As I was writing down my thoughts on “Eco” packaging, I did so on paper that was made from 80% sugarcane plant fibre waste.  In the food industry we do not have the luxury of using waste to create products.  We can however include biodegradable additives to the manufacturing process that enables your polyethylene bag to biodegradable within 24-36 months instead of being around for decades or even centuries.  Paperboard products can be printed with vegetable inks and board thicknesses reduced without jeopardizing product integrity.  The OPS industry has made advances with micro cellular technology.  Opaque OPS is injected with air creating a lighter sheet.  Weight reduction is a simple way to reduce a package’s environmental impact.

These are just a few goods ideas and there are others out there.  Take a look at EcoCradle (link below), a company who is using agricultural crop waste bonded together with mushroom roots to create and replace foam packaging. Again, in our industry where food safety is of upmost importance, the idea of creating something from waste is not feasible.  The initiative of considering alternative materials for packaging is a good starting point for our industry.  There is no easy answer to Eco-friendly packaging but by planting the seed we create ideas for each other.  Doing something, anything is important.

http://www.mushroompackaging.com