Our Perfect Italiano shredded cheese packaging, created in partnership with Amcor, has been recognised with two WorldStar Packaging Awards, celebrating the transition to recycle‑ready film that delivers both sustainability gains and high product performance.
Packaging plays an important role in keeping dairy fresh, safe and great tasting. But it also has an impact beyond the fridge – which is why we’re focused on making packaging more sustainable, easier to recycle and better suited to a circular economy.
Across Oceania, that focus is translating into real‑world progress. Currently, 86% of our primary and secondary packaging across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands is recycle‑ready, with more products transitioning each year.
“We see sustainable packaging as a balance,” says Darin Zarebski, Sustainability Programme Manager. “We need packaging that protects food quality and safety, while also reducing waste and making recycling as simple as possible for our consumers.”
The award‑winning shredded cheese packaging is a strong example of that balance in action. The move to recycle‑ready film at our Tullamarine site removes around 270 tonnes of non‑recyclable material from the Australian market every year, without compromising freshness, shelf life or the quality people expect from Perfect Italiano.
“Shredded cheese is a technically demanding product, so we only moved forward once we were confident the new material could perform at scale,” Darin says. “It’s a great example of designing packaging for recycling, without sacrificing what matters most to consumers.”
Progress is also being made across other everyday products. Western Star and Duck River butter wraps at our Cobden and Spreyton sites are now 100% PFAS‑free, and we’ve transitioned to paper straws for Anchor Calci-Yum products made at our Takaanini site.
Clear recycling guidance is another important part of the journey. Today, most of our consumer packaging in Australia features the Australasian Recycling Label, helping people understand how to recycle each pack based on their local recycling system.
“Sustainable packaging is still evolving,” Darin says. “Many new materials are early in their development, and recycling systems are continuing to grow. That’s why we take a thoughtful, step‑by‑step approach and prioritise changes that deliver real environmental benefits.
“Looking ahead, we’re continuing to invest in packaging improvements across our Oceania network – building a pipeline of projects that can be shared, scaled and adapted as recycling infrastructure develops.”
Across Oceania, Lactalis‑Mainland Dairy supports a range of recycling and stewardship initiatives to help improve packaging recovery, recognising that recycling systems continue to develop at different speeds. These include the Australian National Plastics Recycling Scheme, Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia, and the Packaging Forum in New Zealand.
By improving packaging recyclability, reducing waste and supporting effective recycling outcomes, we’re working towards packaging solutions that protect our products today – and help create a more circular future.