtles every year

- Over 40,000 plastic check-out bags are dumped in landfills every hour in New Zealand

However, through greater awareness and technological advancements, we are seeing improvements. Did you know plastics can be recycled into 'plastic lumber'? Thus plastic is recycled into seats for park benches, 'wood' for fence palings etc. and modern packaging techniques have reduced food spoilage and loss to as little as 2%. Not to mention, recycling a single plastic bottle can conserve enough energy to light a 60W bulb for up to 6 hours.

In order to continue to make a difference we'll be making sure we're using our keep cups and reusable water bottles, taking canvas/produce bags to the supermarket, using shampoo bars and discarding our rubbish without bin bags! And, although this is all in support of Plastic Free July, we will endeavour to continue these efforts in the future...we hope you get on board too!