Is This the Future of Packaging?

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Minnesota cities plan to ban non-sustainable packaging

A recent article in the StarTribune.com reported that the governors of the city of St. Paul (in the state of Minnesota, USA) are proposing to prohibit the use of food packaging that is not reusable, recyclable or compostable. This ban would apply to food businesses in the city such as restaurants and coffee shops. Consultations are taking place between the city governors and the city’s food businesses.

Concerns over cost and availability of sustainable packaging

Business owners have voiced their concerns about the availability and cost of sustainable alternatives to the current non-sustainable packaging that they use. Some of St Paul’s restaurants and coffee shops, such as the Highland Grill and the Silhouette Bakery and Bistro have received grants to assist them in changing over to sustainable packaging and to train staff in handling the new packaging. They have implemented these changes and feel glad to have done so. “It was a slight increase in cost, which is never good, but we feel like … being very friendly to the earth is very important,” commented Highland Grill General Manager, Kim Lorsung.

Other cities push for more sustainable packaging

Other cities in Minnesota State have implemented similar laws and offered grant programs to assist businesses moving to the use of sustainable packaging. St. Paul’s “twin city”, Minneapolis has a “Green to Go” program which was enacted a year after the laws were passed. According to Cindy Weckwerth, a supervisor with the Minneapolis Health Department, the year gave the city time to educate people and host packaging fairs, where they let business owners know what materials were available on the market.
In situations where the sustainable alternative was extremely expensive or unavailable, the city allowed for exemptions to these laws. These exemptions applied in the case of some plastic-lined soup containers and coffee cups and lids.
Other cities, such as St Louis Park, have implemented zero waste packaging laws but did not allow such exemptions.
Cindy Weckwerth is very pleased that other cities in the state are following their lead in protecting the environment. The article quotes Ms Weckwerth; “It will help with consistency in practices throughout the whole metro area,” she said. “It’s really embracing forward-thinking as far as looking after the environment.”
You can read the full article here.

Talk to Dollard Packaging about sustainable board for your cartons and sleeves

The global drive towards the use of more sustainable packaging is now something that food producers ignore at their peril. Any producers who use cardboard packaging, such as cartons and sleeves, are already using sustainable packaging as cartonboard is one of the most sustainable forms of packaging available. All cartonboard used at Dollard Packaging is from sustainable sources and we are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) approved.

You can read more about cartons, sustainability and case studies of changes to more sustainable packaging in our previous blogs below.

Sustainable Carton of the Year Winner 2016
Sustainability helps Sales Revenue
Cartons and Sustainability
How Green is my Carton?
Innovative and Sustainable Cereal Packaging