Nature Fresh Farms Releases New 100 Percent Home Compostable Cucumber Wrap
LEAMINGTON, ON - With sustainability top of mind for consumers, retailers, and growers alike, Nature Fresh Farms has announced that it will continue its sustainability initiatives with the release of its new 100 percent home-compostable cucumber wraps. The packaging will be featured on Nature Fresh’s Long English cucumbers and is one of the first sustainable wraps to hit the North American produce market.
“The launch of the compostable wrap is a demonstration of our commitment to our consumers’ wants of reducing plastic usage. We are excited to be first to market with this initiative in North America and are hopeful this will start a trend with the industry while we continue to lead in sustainable packaging solutions,” said Matt Quiring, Director of Sales.
While traditional packaging is generally made from polyethylene plastic, Nature Fresh’s new wrap features starch-based PLA that is derived from non-GMO cornstarch, according to a press release.
The composition of the new wrap allows for it to help maintain shelf life, but it can be composted by consumers, breaking down with water and CO2, meaning no long-term stay in the landfill.
“After two years of research and development and a lot of trial and error, it’s so exciting to see this film launch in the market. We are confident in this product’s ability to make a true difference (in reducing harmful plastic waste),” explained Luci Faas, Product Development Specialist.
In addition to the wrap itself being compostable, the pre-printed PLU on the packaging is also printed using compostable ink. This feature is what makes the wrap 100 percent compostable, as the ink will also break down, not harming the environment. Many PLU stickers are made of vinyl and plastic, which means along with plastic wrapping, they too remain in the landfill for years to come.
In a world where each average cucumber wrap contains 0.00436 lbs of plastic, Nature Fresh’s new innovation will save the equivalent of 23-million straws worth of plastic from entering the landfill for every five million cucumbers wrapped in its new compostable packaging.
As sustainability initiatives continue to take companies down innovative new paths, what does the future have in store? ANUK will keep our ears to the newswire to find out.
