Emerald Packaging and produce company D'Arrigo California have collaborated on a new bag for the latter's D'Arrigo California line of premiere romaine hearts products, Supermarket Perimeter reported. The bag is made of 30% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic, representing a step forward for the industry.
"Expanding the use of post-consumer recycled packaging in food packaging is a big leap forward in sustainable plastics," Kevin Kelly, chief executive officer of Emerald Packaging, said. "It's an exciting time as we take critical steps towards achieving sustainability while doing so affordably."
Several other food brands have also taken steps forward recently into using more PCR plastic in their packaging, including frozen-foods brand Birds Eye. Other companies, such as Oreo and Dole, have worked to reduce their usage of virgin plastic by leaning into more sustainable paper packaging.
However, according to the 2023 report from the nonprofit Ellen MacArthur Foundation, there is still plenty of work to do.
The report says that although 65% of brands and retailers reduced their virgin plastic from 2018 to 2023, the total amount still went up during that period due to the wanton practices of major brands such as the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo.
As consumers, these stark differences between brands offer us opportunities to reward companies that are making a concerted effort to develop more sustainable practices and eschew companies that do not care how much damage they do to our planet.
In related good news, New York state recently filed a lawsuit against PepsiCo to force the megacorporation to clean up its disposable plastic bottles and containers that have inevitably ended up as flotillas of junk in the Buffalo River. "No company is too big to ensure that their products do not damage our environment and public health," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement from her office.
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