Category: Environment

natural materials

What Are Our Harvest Fiber Containers Made From?

If you’re looking for high quality compostable takeout containers or dine in products for your restaurant, Genpak has you covered. Our Harvest Fiber containers are compostable dinnerware and hinged containers made from an annually renewable resource known as bagasse. But what exactly is bagasse and what are its benefits over other compostable materials? We break…
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view down street of garbage recycling cans at the curb

Are Your Takeout Containers Curbside Recyclable?

According to the EPA, containers and packaging alone contribute to over 23% of materials reaching landfills in the United States. Food-related containers and packaging are included in this category. Using food containers made of recyclable materials is a responsible decision by your restaurant to help reduce the number of food containers that reach landfills each…
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Environmental Commentary

It is very important to stay informed of issues. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of misinformation from groups and companies with specific agendas. Not everything you read may be accurate or complete. You’ll need to verify information until you are satisfied what is being presented is the truth. We sincerely hope the facts talked…
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Polystyrene & The Environment

Polystyrene and in specific, foamed polystyrene, has been under attack at municipalities across the country. This is particularly true when it comes to food packaging and containers. Various bans have been proposed or enacted citing reasons such as litter, landfill usage and safety concerns. Many of these claims are based upon falsehoods or misguided information….
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Sustainability In Food Packaging

According to the Environmental Protection Association sustainability is based on a simple principle. Everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our environment. To pursue sustainability is to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future…
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Biodegradable / Compostable

How can you tell if an item of food packaging is biodegradable or compostable? The only sure fire way is to ask the manufacturer for a third party certification document. This certification should not be one generated by the company itself. It should be from an accredited third party laboratory. If you do get the…
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Reuse

Many products we produce may certainly be used more than once. These containers are great for home use, especially when needing to warm up food items in the microwave. Our Clear Hinged Deli containers are also a favorite item to be re-used in the home. We get many communications from consumers who tell us the…
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Source Reduction

The three R’s of sustainability include Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. We have all seen evidence of source reduction with plastic water bottles. They have consistently gotten thinner and lighter. The average P.E.T. water bottle has gone from 18.9 grams to 12.7 grams. That decrease alone saved over 1 billion pounds of P.E.T. resin. Well done…
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Post-Consumer Recycled Content

The Federal Trade Commission defines post-consumer recycled content as materials that have been recovered or diverted from the municipal solid waste stream. A good example is that plastic water bottle you tossed into your curb-side recycle bin. Instead of that item going to a landfill, it goes to a recycling center where it is processed…
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The Green Room: What We Are Doing To Protect The Environment

In The Green Room we will do our best to inform you of issues, concerns and steps Genpak has taken and is currently taking to continue to be responsible stewards of the environment. You will find no spin or conjecture, simply facts. There are far too many wild claims being made by companies regarding issues…
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