South's Newest Plant Converts Plastic into Innovative Vineyard Posts
More than half a million wooden vineyard posts in Marlborough are estimated to break annually. Unfortunately, the environmental implications of their CCA treatment prohibit burning or burial, leaving vineyards with accumulating old posts and growers searching for solutions.
The recent inauguration of Future Post's second soft plastics recycling facility at the former Timberlink site in Blenheim is a welcome development for an industry committed to enhancing sustainability.
The story of Future Post reflects genuine Kiwi ingenuity. Its founder, Jerome Wenzlick, who previously worked as a farmer and fencing contractor for 15 years, witnessed declining timber post quality, increased wastage due to breakages, and challenges with a consistent supply of posts. This led him to consider the possibility of making fence posts from durable plastics. A fortuitous encounter with farmer and recycling expert Bindi Ground resulted in a business partnership focused on producing premium fencing products from plastic, giving birth to Future Post.
Following a research trip to the United States to study plastics recycling, extensive research and development, and the establishment of a production plant in Tokoroa with the assistance of local company South Waikato Precision Engineering, Future Post inaugurated its factory in Waiuku, south of Auckland in 2018.
The Waiuku factory presently processes bales of recycled HDPE plastics, including well-known 'soft' milk bottles from Fonterra and various soft plastics sourced from supermarkets and regional collection hubs. After being broken down into 'chips,' these plastics are blended according to a proprietary formula and extruded into mostly solid black posts. The items are then cured through a waterbath process to achieve the final product.
These posts come in various dimensions: 125mm diameter rounds up to 2.4m in length, 200mm diameter rounds for use as strainers up to 2.7m in length, and 135mm square section posts up to 2.4m in length.
Remarkably strong, these plastic posts can be manipulated with the same tools used for wooden posts, allowing for sawing and easy drilling. Standard staples can be used in the usual manner, and they are compatible with mechanical post drivers, eliminating the risk of splinters. With a claimed maximum lifespan of over 50 years, in contrast to the more typical 15 to 20 years for timber, the product is fully Bio-Gro NZ Certified and is presently available at a slight premium over its wooden counterpart through numerous rural supply stores.
Hassan Wong, General Manager of Future Post, stated that the Waiuku-based company has processed 1800 tonnes of recycled plastic in the past year to manufacture their posts. He anticipates that this figure will significantly increase, potentially exceeding 4,000 tonnes annually with the addition of the new factory. Given that Marlborough is the country's largest wine-producing region and uses a substantial number of posts, Blenheim is ideally situated for their production.
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