Questions and Answers

Below you will find the most commonly asked and some not so commonly asked questions.

Q1. How are your foam products produced?

Q2. Are disposable foodservice products filling up our landfills?

Q3. What is the safe temperature range of your products?

Q4. What are the advantages of using single use items?

Q5. Are your products recyclable?

Q6. Do your products contain post consumer recycled material?

Q7. Are your oven ready products really safe for use my oven?

Q8. How do I purchase Genpak items?

Q9. Can I buy foam or plastic from you in sheet form?

A1. Our foam products start their life as small resin pellets. We take those resin pellets and extrude them into foam sheet by introducing a blowing agent that expands the sheet to a desired thickness. The sheet is stored in rolls and later used in thermoforming equipment to produce the actual product. As a side note, Genpak has never used CFC’s as a blowing agent.

A2. It is a common misconception that disposable food service items are over loading land fills. According to a study done by the EPA in 2001, less that 1% (.6%) of the solid waste disposed of in the United States is polystyrene packaging which includes both food service packaging and protective packaging such as those pieces formed into shapes to protect things like electronic equipment.

A3. Foam items -> 0° to 150°F
Impact items -> 0° to 180°F
APET items -> -15° to 120°F
CPET items -> -15° to 420°F

A4. Single use items offer many advantages that include economic and sanitary reasons. Generally speaking it is more cost effective to go with single use items in many situations. Studies have shown that single use items may also be more sanitary over reusable ware items.

A5. Yes, just about any man made item may be recycled. All of our PETE items are #1 recyclable which is the most common type of recycled plastic material. Check with your local municipalities for your nearest recycling centers.

A6. Yes, our Clear Hinged Deli line contains 20% post consumer recycled content. All of our other product lines contain recycled material from our own internal manufacturing use, but this may not be considered post consumer as the material was never converted to a finished product.

A7. All of our CPET items are safe in temperature up to 420°F. When using CPET items in your oven, make sure you pre-heat the oven to the desired temperature before placing a CPET tray in. Place the CPET tray on a aluminum cookie sheet and make sure to place it in the center rack. The aluminum tray helps distribute heat evenly to the bottom of a CPET tray and also helps when removing the item from the oven. CPET will become pliable when hot, but firms up quickly when cooled. Placing the tray on the center rack will help ensure the tray only gets exposed to the temperature the oven is set to. Lower and upper racks may be closer to heating elements and therefore exposed to temperature much greater than the oven setting.

A8. Most of our sales are through distribution. You may contact us directly or talk to one of our manufacturer rep. groups to find your nearest Genpak stocking distributor.

A9. Unfortunately no. We use all the foam and plastic sheet that we extrude in our daily operations for the manufacture of our items.