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Member Spotlight: Michael Basagre

Written by WasteMINZ | 22 July 2025

In this member spotlight, we talk to  Michael Basagre,  Sales & Sustainability Manager at Hi-Tech Packaging Ltd. Michael says he believes true change occurs when you understand the circularity of your product through the entire system - including how your products are disposed of.

"We believe there is an opportunity to design out waste to landfill by designing sustainable packaging that fall into key areas such as reusability, recyclability and the ability to have other alternatives that add value to the waste sector."

Tell us about your organisation

Hi-Tech Packaging is family owned that has been operating for 21 years based in Auckland. We supply custom flexible packaging to a range of industries in NZ including councils, the waste sector, medical, retail, industrial and the food sector. Our packaging  includes waste bags, compostable liners and reusable packaging. Our purpose and mission is to provide what we call “safe and sustainable packaging, now and for the future” which basically translates to helping brands and organisations navigate the complexities of sustainable packaging such as changes in regulations, making it fit-for-purpose, customer perception, adding economic and commercial value and aligning it to any environmental goals or outcomes.

Why did you want to join WasteMINZ? 

Outside of supplying and being involved with supplying packaging to the waste sector and councils, we also believe true change occurs when you understand the circularity of your product through the entire system and this includes understanding how our products are disposed of. We also joined WasteMINZ as we felt it was the right alignment to our purpose of providing education and understanding the complexities of sustainable packaging in more depth, and there’s no better understanding than being involved in WasteMINZ.

What topic/issue are you most passionate about when it comes to waste,resource recovery or contaminated land?

For me personally, it’s about understanding how we can reduce the need to rely on landfill as our main source of disposing of waste.

We believe there is an opportunity to design out waste to landfill by designing sustainable packaging that fall into the following key areas such as reusability, recyclability and the ability to have other alternatives that add value to the waste sector such as alternative processing to capture high-value products such as biogas, or liquid fertiliser - the way Ecogas do with food waste. 

What are you reading or listening to right now?

Reading a lot of white papers and reports around sustainable materials, or the impact of problematic packaging and the impact it has on the environment and society.

Describe your perfect day outside of work

Cliché alert! I do really enjoy time with my family, we have a relatively busy schedule most weeks with three kids that range from sporting and cultural events.

So anything that allows us to spend quality time as a family is a pretty perfect day for me.
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