Brewery to start phasing out plastic from packaging and bottles

The Boag's Brewery, one of the state's oldest and largest businesses announced today they will eliminate all plastic shrink wrap from its packaging by the end of 2023.

Boag's Brewery manager Nathan Calman said the transition from plastic to cardboard would begin with the company's canned products by the end of this year and conclude with their bottled products in 2023.

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He said the brewer had also phased out plastic labels on their premium and premium light bottles, replacing them with recycling friendly paper labels with all other labels being replaced by 2030.

According to Mr Calman, replacing the plastic with paper is expected to remove nine tonnes of plastic from Tasmania's waterways, wilderness and landfill.

"James Boag's is a Tasmanian icon, and our environment - our beaches, our oceans, our rivers, our paddocks, our forests and wilderness - are such an important part of what makes us special," he said.

"They deserve our protection, which is why we were the first major Australian brewer to make the decision to stop using the notoriously damaging plastic six pack rings from our beers more than a decade ago.

"And it is why we're now getting rid of plastic shrink wrap on our consumer packaging entirely."

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Mr Calman explained the environmental credentials of a business have always been important.

But he said more and more businesses were realising they had a bigger role to play.

"We think that we can be seen as somebody to follow by setting the precedent around what should be best practice and acceptable in the marketplace," he said.

"We've been conscious of the environmental impact of our packaging for many years now and have been taking deliberate steps to ensure James Boag's, and all our brands, have the longer-term environmental picture in mind."

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Mr Calman said today's announcement formed part of the company's ongoing sustainable business model which included becoming Australia's first carbon neutral brewery in 2020 and a transition to using 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025.

"We're committed to using 100 per cent renewable electricity to brew the James Boag's range by 2025," he said.

"This is a significant acceleration in a journey we have been on for a long time, and we will always look to go one better for the environment."

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