Reducing waste from manufacturing

Reducing waste from manufacturing

At New Zealand Health Manufacturing (NZHM), we are focussed on improving the productivity and the efficiency of our manufacturing processes. This ensures we are reducing our impact on the environment. We are focussed on reducing energy and water use, and minimising waste of ingredients and the packaging used in the manufacturing process.

In our two factories, we have ‘softgel’ manufacturing machines, which encase many of our vitamins and supplements for easy consumer use. This process creates a gelatin net as waste. This clear gelatin is collected by an Auckland-based agricultural company who uses a percentage for animal feed and recycle any leftover, ensuring this byproduct does not end up in landfill. We save approximately 10-12 metric tons of clear gelatin from landfill every month.

Where possible we reuse or recycle all the packaging we receive that protects our raw and bulk materials. We collect large cardboard boxes, plastic containers and metal drums and have these recycled. This significantly reduces the waste we are sending to landfill.

In early 2020, we installed automatic motion sensors in the warehouse so these lights only turn on when they sense movement. The lights automatically turn off after set-time, reducing our energy use.