Innovating for the Environment

We live in a beautiful country, on a beautiful planet and we’d all like to keep it that way. Looking after our environment and living sustainably is the key to our future, and the future of generations of Kiwi’s following us. Gone are the days of mindlessly taking resources from the earth, making things and throwing them away – it’s simply not sustainable.

A more mindful alternative is to create a circular economy, one where we keep existing products and materials in use as long as possible. This way we can eliminate waste, keep our resources circulating, and let nature regenerate. Being part of a sustainable future is as important to the team at EXPOL as it is to you.

Back in 2010, we started our very first recycling factory (there are now 7!) with a plan to keep polystyrene out of landfill. Wonderful Kiwi’s now take their polystyrene waste to outlets around the country, businesses that use a lot of polystyrene work with us directly, and construction sites let us know when they have packaged up their waste for us to collect. The mahi of Kiwi’s keeping the country green is outstanding! So much so, that we found ourselves recycling more polystyrene than we knew what to do with! Already, 75% of EXPOL products (by volume) contain recycled content, but the recycling keeps coming.

Finding unique and novel ways of doing things is part of our DNA, and so out of the demand for our recycling programme, Green Beans were born.  Green Beans are made from 100% recycled materials that replace traditional bean bag fill, and can be recycled again at the end of their life.

In fact, Green Beans are our values in action.  Turning recycled polystyrene into clean Green Beans is the perfect way to keep plastic out of landfill, reduce the production of virgin plastics, and give customers more green options when they are shopping. Green beans are a high-quality durable product, so they’ll last the distance. However, we know that bean bags don’t last forever, so at the end of their time as bean bag fill, customers can return the beans to a recycling depot to be recycled into a new product. Green beans are the perfect example of the circular economy in action.

The challenge of making our world a greener place is almost overwhelming. While using an environmentally friendly bean bag fill might seem like a small thing, it’s the sum total of all our actions that change the world we live in. Every polystyrene bean we keep out of landfill is a success story – thank you to each and every bean bag owner who has gone green and kept the circular economy going.