It’s a no brainer. The new Tommies vegetable bucket is five grams lighter than the old bucket. This new bucket from innovative vegetable grower Greenco will be sold some six million times this year. Six million times five grams equals thirty thousand kilos less plastic. But the real advancement is that only recycled plastic is used for the new packaging bucket. 100% recycling means that a staggering amount of plastic will no longer be in circulation.
Retain raw materials
Packaging specialist Nedupack developed the special bucket together with vegetable grower, Greenco, for the snack varieties of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. “It was a great challenge for us and one that we were delighted to accept”, reflected Remco Brouwer, Nedupack Thermoforming Sales Manager.
Yvonne Vanlier, Marketing and Communications Manager at Greenco explains: “With this new packaging we’re showing our total commitment to plastic recycling. We think we should be retaining valuable raw materials, not destroying them.” This shows that Greenco is following recommendations from The Netherlands Institute for Sustainable Packaging (KIDV).
Step by step
This was not an insignificant step. Packaging is vital in protecting a grower’s fresh products. “A lot depends on this,” explained Yvonne Vanlier from Greenco. “Our packaging isn’t just a way of presenting our products to customers; packaging keeps these products fresh and prevents damage during transport.”
Packaging specialist Nedupack supported Greenco in making the right choice every step of the way. Remco Brouwer: “In the end we went for 100 per cent recycled plastic; the so-called rPET material. If you want to avoid standard plastic, of all the options rPET offers the biggest green benefits. Even more so than carton. And because the bucket is lighter, we’re saving even more energy during transport. It is a green total package of sustainable benefits.”
