Why go eco-friendly?

Protecting the environment is fast becoming an increasingly global (and indeed mainstream) concern - particularly for businesses who both want to do their part to preserve the environment, and do their duty to their eco-minded customers. Making a shift to becoming as eco-friendly as you possibly can within your company and as a retailer is a must in the current landscape and going forward, and there has never been a better time to make the move than now.

Whether you decide to introduce a cycle to work scheme, invest in energy saving appliances or switch to biodegradable cups, you can take small but meaningful steps when it comes to doing your part - and beginning with making the move to more environmentally friendly packaging options is a great place to start. Even aside from the obvious Earth-related benefits of going green, the social benefits mean you can’t afford not to position sustainability at the forefront of your business.

From reduced emissions during the manufacturing process to helping to reduce landfill waste and creating nutrient-rich soil, there are a number of benefits to choosing sustainable packaging options. Through the use of biodegradable packaging, compostable packaging and recyclable packaging, we can bring you - and, in turn, your customers - the very best products, all while reducing the environmental impact of all parties.

We work with a number of industry-leading green brands to provide our customers with a variety of recyclable, compostable and biodegradable packaging options, including Vegware, Go-Pak, Celebration and Sabert. From hot drinks cups that can be personalised to reflect your branding to wooden cutlery options which offer a hygienic and biodegradable solution to catering disposables, we’re passionate about striving for a plastic-free future. As a supplier of Vegware products, we share in their commitment to producing low-carbon catering disposables such as soup containers, delivering the best packaging waste recycling solutions and ensuring packaging materials can be collected for composting.

We’re always on the lookout for new and innovative products in the industry, so keep an eye on our site for new additions to our ever-growing eco-friendly packaging collection.

 

What does eco-friendly packaging mean to us?

At R+R Packaging, we became interested in sourcing more sustainable materials and eco-friendly products that would have less of an impact on the environment due to the volume of packaging being distributed to food service outlets. As we supply a large amount of food outlets across the UK, including many along the beautiful Northumberland coastline, we believe it’s vital to protect coastlines all over the world wherever possible, and we can do our bit by supplying the appropriate food packaging options.

As a distributor of food packaging, we have a responsibility to offer as many alternatives to plastic as we possibly can, which is why we’ve worked so hard to provide sustainable materials. As our coastlines are aiming to becoming plastic-free, R+R Packaging is devoted to being a part of this world-changing movement.

 

What sustainable packaging do we offer?

There are all sorts of words used to describe environmentally friendly products, which can make it a little confusing when trying to understand the differences between the various options and the unique benefits of each of these. At R+R Packaging, we offer three different types of packaging that each help to protect the planet in their own way: biodegradable, compostable and recyclable.

While we all know terms such as recyclable, biodegradable and compostable are good indicators when it comes to identifying environmentally friendly packaging, understanding what these terms actually mean when it comes to the manufacturing, use and disposal of these types of eco-friendly packaging can often be far less clear. So, let’s take a closer look at these entries in the green packaging glossary:

Recyclable

Put simply, recycling is the process of converting waste into a reusable material, although this doesn’t always mean the output of a new supply of the same material - on the contrary, this process often produces another product entirely! Recycling is the most traditional and most commonly used option with regards to packaging solutions.

Ranging from paper and metal to glass and electronics, there are a wide variety of materials that can be effectively recycled - just look out for the ‘chasing arrows’ recycling logo found on recyclable packaging like our Contora Large Gourmet Burger Box and Nested Chip Scoop.

Recyclable materials are often collected from recycle bins, drop-off centres or buy-back centres, so be sure to always dispose of your recyclable eco-friendly packaging through one of these outlets. Where possible, materials should always be rinsed of food waste before recycling, as just one dirty item can be enough to contaminate a significant proportion of a recycling load. Luckily, as recycling disposables like our wooden cutlery are designed with both practicality and environmentalism in mind, this is quick and easy - meaning it takes you even less effort to do your bit for Mother Earth.

Biodegradable

This term is used to refer to a material that, given the right conditions upon its disposal, is decomposed by bacteria and microorganisms - breaking down into its basic components (carbon dioxide, water and biomass) and, eventually, returning to the earth. In theory, this saves landfill space and returns nothing harmful into the atmosphere. 

While, traditionally, the term ‘biodegradable’ was mainly used to refer to things like animal and food waste, with the rise in innovative biodegradable product packaging solutions, this now includes a broad variety of organic materials and bioplastics. Take our reusable hot cups, for example - made from 100% natural rice husk and bio resin.

Compostable

In layman's terms, all compostable products are biodegradable, but not all biodegradable products are compostable. While this may sound confusing at first, this is simply down to the added benefit boasted by compostable packaging: when they decompose, they release valuable nutrients called humus into the soil that can aid the natural growth of trees and plants.

What’s more, compostable packaging can break down within 12 weeks - giving you the most accelerated outcome of the available eco-friendly packaging options when it comes to decomposition, all while leaving no trace of toxic residue. Of course, this incredibly environmentally friendly packaging requires a very specific means of manufacturing and material use, which is why products like our Edenware single wall hot cups and BePulp round bowls are made using plant-based PLA and begasse.

Be sure to dispose of compostable packaging products like our bagasse food trays in the correct manner, as these products require very specific conditions to decompose properly. This entails composting products in your garden or home composter, or making use of your local industrial composting facility. UK customers are recommended to contact their local council for more information on these options.

While each of the available options comes with different means of disposal, they all support one common goal: reducing the amount of rubbish in landfills.