June 9, 2025 In Accreditation

GPF’s latest annual report now out

The Glass Packaging Forum’s (GPF) recently released 2023–2024 annual accreditation report showcases an increase in the proportion of glass bottles and jars recovered and recycled in Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as a decrease in products sold in glass packaging.

As the country’s only voluntary product stewardship scheme for container glass, we continue to play a central role in promoting positive environmental outcomes for glass bottles and jars.

Funding

Funding projects which improve environmental outcomes for glass packaging is a primary function of the GPF. The steering committee felt this funding has only been able to make marginal improvements to glass recovery rates over recent years, so as part of the strategic review of the scheme it was decided to halt funding temporarily.

This gave the committee a chance to reassess funding priorities, effectiveness, and reach to ensure maximum impact. Funding priorities will be developed as part of a future work plan.

A fresh perspective

A big area of work during this period was reflection and focus on our strategy to ensure ongoing relevance and effectiveness. A significant amount of time and effort went into a project to identify the GPF’s ongoing function in New Zealand’s larger glass recovery landscape.

This involved consulting with stakeholders, consumer research, exploring alternative operational models, developing a clear brand position, and analysing results for insights and future scheme direction.

From this, four initial actions were recommended to the GPF steering committee to guide the scheme’s workplan:

  • Increase network storage capacity by funding infrastructure improvements
  • Focus on increasing glass recovery from the hospitality sector, improving rural collection networks, and improving kerbside collections
  • Build resilience by facilitating investment in new infrastructure, and
  • Be more effective at telling our story and engaging with the public

Advocacy

Local and central government are key partners, and we work diligently to raise the profile of glass packaging and its recyclability with them.

We supplied a briefing paper for the incoming Minister for the Environment, which included the current state of container glass recovery and recycling as well as the challenges, solutions and ways the Government can work with the GPF.

We have also taken the approach to make submissions on all council Waste Management and Minimisation Plans (WMMP’s) that are released for consultation.

You can read the full report here.