“It came as a huge surprise,” Future Post founder Jerome Wenzlick said.
“We weren’t expecting to win, that’s for sure.”
The farmer-turned-entrepreneur said the idea for the posts stemmed from struggling to build a fence on an old rubbish dump.
His wooden fence posts kept breaking but they were not hitting concrete or rocks. They were hitting plastic waste buried in the ground.
“What we’re doing at Future Post is repurposing everyday waste that could have gone to landfill and turning it into a valuable product for local consumers,” Wenzlick said.
The company won the Fieldays Launch New Zealand Award.
Judges said the product provides a way for farmers to address what is a massive environmental problem.
“This is a positive and potential game-changing step towards dealing with NZ’s plastic recycling challenge,” they said.
Every year New Zealanders send more than 252,000 tonnes of plastic waste to landfills and nearly a tenth of it is made up of items that have been recycled incorrectly – including soft plastic bags.
His business uses Anchor lightproof milk bottles collected from Fonterra Takanini and taken to Future Post’s Waiuku plant where they are mixed with soft plastics and turned into fence posts.
A standard post can be made from about 1700 plastic bags or 208 milk bottles.
The posts are just as strong as timber but more flexible and can be post-driven, cut, drilled, nailed, screwed, bolted and stapled.
“There’s no splitting, warping, cracking or rotting,” Wenzlick said.
“And the posts are impenetrable by water, frosts, insects and fungi.”
They are made from 100% recycled material and have a life expectancy of more than 50 years – nearly double that of a wooden post.
The posts will be particularly helpful for farmers who have issues with timber posts breaking and for the wine industry where treated timber cannot be used, he said.
For the past six months Future Post has been working closely with Fonterra to source a steady supply of raw material from the co-operative’s own recycling initiatives.
Last month it forged a relationship with environment group Sea Cleaners, which collects plastic rubbish from coastlines.
Wenzlick said there is significant interest in the posts, especially among organic farmers, and he is looking at developing other products soon.
The posts are available in North Island Farm Source stores with plans to launch in South Island stores this year.
MORE: Watch Farmers Weekly columnist Craig Wiggins speak to Future Post founder Jerome Wenzlick about his win at this year’s Fieldays Innovations Awards. Facebook.com/FarmersWeeklyNZ
Prototype Award
PICMI removes the need for paperwork when hiring staff.
The platform enables employers to personalise and manage their staff recruitment, saving time and money while acting as an intermediary between employee and employer.
PICMI was the star of the show, receiving three awards. It was inspired by founder Genevieve Griffin-George’s problems finding seasonal workers.
Established Award
Imaginus’ animal health innovation involves a unique design for a packaging and delivery system for intra-mammary dry cow treatments and teat sealants.
It focuses on environmental sustainability and the reduction of plastic packaging and reduction of labour and costs the key benefits.
Imaginus used its knowledge in a variety of industries to develop a faster, safer and more environmentally friendly solution to an important dairy task.
