Two things you can do to ensure the plastic packaging you use for your food products is eco-friendly

Plastic is one the most reliable, effective and affordable packaging materials and can, in fact, be made and used in an eco-friendly way. Here are some suggestions to follow if you're an eco-conscious entrepreneur and you're going to be using plastic packaging for your business' food products.

Have the plastic packaging manufacturer make a robust form of plastic packaging

A lot of plastic packaging that is used in food manufacturing is designed to be used just once and then disposed of. However, if you'd like to ensure that the packaging you have made for your food products does get flung into the bin immediately after your customers are finished consuming the food itself, then you should find out if your manufacturer can produce a robust form of plastic that will not wear out or fall apart too quickly and that is safe to wash and reuse for the storage of food and other consumable items (like medication, for example).

For instance, if you sell pots of yoghurt, you might want to have the manufacturer make the pot from a slightly less pliable (i.e., breakable) form of plastic than is typically used by most yoghurt producers. Additionally, you might want to request that they add a plastic, watertight lid. This will enable your customers to rinse out these containers and use them to, for example, store small portions of soup, cut-up fruit, or peanut butter, which they can take with them when they go to work or school. If you do this, your customers might end up keeping and reusing your yoghurt pots for years, instead of immediately throwing them away after they're done eating the yoghurt.

Print ideas for repurposing the packaging on the labels

In this instance, you might also want to request that the manufacturer of your packaging print up some ideas for how to reuse your packaging and put it on the labels. Whilst a lot of consumers like the idea of repurposing old packaging and being kinder to the planet, they don't necessarily always know how to go about doing this and may not have the inclination to go searching for suggestions on the internet. By giving them a list of fun and useful ways to repurpose your plastic packaging, you can do the hard work for them and increase the chances of them choosing not to just throw this rubbish in the bin.

For example, if you sell fruit smoothies in colourful plastic bottles, you could suggest that your customers wash these bottles after they have drunk the contents, cut the upper half of these bottles off and then use the remaining section as a holder for pens, make-up brushes, straws or toothbrushes. You could also encourage them to poke a couple of holes in the sides of these bottles, fill them with nuts and seeds and use them as bird feeders in their gardens.

Talk to a plastic packaging manufacturer today to learn more.