Building a Circular Economy for Plastic Strapping in Our Supply Chain

Plastic strapping helps secure cartons, pallets and bulk produce during harvesting, packing, storage and transport. It is lightweight, strong and suited to the demanding conditions of a global food supply chain. Yet its value does not end when a shipment reaches a distribution centre. With the right systems, used strapping can become a reliable source of recycled material rather than a disposal problem.

For Fresh Del Monte Produce, circularity means looking across the full journey of packaging. That includes material selection, purchasing, handling, collection, sorting, reprocessing and the manufacture of new products. It also requires cooperation between farms, packhouses, freight partners, retailers, waste contractors and recycling facilities.

Australia provides a useful setting for this work. State-based container deposit schemes have shown that people will return packaging when collection points are convenient and the value is clear. At the same time, different kerbside rules between New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia can make packaging recovery difficult for national businesses.

Plastic strapping is generally made from polypropylene or polyester, commonly known as PP or PET. Its recycling pathway is different from that of drink containers or flexible film, so clear separation is essential. A practical programme must fit the realities of Australian warehouses, from a Melbourne distribution centre to a regional Queensland packing operation or a remote Western Australian site.

Why Strapping Belongs In A Circular System

A linear model takes virgin plastic, turns it into strapping, uses it once and sends it to landfill or low-value disposal. A circular model keeps the material in productive use for as long as possible. It reduces demand for virgin resin, limits waste and creates a more resilient packaging supply chain.

The first step is to understand where strapping is used and what happens after removal. A warehouse may generate clean, consistent lengths, while a packing shed may produce strapping mixed with labels, pallets, damaged cartons or food residue. These conditions influence the quality and cost of recycling.

Circularity also supports responsible resource management. Recovered plastic can be processed into pellets and used for new strapping, crates, bins or other durable products. The precise end use depends on polymer type, contamination levels and the capabilities of the recycler, so claims should be based on measured material flows rather than assumptions.

Designing For Recovery At The Source

Good recovery begins with procurement. Buying one clearly identified polymer wherever operationally possible makes sorting easier and reduces the risk of incompatible materials being blended. Product specifications should state resin type, colour preferences, tensile requirements and whether recycled content can be incorporated.

Packhouse and warehouse teams need simple separation rules. Dedicated cages or bins should be positioned beside strapping removal points, with signs showing what belongs inside and what must stay out. A worker using a pallet jack or cutting tool should not have to walk across a busy site to find the correct collection container.

Contamination is a major barrier to high-value recycling. Food scraps, timber splinters, metal clips, stretch film and general rubbish can lower the quality of a load or lead to rejection. In Australia, where waste services vary between metropolitan and regional areas, local operating procedures should identify approved contractors and collection arrangements for each site.

Building Reliable Collection And Processing

A circular supply chain needs dependable reverse logistics. Full cages of used strapping can be collected during scheduled backhauls, returned with reusable pallets or consolidated at regional hubs. This approach can reduce empty transport movements, particularly when produce trucks already travel between farms, packhouses and distribution centres.

Partnerships with recyclers should cover more than a collection promise. They should define accepted polymers, bale or cage requirements, contamination thresholds, weighing methods, reporting periods and the destination of recovered material. Audits or site visits can help verify that collected strapping is actually sorted and processed as agreed.

Australian conditions make network design important. Long distances between agricultural regions and processing infrastructure can affect the carbon and financial performance of recovery. A programme in northern Queensland may need a different model from one operating near Sydney or Melbourne, while a Western Australian site may benefit from regional consolidation before material is transported interstate.

Measuring Progress Beyond Tonnes

Weight is a useful starting measure, but it does not tell the full story. Businesses should track the amount of strapping purchased, the volume recovered, contamination rates, recycling yield and the percentage of recycled resin used in replacement products. These figures reveal where losses occur and where process changes can deliver the greatest benefit.

Data should be collected consistently across the supply chain. A shared dashboard can compare sites without ignoring local circumstances, such as seasonal harvest peaks, storage capacity or the distance to a recycling partner. Photographic checks, weighbridge records and contractor documentation can strengthen the reliability of reported results.

Supplier engagement is equally important. Packaging manufacturers can provide information about recycled content, design for recyclability and product performance. When reviewing digital vendors and other business partners, the same expectations around transparency and lawful conduct can extend to responsible entertainment, with clear attention to consumer protection and ethical operating standards.

Supporting People And Everyday Behaviour

The success of a recovery programme depends on the people who handle the material each day. Training should explain why strapping is being separated, what contamination looks like and how to use cutting tools safely. Short toolbox talks, visual signs and supervisor checks are often more effective than lengthy documents.

Local language and workplace culture matter. A practical message such as “keep clean strapping in this cage” may work better than technical waste terminology, especially in a busy shed with seasonal workers. In Australia, programmes should accommodate diverse teams, varying literacy levels and multilingual workplaces without making participation burdensome.

Recognition can reinforce good habits. Sites might share recovery results during team meetings, acknowledge a packing crew that achieves low contamination or link progress to broader environmental objectives. The purpose is to make correct separation part of normal work, much like pallet safety, cold-chain controls or hygiene procedures.

Working With Australian Markets And Communities

Australia’s waste landscape is changing, but it remains fragmented. Container deposit schemes operate across states and territories with different names, rules and refund arrangements. Those schemes generally focus on eligible beverage containers, so commercial plastic strapping needs separate channels rather than being placed in household-style collection streams.

The collapse of REDcycle also showed why soft plastic recovery claims require care. Businesses and consumers became more attentive to whether materials were genuinely collected, processed and turned into new products. Clear public reporting and traceable end markets are therefore essential to maintaining trust.

Fresh Del Monte can contribute by sharing practical lessons with growers, logistics providers, retailers and community partners. Educational programmes near production and distribution regions can explain how packaging choices affect waste outcomes. In places such as Brisbane, regional Victoria and Perth, collaboration with local councils, material recovery facilities and specialist recyclers can help align commercial recovery with local infrastructure.

Practical Actions For A Stronger Recovery Programme

A consistent approach can turn an operational waste stream into a source of material value:

• Map every point where plastic strapping is purchased, used, removed, stored and collected.
• Standardise polymer types and packaging specifications wherever product safety and performance allow.
• Install clearly labelled collection cages close to packing lines, dispatch bays and pallet-breaking areas.
• Establish contamination limits, weighing procedures and destination reporting with approved recyclers.
• Use backhauls, shared transport and regional consolidation to reduce the impact of long collection distances.
• Train employees, contractors and seasonal teams through short, visual and multilingual materials.
• Publish progress using recovery rates, recycled content, contamination data and verified end-market information.

Keeping Materials In Productive Use

A circular economy for plastic strapping is built through many connected decisions rather than a single recycling contract. Better design makes materials easier to identify. Good site practices protect their quality. Reliable logistics move them to the right processor, while transparent data shows whether the system is delivering real results.

The approach can also support broader sustainability goals across agriculture and food distribution. Reducing waste, strengthening supplier relationships and using resources efficiently can improve operational resilience while helping protect the environments and communities connected to Fresh Del Monte’s business.

The key point to remember is simple: used strapping is a recoverable resource when the supply chain is designed to keep it clean, separated, traceable and in circulation.