13/05/2026
From a flower farm in Te Kauwhata to a national recycling network, Yasmin Wessels is tackling one of the floristry industry's most overlooked problems.
Every year, New Zealand's flower industry uses an estimated 20 million plastic sleeves, the thin wrapping that protects stems from grower to florist to customer. Most are used once, then sent to landfill. Council recycling won't take them. Until now, there was no system to bring them back.
Yasmin's business, The Flower Loop, is changing that. Built by growers who understood the problem from the inside, it's a simple circular model: florists, growers, and wholesalers use 100% recycled sleeves, return them through a Circular Bag collection system, and the plastic is remanufactured into new sleeves, ready to go again.
The results are already tangible. Over 855,000 sleeves returned. More than 5 tonnes of plastic kept in circulation and out of landfill. A growing network of businesses across the country joining the loop.
If you're in the flower industry and haven't looked into The Flower Loop yet, it's worth five minutes of your time.
👉 http://www.theflowerloop.com
