Soft Plastics? Why?
At FED, we are committed to being responsible humans and doing our part for the planet.
We understand the growing concern over the environmental impact of plastic packaging. That's why we've made a conscious decision to use soft plastics for our products. Here are some of the reasons we us soft plastics as our packaging of choice.
Soft plastic is a highly durable and reliable option for packaging our products to ensure they maintain their freshness and to mitigate food waste from spoilage, which is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. It can withstand the weight and pressure of multiple items without tearing or breaking, which means our customers can trust that their order will arrive in good condition.
We also appreciate the low cost of production associated with soft plastics. This allows us to offer our customers high-quality products at an affordable price point.
Recyclable plastic can be reused time and time again, diverting it from landfill. At the end of their use, our bags can be recycled here in New Zealand into new products such as fence posts by Future Post or buckets, cable covers, waterslides and more by 2nd Life Plastics.
So why not compostable or biodegradable?
While we understand that there is growing interest in biodegradable and compostable materials. After considerable research and from experience, we believe being part of a circular economy is more future-proof than compostable or biodegradable packaging. Most compostable and biodegradable packaging products are essentially single use. So they effectively end up as waste, you know those compostable take away cup lids, how many actually make the compost heap, home, commercial or otherwise? We reckon most get chucked in the bin, cup and all and end up in landfill.
There’s further detail here that confirms our thoughts. There are a number of other issues with commercial composters in NZ, which include:
A general absence of standards for food packaging
Length of time to breakdown varies greatly depending on packaging composition
Contamination of the waste stream, both with recycling streams and composting facilities
Lack of education across compostable waste producers of what can be composted
Products in the market mislabelled as compostable or biodegradable, which are not
We recognise too that soft plastics can have negative environmental impacts if not disposed of properly. That's why we encourage our customers to recycle their soft plastic bags. All our soft plastics can be dropped into the Love NZ Soft Plastic Recycling bins at supermarkets and other participating stores in NZ. The collection service is available in the Auckland area, Bay of Plenty, Christchurch, Northland, Waikato, Taranaki and Wellington regions. Find out if there is a drop off near you here.
We're on a mission to be more sustainable. We know that this isn't a perfect solution for zero waste, but we're doing our best to minimise food waste and keep our products in good condition. Plus, we're always on the lookout for new and innovative packaging technology to keep improving our sustainability efforts. So stay tuned, and thanks for joining us on this journey!
