Consumer Packaged Goods
October 10, 2012
A recent article in International Supermarket News, titled “Corrugated Packaging has the Ingredients to Help Reduce Food Waste,” suggests that increasing the amount of packaging for foods destined for grocery stores can decrease, rather than increase, waste. This seems counterintuitive. More packaging equals more stuff to throw away, right? However, if packages are designed in ways that help food move from farm or supplier to the store to families’ tables quickly and efficiently, food waste can be reduced significantly.
Rather than simply putting food items in a brown box and requiring grocery stores to decide how to display the food properly, suppliers are packaging a few food items in a small container that not only protects the product in shipping, but acts as a shelf display, advertises the product, and clearly shows the sell-by date. These multi-use packages are smaller than might be expected so that they are emptied more quickly through food sales. Packing materials increase because each shipping container contains multiple boxes rather than just the product itself, but efficiency at the grocery store is increased. Grocery stores simply have to open a shipping container and fill the shelves, which gets food out of the store room and into consumers’ homes more quickly. Food suppliers hope that this will have a huge impact on reducing the amount of food waste that goes into landfills every year.
EquipNet has discussed frequently in this blog our commitment to supporting companies in their responsible environmental policies when it comes to packaging and recycling. If your company is trying to reduce waste or develop a responsible recycling program of its own, contact us today to discuss how we can help.
Categorias: Consumer Packaged Goods
