8 minute read
Say hello to World Centric compostable packaging customer, Plantage Meals! A plant-based, weekly meal subscription company operating out of Washington state, Plantage is an eco-conscious company that's deeply connected to the local Bellingham community.
We caught up with Chris, Chef and Owner, to learn more about how Plantage Meals is closing the loop.
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Why do you think composting is important?
To put it mildly, our world is on fire. We all know the facts of global warming, the lack of proper recycling facilities, and the sheer mounds of trash with nowhere to go. We can’t keep moving forward valuing convenience over sustainability. Our world, and the people in it, are simply more important than that. Composting is the clear answer.
Why do you choose to only use compostable packaging for your meals?
When I was researching other companies and meal service providers I was shocked by the amount of packaging that accompanied most meals. The thought of shipping a box of prepared food across 3 states while packaged in plastic, wrapped in styrofoam and boxed with dry ice just didn’t make sense to me. What an incredible amount of resources to generate a dinner or two.
I immediately decided that we could do better. It was integral to our business model to find containers that would keep our meals fresh for the duration of the week while also being as close to zero-waste as possible. Our customers pick up their weekly box of prepared meals at our commercial kitchen, eliminating the need to use cardboard boxes, dry ice, and styrofoam insulation. This move itself cut-down tremendously on the carbon footprint of each meal.
Going one step further towards compostable packaging really allowed us to send a box of meals out the door knowing that we were doing everything in our power to ensure that we were making the smallest carbon footprint possible. Ensuring that each and every package is fully compostable is key in educating our customers on best practices. We can confidently tell our customers that everything in their meal boxes in compostable, both the food items and the containers themselves.
Customers actually get really excited about this! When we explain the packaging and compostability of our products to new subscribers they are genuinely thrilled and inquisitive about the packaging. We even accept back used packaging from our customers who do not have access to commercial composting, ensuring that all of the packages that walk out our door make their way into the composting stream.
How much packaging do you use a month?
Currently we are using about 5,000 packages a month and expect to double that number within the year. We have also just launched a Grab ’n Go component to our business, which will of course also utilize 100% compostable packaging.
Do you track your compost volumes/weights? If so, how much are you composting a month? We compost 120 gallons per week through our local service!
Any other fun facts that you would want to share about your sustainable business practices?
We get pretty excited about sustainability! Our entire business ethos was built around the principal of doing as little harm as possible.
To put it mildly, our world is on fire. We all know the facts of global warming, the lack of proper recycling facilities, and the sheer mounds of trash with nowhere to go. We can’t keep moving forward valuing convenience over sustainability. Our world, and the people in it, are simply more important than that. Composting is the clear answer.
Why do you choose to only use compostable packaging for your meals?
When I was researching other companies and meal service providers I was shocked by the amount of packaging that accompanied most meals. The thought of shipping a box of prepared food across 3 states while packaged in plastic, wrapped in styrofoam and boxed with dry ice just didn’t make sense to me. What an incredible amount of resources to generate a dinner or two.
I immediately decided that we could do better. It was integral to our business model to find containers that would keep our meals fresh for the duration of the week while also being as close to zero-waste as possible. Our customers pick up their weekly box of prepared meals at our commercial kitchen, eliminating the need to use cardboard boxes, dry ice, and styrofoam insulation. This move itself cut-down tremendously on the carbon footprint of each meal.
Going one step further towards compostable packaging really allowed us to send a box of meals out the door knowing that we were doing everything in our power to ensure that we were making the smallest carbon footprint possible. Ensuring that each and every package is fully compostable is key in educating our customers on best practices. We can confidently tell our customers that everything in their meal boxes in compostable, both the food items and the containers themselves.
Customers actually get really excited about this! When we explain the packaging and compostability of our products to new subscribers they are genuinely thrilled and inquisitive about the packaging. We even accept back used packaging from our customers who do not have access to commercial composting, ensuring that all of the packages that walk out our door make their way into the composting stream.
How much packaging do you use a month?
Currently we are using about 5,000 packages a month and expect to double that number within the year. We have also just launched a Grab ’n Go component to our business, which will of course also utilize 100% compostable packaging.
Do you track your compost volumes/weights? If so, how much are you composting a month? We compost 120 gallons per week through our local service!
Any other fun facts that you would want to share about your sustainable business practices?
We get pretty excited about sustainability! Our entire business ethos was built around the principal of doing as little harm as possible.
- All incoming orders are placed the week before we run production, allowing us to order just the amount we need in order to prepare the orders. This allows us to function with a minimal amount of waste.
- All of our compost is from unusable vegetable trimmings (onion peels, carrot ends, etc.) and returned containers from our subscribers.
- We only generate 12 gallons of trash a week! This is unheard of for a commercial kitchen.
- When we realized that the majority of our trash was coming from the nitrile gloves we use for portioning and packaging prepared foods, we made the switch to biodegradable gloves. If we could manage to find compostable gloves, I think our trash would be down to a gallon a week!
- We get regular recycling pickup of all PTAG items, paper and cardboard. We also collect all plastic films and take it to the local recycling plant each week. We typically have about 33 gallons of semi-compressed plastic film each week.
- We supply a local vermiculturist with 5-gallons of ‘worm salad’ each week for his red wrigglers.
- All of our cleaning supplies and dish chemicals are earth-friendly. This means we have to scrub a little extra hard before dishes go into the machine, but we think it’s worth it.
- Oh, and about those scrubbers… they’re compostable too! It’s a natural-fiber sponge with a scrubber side. We use them for about a week and then into the compost they go.
