At COBA, we recognise that while plastics are intrinsic to many of our products, especially in safety matting, we can still take meaningful steps toward reducing unnecessary plastic elsewhere — especially in our packaging!
Over the last six months, we’ve been working closely with our packaging supplier to reduce the volume of virgin plastic used in our outbound packaging, focusing on areas where change is both practical and impactful.
Our key actions included:
- Minimising the use of plastic lay flat tubing and shrink wrap, historically used for wrapping palletised products.
- Switching to 100% recycled plastic, where plastic is still necessary, ensuring we’re not introducing new material into the waste stream.
- Introducing a new range of cardboard packaging, which complements our current options and better suits our handling needs. These new boxes are also made from 100% recycled material
We’ve gone from 65,376 kg of plastic usage down to 1,702 kg YTD, which is a significant drop.
Further amplifying this impact, our packaging supplier is certified Carbon Neutral, which means the environmental benefit extends beyond material choice to offset carbon emissions linked to packaging production and supply.
We know this doesn’t make us plastic-free, and we don’t claim to be. Roughly 70% of our product range still relies on plastic materials due to their performance, hygiene, and durability benefits in industrial and commercial settings. But we believe in progress, not perfection.
As we continue innovating responsibly, this packaging shift is a clear step forward in aligning our operations with more circular, lower-impact principles.
