EcoCover has decided not to renew their certification based on the particular organic market AgriQuality is strong in and EcoCover will retain their BioGro certification for product sales and accreditation purposes.

AgriQuality is a fully accredited member of IFOAM, The International Federation of Agricultural Movements. Founded in Switzerland in 1972, IFOAM has more than 750 member organisations and institutions accredited to it, from more than 100 countries.
[View the IFOAM website at www.ifoam.org]
[View the AgriQuality site at www.agriquality.co.nz]
[View the AgriQuality New Zealand Organic Certificate]

Bio-Gro is a fully accredited member of IFOAM, The International Federation of Agricultural Movements. Founded in Switzerland in 1972, IFOAM has more than 750 member organisations and institutions accredited to it, from more than 100 countries.
[View the IFOAM website at www.ifoam.org]
[View the Bio-Gro site at www.bio-gro.co.nz]
[View the Bio-Gro New Zealand Organic Certificate]

Discontinued from December 2008

EcoCover (NZ) Limited received certification to use the prestigious Environmental Choice New Zealand Label, a New Zealand Government initiative but has made the decision not to renew its license for 2009 pending a higher degree of visibility by the label in the New Zealand marketplace. Few New Zealand products meet the high environmental standards required to qualify. EcoCover mulch mat underwent a rigorous, independent audit of the product's specification prior to being approved.
[View the New Zealand Ecolabelling Trust website at www.enviro-choice.org.nz]
[View the Environmental Choice New Zealand License]
[View the Ministry for the Environment Letter of Accreditation]
[View the Ministry for the Environment Letter of Endorsement]
[View the New Zealand Govt. 2007 Letters of Endorsement]

The Australian Ecolabel Program is the national environmental product life cycle ecolabelling program for Australia. Good Environmental Choice Australia Ltd manages the Australian Ecolabel Program, and is an independent organisation recognised as the Australian member of an international network of ecolabelling schemes. The Ecolabel is awarded to those products that meet or exceed voluntary standards of environmental performance. The verification process performed by Good Environmental Choice Australia has found Coffs Harbour Challenge (EcoCover Mulch Mat and EcoCrop Mulch Mat) to be fully compliant with the requirements of GECA 11-2005 - Recycled Paper Products standard.

Internationally, similar labels for manufactured products subscribing to such high environmental standards and auditing processes are very valuable, especially for the organic and domestic retail markets. Such labels confer a high level of confidence in the consumer's purchasing decision to buy environmentally responsible products. Such brands have high recognition with consumers and usually generate a 'value added margin'. Environmental Choice New Zealand is an accredited member of the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN).
[View the Global Ecolabelling Network (GEN) website at www.gen.gr.jp]

The table below illustrates the beneficial properties of EcoCover compared to other mulches.

EcoCover compared to other mulchs.

Product	Organic Approved	Laying, ground prep.	Pinning Required	Ability to include additives	Promotes plant growth
Wool	No	Equiv. EcoCover	Yes	Unlikely	Don't know
Jute	No	Equiv. EcoCover	Yes	No	Unlikely
PE/PP	No	Equiv. EcoCover	Yes	No	Unlikely
Bark **	No	Labour intensive	No	No	Unlikely
Woven Plastic	No	Equiv. EcoCover	Yes	No	Unlikely
Extruded Plastic	No	Often automated	Usually	No	No
Cardboard (fluted)	No	Equiv. EcoCover	Yes	Limited	Don't know
	Yes		Yes	Yes	Yes

 

Product	Conserve water	Reduces plant mortality	Remove from soil*	Labour to remove	Transport cost	Landfill cost
Wool	Yes	Don't know	Yes if organic	Applies	Applies	Applies
Jute	No	No	Yes if organic	Applies	Applies	Applies
PE/PP	Some	No	Yes if organic	Applies	Applies	Applies
Bark **	Some	No	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
Woven Plastic	No	No	Yes if organic	Applies	Applies	Applies
Extruded Plastic	No	No	Yes if organic	Applies	Applies	Applies
Cardboard (fluted)	Don't know	Don't know	Yes if organic	Don't know	Don't know	Don't know
	Yes	Yes	No	No	None	None

* Remove from soil. All products except EcoCover must be completely removed from the soil if used in an organic application. Only EcoCover is approved to biodegrade in situ – a unique product attribute.

** Bark. Additional significant costs (machinery and labour) are necessary to transport and spread the bark.

The benefits of mulching are universally recognized in the horticultural industry. EcoCover can justifiably be described as the 'complete' mulching medium, with all the advantages of inhibiting weed growth, keeping the soil cool and moist and as the mulch decays, feeding both the soil and the plants.

The New Zealand Government's three pillars of sustainability initiative is attached.

The three pillars are:

• environmental
• economic, and
• social

In March 2005 Government Departments were advised that future Government supply contracts must address the question of sustainability.
[View the Ministry for the Environment Letter of Endorsement]

EcoCover mulch mat is fully accredited and Licensed to use the Ministry for the Environment's auditing standard for sustainability, the Environmental Choice Label.

The sustainability attributes of EcoCover are:

ENVIRONMENTAL	ECONOMIC	SOCIAL
Reduce paper in landfill	Reduce labour costs e.g. removal of other mulch systems from soil	>60% of our NZ workforce were once long term unemployed
Reduce plastic in landfill	Reduce landfill operating cost	EcoCover offers skill development based employment
100% biodegradable	Reduce landfill usage	A reduction in landfill waste impacts on all communities
Reduce water usage	Eliminate herbicide cost and wastage	Improved worker health in eliminating herbicide use
Reduce weeds / weed seeds	Eliminate fertilizer cost and wastage	Improved visual landscape
Eliminate herbicide use and consequent contamination	Reduce transport [fuel / labour] costs e.g. deliveries, replanting	Preserving the environment for future generations
Improve soil health	Improve plant growth in terms of quality and yield	No non renewable resources are used in manufacture
Safe and natural – IFOAM / AgriQuality organic accredited	Reduce plant mortality and losses	A conservation fund provides for large, new tree plantings
Preserve groundwater purity	Reduce water use significantly	The company is actively concerned with the welfare of society at large
Reduce plastic contamination in soil	Locally manufactured from local waste stream	The company has a collective code of ethical behaviour towards the environment, its customers, its employees and its investors
Manufactured from renewable resources	Not subject to price fluctuations such as oil derived products	Every business decision will be weighed against these three pillars of sustainability
Environmental Choice Label (MfE) accredited Licensee	Does not require removal from the soil	EcoCover achieves the Zero Waste goal subscribed to by >65% of all New Zealand Local Authorities
Improve the visual amenity landscape	Eliminate or significantly reduce post planting maintenance	EcoCover only buys New Zealand made machinery
The biodegrading post consumer waste product becomes worm caste, embracing 100% the Zero Waste ideal	EcoCover is absolutely cost effective	The EcoCover plant is strategically located to provide jobs for those with few employment prospects
The manufacturing process is low energy, emitting only small quantities of water vapour to the atmosphere	All product performance claims are independently validated by two Universities	Product development is always measured against future employee opportunity for those most disadvantaged in society
The Research and Development programme only addresses product derivatives that comply with our Zero Waste philosophy	EcoCover has a major export opportunity supplying manufacturing plants globally
	The patented EcoCover technology is leading edge

November 2004

What is Govt³?

The "Govt" stands for government, and the "3" stands for the "three pillars of sustainability" – environmental, social and economic. The Govt³ programme, launched in November 2003 through the Ministry for the Environment, aims to help government agencies improve the environmental sustainability of their activities.

The Government is committed to sustainable development through the Sustainable Development Programme of Action, released in January 2003. A key approach of the Programme of Action is that the government should provide a leadership role to the community. But government leadership doesn't just mean setting policy, it's about leading by example and showing others that we are implementing sustainability thinking in our own operations.

The Govt³ programme was formed with the assistance of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and New Zealand Police. The Ministry for the Environment has invited agencies that want to take voluntary practical steps towards operational sustainability and help create tools for others to use, to join an interagency group. So far 35 central government and related agencies have been involved.

Govt³ aims to make it easy for government agencies to "walk the talk" and minimise their energy use, materials use, amount of waste sent to landfill and carbon dioxide emissions, and to buy products that are better for the environment. A wide range of topics have been covered at well-attended bi-monthly meetings, and there are currently active project groups include in-house waste reduction, publishing, vehicles and sustainable buildings.

Govt³ section in the Ministry for the Environment's website

This was launched at the end of June 2004. It will be progressively populated with a range of practical tools, case studies and links. It is at: www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/sustainable-industry/govt3/index.html

Countries around the world use vast quantities (some, tens of millions of square metres annually) of plastic films and fabrics, as well as precious or expensive water resources to achieve a small portion of the EcoCover product attributes. EcoCover is a 'natural' substitute for such products and consequently has a huge market potential in a large number of countries.

All countries have huge quantities of paper as a waste resource, much of it ending up in landfills. Landfills present local and Government authorities worldwide with major problems, not only in cost and containment but their close proximity to the waste supply, cities. EcoCover long life product contains over 87% by weight recycled waste paper material and therefore can have a major impact on the local environment, and its waste problems. In some countries, local bodies and Government Departments, have legislated against plastic being used in any of their works contracts.

EcoCover, being produced from biologically degradable, and compostable organic materials, offers a most timely solution to the increasing problems being experienced worldwide; firstly in regard to the disposal of black polyethylene film and woven polypropylene fabric, both of which been traditionally used in many agricultural, horticultural, and other applications, and secondly in regard to the more effective management and use of an increasingly scarce and expensive water supply.

EcoCover has a significant advantage, in that the major input raw material has a relatively low cost, and is based on an unlimited waste resource. Enhancing this advantage are the numerous and significant chemical and environmental benefits compared with the plastic alternatives.

Increasing worldwide environmental concerns relating to both the disposal of plastic waste and the use of non-renewable resources employed in the production of certain plastic products has created an extremely favorable climate for the worldwide launch of EcoCover mulch mats and other product derivatives. The disposal of waste paper, like plastic waste, presents landfills worldwide with an ever-increasing problem. In some countries, Government agencies and local authorities already impose costs, often substantial, for such waste disposal. The international trend is for such costs and compliance requirements to rise. Already some plastics, especially agricultural plastic film products of the type EcoCover is designed to replace, have been prohibited from landfill disposal in certain countries.

An EcoCover plant operating a single shift per day could remove up to 2,250m3 of paper from the waste stream annually. A direct quantifiable benefit to landfill owners / operators.

"In the United States, the average person accounts for the use of some 18 tons of paper, 23 tons of wood, and 32 tons of organic chemicals in the course of a lifetime. People in industrial countries account for only 20 per cent of global population, yet they consume 81 per cent of its paper and 76 per cent of its timber. Groundwater pollution from landfills, toxic incinerator emissions, chemical plant and pulp mill discharge along with logging operations all contribute to worldwide environmental problems.

Just four primary production industries – paper, plastics, chemicals and metals – account for 71 per cent of the toxic emissions from all manufacturing in the United States. Similarly, just five primary materials industries – paper, steel, aluminium, plastics, and container glass – account for 31 per cent of US manufacturing energy use. The search for virgin resources to feed those industries has increasingly collided with the few indigenous peoples who had remained relatively undisturbed by the outside world. In the United States, the Bureau of Mines estimates that total consumption of virgin materials was 17 times greater in 1989 than it was in 1900 – a span during which the country's population grew just a little over threefold.³

It is imperative that the developed countries find ways to cut their materials and energy consumption sharply. This revolution, however, will center not on a new material, but on how to use existing materials far more efficiently. Ways will have to be found to move from our throwaway culture of convenience toward an ideal of durability. That will require a vastly expanded infrastructure for reuse and remanufacturing."

In a world where there are increasing trends of:

• Concern for the environment
• Concerns relating to the disposal of paper waste
• Adoption of waste minimization strategies
• Concerns for healthy living
• Concerns in respect of diminishing agricultural productivity
• Concerns in respect of fresh water availability and quality

we are experiencing a worldwide initiative lead by consumer demand, for environmentally friendly, recycled waste products, new technologies to improve agricultural productivity, new technologies to reduce the quantity of water used in agriculture and an ever-increasing regulatory approach toward non-complying products. EcoCover provides a solution to each of these concerns.

While environmental compliance standards, except for the most toxic, are relatively young, these are gaining rapid acceptance and are becoming established as recognized standards across many industries. As the strength and acceptability of these fundamental ideas establish values within a society, one can expect increased demand and increased regulations. Where no regulations exist at present, many organizations and bodies are imposing self-regulation upon their own activities. This approach is increasing the cost of use, or even limiting the use of many products determined to be environmentally unfriendly.

Only about 30 plant species make 90% of our food supply. Worldwide losses in major food crops from weeds, pests and diseases, both preharvest and postharvest has been recently estimated to be 42.1%¹. This figure may seem high, particularly considering the control measures commonly applied in developing countries; however what it does reflect is the adaptability of these damaging organisms that despite best efforts still manage to compete.

Estimates have been calculated for the effect of weeds in New Zealand and a recent survey estimated weeds were costing the country as much as NZD340 million in lost production and NZD53 million in control measures per annum.²

Figure 1
Percentage of all produce lost to disease, insects and weeds by continent or region.²

Table 1
Percentage of all produce lost to disease, insects and weeds by continent or region.²

Continent or Region	Produce lost to diseases, insects and weeds
Europe	25%
Oceania	28%
North America	29%
USSR and China	30%
South America	33%
Africa	42%
Asia	43%

Figure 2
The economic importance of Weeds, Pests and Diseases at the International level is best illustrated by the following diagram.²

The diagram above illustrates both the size of the problem internationally and something of the potential opportunity for EcoCover. EcoCover has a part to play as a contributor to the global solution of increasing agricultural productivity without further harm to the environment.

References and Literature Cited

1. Figures from Agrios, G.N. (1988). Plant Pathology. (3rd ed.). Academic Press. New York.
2. Massey University College of Sciences. An Introduction to Plant Protection. Course notes 2003. Dr K. Harrington editor.
3. New Internationalist January 1990:16-17; April 1990:16-17; and May 1995:18-19.