Many businesses have started rethinking the materials they use while packaging their products. The days of heavy plastics and potentially hazardous materials are ending as businesses are favoring more eco-friendly "green" packaging methods. Consumers are also more conscious of their carbon footprints and want to make environmentally friendly changes with the products they buy. Businesses have taken notice by changing their ways and are making positive impacts with their customers and the environment. 

How Can I Make Greener Packaging?

Businesses have to see their current packaging procedures through a wide lens before taking action. Most packaging systems have many components that could be improved. Current packaging materials, energy efficiency, and waste management are some variables to consider when making eco-friendly production changes.

Recycling Materials

One of the most popular and easy packaging changes a business can make is by using recycled materials. Using paper, steel or aluminum based packaging greatly reduces waste. Since these materials can be repurposed for many needs, they may also cut down production and replenishing costs. When consumers buy these products, knowing the material used in the packaging also helps them easier sort their waste at home for recycling pick-ups. 

Minimizing & "Right Sizing" Materials

Another variable to take into account is how large the packaging container is compared to the size of the product inside. Although large packaging is more noticeable, it is more wasteful and costly. By using less material AND using recycled material, businesses can make two significant impacts on the environment as well as their profit margins.

Preventing Consumer Waste

By creating packaging that allows consumers to reuse it for different purposes, there is less waste after its initial use and multi-purpose recycled packaging will attract consumers. Environmentally conscious people prefer not to dispose items after one use. By creating packaging that lets consumers keep using the same container, it will help create rapport your business and your customers.

Learn more about our eco-friendly food packaging containers.

Almost three dozen sperm whales were found stranded along the North Sea. This area is historically too shallow for marine wildlife, which makes these discoveries even more disturbing. These sperm whales had stomachs that were full of plastic debris; including a fishing net, plastic from a car and countless other pieces of debris. Water pollution continues to kill off large numbers of marine life and serious changes need to be made immediately.

Original Article: http://expand-your-consciousness.com/sperm-whales-found-dead-in-germany-stomachs-full-of-plastic-and-car-parts/

Yes, to take that picture I had to stick my phone in a trashcan, or more specifically a compost bin.

I’m trying to keep my cool but I’m not doing a very good job of it. Savethatstuff, our composter, is not composting the compost they pick up from our restaurants. And they haven’t been for a while (they have trouble telling me how long). And they’re not planning to in the future. And we’ve been paying for it the whole time.

To my knowledge we were the first restaurant in the country to move to 100% compostable packaging. This was back in 2010. I’d spent 18 months trying to get to that point. The last hang-up was the compostable lids, I’d finally gotten a new packaging company to develop a compostable hot lid and we were able to move to 100% compostable packaging. We were paying $0.16 for a cup that would otherwise cost us $0.03, and $1.00 for trash bags that would otherwise cost us $0.05. And we were paying about 60% more per ton for pick-up vs. trash going to landfill. We’ve spent $100s of thousands of dollars over the years on compost. But we felt really strongly about the move.

Why? If you look at our country’s current system we take all these nutrients out of the soil (as food) then throw them into situations where they can never be accessed again (landfill). I wanted to break that cycle. We thought that if we were ever going to be able to capture customer’s food waste (the bulk of the waste our business produces) we would need a single bin folks can put all of their stuff in. And that would mean the packaging would have to be compostable as well as the food scraps, so that everything could get collected.

Now I’m learning that Savethatstuff hasn’t been composting all of our compostables. They have been sending everything I’m paying to have composted, my expensive compostable bags, compostable packaging, food scraps to landfill. What!?! I asked Adam Mitchell, a Partner there, whether they are planning to issue us a refund for loads that we have paid to have composted but have gone to landfill. He said no, we’ve provided a service you paid for. This is when I lose my cool. I paid for COMPOSTING service not LANDFILL service!

OK, so what now. What do we do in a post-composting world? Well first, I think it’s stupid. I understand there are issues to getting composting done. Savethatstuff was using a facility called WeCare Environmental (don’t you love these names!). And WeCare is having issues with their neighbors not liking the smell. So Savethatstuff is discontinuing their relationship. And in the ultimate irony Adam told me that another thing that’s bad about WeCare is that they were caught sending compost to landfill in upstate NY. Uh… you mean like Savethatstuff sending my compost to landfill right now?

Anyway, there are other issues, sometimes compost in contaminated with non-compostables. This even happens at home. Sometimes I’ll find something plastic-y in my compost from years ago.

But aren’t we clever enough to solve these problems? Didn’t we figure out how to sort recyclables very effectively?

Now that I know all of this I’m going to sit down with Chris Anderson (head of food at Clover) today and we’re going to go over our options. I expect we’ll move away from compostable packaging and instead move to post-consumer recyclable.

It’s a sad and frustrating day.

original article: https://www.cloverfoodlab.com/blog/2016/06/03/death-composting/ by Ayr.

These Edible Six-Pack Rings could save countless lives across the animal community..

Serving as a particularly unsavory example of mankind’s harmful encroachment upon nature, six-pack plastic rings have caused immense damage to the environment since they went into circulation in 1960.

The amount of six-pack plastic rings that are brought into supermarkets each year is not only innumerable, but constantly overlooked. The detrimental damage to our ecosystem because of these harmful products is impossible to ignore. They may seem like harmless debris, but cause countless deaths in marine animals, birds and sea turtles often by drowning, strangulation, starvation, suffocation and/or injuries.

Thousands upon thousands of preventable deaths result each year from these plastic rings-sometimes negatively impacting endangered species. This raises the question that is ignored time and time again-why have these death traps not been banned?

To top it all off, 32 species of marine mammals, 51 species of seabirds and six species of sea turtles have suffered irreparable damage due to our shortsighted and uninformed usage of plastic rings.

End this epidemic today and support The Complete Package in their efforts to save marine life and reduce pollution.

Quat binding is a concern for anyone working in custodial services, but it may be most critical in foodservice areas. While there has been a spotlight placed on the problem in healthcare, quat binding in foodservice remains center stage. Read more...

A new study published by the World Economic Forum, has warned that the oceans will have more plastic debris than fish by the year 2050.
Read More...

Have you been to The Database of Complete Package website lately?

After much planning and effort to polish up our internet storefront we are pleased to have our new website up and running, ready for your packaging needs. You can browse through our staple categories, choose from Quick Service Restaurants, Catering & Event Planning,Coffee & Tea Houses; or use our favorite option for ease of use, the Product Search bar! All items have tags and keywords attached to help pull up the item you’re looking for in a flash.

While you’re perusing the containers, enjoy the fresh look with custom graphics that reflect our commitment to supplying a wide variety of restaurant needs that are environmentally minded and gentle on the budget.

Beyond the product, we also have toolbar links to customer references, links to manufacturers we carry, credit and resale forms, and a catalog of our past blogs. Take a look around and let us know how well the new set-up works for you. We appreciate your feedback since we created the layout with you, the customer, in mind.

Show your support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month with hot cups, cold cups, and lids from the Pink Ribbon product line at The Complete Package. This is an annual product that we are proud to offer as a way to promote breast cancer awareness. With these hot beverage cups, you can be sure that you’re putting your money where your mouth is. That’s because the cup you’re drinking from comes with a donation to Breast Cancer Research & Awareness. That’s right, twenty percent (20%) of all International Paper profits from Pink Ribbon product sales will be donated to Breast Cancer Research & Awareness.

Pre-Order Pink Ribbon Hot & Cold Cups Today

Keep in mind that these are specialty items that must be ordered in advance. Breast cancer awareness month may be in October, but you have got to get your order in no later than July 3rd if you want any Pink Ribbon products. This product line includes a pink ribbon design on the cup and a matching pink lid to go with it. However, you only need to pre-order the hot and cold cups. The pink lids can be ordered as needed.

Getting your order in now will ensure your customers know you’re a proud supporter of breast cancer awareness.  So please join us as we offer the Pink Ribbon product line to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October 2013.