Lincolnshire-based dried fruit and veg supplier Sleaford Quality Foods is trialling a new range of recyclable packaging.
In August the family business, which specialises in dried and dehydrated food products including herbs and spices, potatoes, onion, fruit and other vegetables, will be trialling a new two-ply paper bag with a polyethylene (PE) coating. The bag, which contains such a small percentage of PE coating that it is classed as fully recyclable, will house two new product lines, and in the long term the company is aiming to use the bag to package its entire product range.
The firm is also looking to develop a series of recyclable laminates and pouches made from a mono-layer plastic, which will allow them to be processed through a recycling loop.
Sleaford's Chef William range, which includes soups, herbs and spices, canned fruit and vegetables and core ingredients such as pasta and rice, is currently packed in pots made from the recyclable material PET, with lids of polypropylene. However, some recycling sorting stations are unable to detect the lids due to their black colour, so the firm plans to ditch carbon black lids in favour of alternative colours in order to ensure that they are detectable in the recycling loop.
Managing director James Arnold said: 'We are constantly challenging our supplier and clients to step up their efforts to reduce plastic usage, and have recently held discussions with a company that is developing a fully compostable bio-plastic – one of the most environmentally-friendly packaging materials available on today’s market.”
'We're finding that most of the companies we deal with now are very open to greener packaging solutions. This is something we will continue to push on with as we expand and take on new supplier and clients.”
