Starting this week, anyone walking into a Yo-Chi frozen yoghurt outlet is encouraged to pick up a free postcard that, at first glance, appears to celebrate Australia as the world’s “second-best country”.
But fans of this successful dessert chain won’t be surprised to learn there’s a hidden environmental message contained beneath the catchy headline in a retro-style font.
The company’s co-owner Oliver Allis told Yahoo News that Australia is being called out as the second-best country when it comes to creating plastic waste.
Allis is hoping to give customers a “reality check” that we’re not the clean, green country most assume.
“It’s quite a shocking stat to be honest — especially how Australians view themselves on a world scale,” he said.
“I think most people would think that third-world countries would use a lot more plastic, but no, we’re number two after Singapore.”
How the Yo-Chi postcards help reduce plastic waste
Importantly, Allis isn’t just having a whinge. The postcards enable customers to take direct action to combat the problem.
Every store has around 500 postcards. And each is pre-addressed to the federal MP for the area the store is located in and asks them to pledge to end voluntary plastic packaging schemes.
Oliver Allis and Kal Glanzig have launched a plastic reduction campaign involving postcards. Source: Yo-Chi
The Yo-Chi owners want to see manufacturers forced to pay for the end-of-life recycling or disposal of the plastic they create.
At the moment, it is councils, and ultimately, ratepayers who pay for waste disposal services.
And the current system isn’t really reducing plastic consumption. Australia has consistently missed goals set in its 2025 National Packaging Target.
The change isn’t controversial, with major stakeholders, including Coles, Woolworths, and Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia (SPSA), wanting plastic recycling to be a shared responsibility across businesses.
Expert argues plastic problem can be solved
The campaign is part of a tie-in with the 73-minute documentary The Plastic Country, which was made by environmental campaigner and Sutherland Shire Councillor Kal Glanzig.
The pair hatched their plan while surfing together in waters off the northern NSW coast.
“We know how to solve this: make the companies producing the packaging responsible for it,” Glanzig said.
“Our MPs just need to hear that Australians want that, and a postcard is a pretty simple and creative way to tell them.”
Yo-Chi admits it isn’t ‘perfect’
Allis admits Yo-Chi still has work to do improving its own waste management.
“We are very aware that we’re not perfect… but every year we get better,” he said.
Finding recycling for soft plastics created back-of-house is a challenge, because businesses can’t just drop off their waste at Woolworths stores like the supermarket’s customers can.
And the packaging used front-of-house is easy to compost in South Australia and Western Australia, but finding facilities in NSW, Victoria and Queensland remains a challenge.
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Water is an area where he’s broken considerable ground.
Stores do not sell it in bottles, and instead provide taps with purified water, which customers or anyone walking by is encouraged to use.
Customers who bring in one of the store’s reusable bowls, which were made in collaboration with KeepCup, also get a 10 per cent discount on purchases.
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