We're going

Saus-tainable

See our plan on how we are going to bite in and make a change

We’re dedicated to making sure we can have as much pride in our packaging as we do in our tasty products. And we want to make sure you can dispose of our packaging correctly, and as easily as you can throw another couple of burgers on the BBQ.

The journey so far

We’ve been the movers and shakers of sustainable packaging in our industry since way back.

2015

We’re first to phase out Styrofoam trays from our small goods department and move to PET trays you can recycle at home.

2020

We partnered up with NZ packaging producers and eliminated 56 tonnes of new plastic coming into NZ, in just one year, by introducing rPET into our trays – that’s PET you’ve recycled at home, being re-processed into our trays!

2022

We set an ambitious goal that by 2025 ALL our packaging will be recyclable

2024

Trialling of new materials is well underway at our Kaiapoi plant

2025

All our packaging is recycable

 
 

We’re going to be rolling out really clear disposal instructions on all our packaging for you.

Meat trays

recycling

Our meat trays are made of PET plastic and can be placed in your kerbside recycling bin.

The top film is not easily recyclable yet, so we recommend removing it completely and putting the film in your standard rubbish bin.

angus beef fresh sausages

Soft Plastic packs

The bags our precooked sausages and brats come in should be rinsed thoroughly and returned to store to be recycled via the New Zealand Soft Plastics recycling scheme.

To find out which store closest to you takes soft plastic please click here

Rigid Plastic packs

Any deli packs of ham and salami are a little bit trickier to recycle.

New Zealand doesn’t yet have the right infrastructure to recycle these packs, so in the meantime, please put these packs into your normal rubbish bin. We’ll be pushing government and industry towards getting a better solution.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

We love being New Zealand’s Butcher. Our country and our community have always been a big part of our business and we want to look after them. We understand the importance of reducing our carbon footprint by creating a saus-tainable business.

Our packaging goal is one thing, our emissions reduction goal is another: we’re going to have net zero emissions by 2030!

We’ve reviewed our group-wide operation and put a decarbonization pathway in place.

Pathway to Net Zero

The team here have developed a pathway forward to ensure we’re on schedule to meet our emissions target! We’re looking at lots of ways to see more energy efficient processes in our business. Our major projects toward decarbonisation include:

• Moving away from fossil fuel boilers to electric

• Converting away from our current refrigerants and coolants to those with a lower global warming potential

• Converting our fleet over to EV

Food Safety remains top priority

Throughout the food industry, safety has to be the number one priority at every stage, and it’s crucial to the way we do everything at Hellers. Plastic plays a key role in keeping our products fresh and reducing food waste. Our aim is to use it where it makes sense and educate people on their role. We’re always looking for ways to improve.