Plastics Isn't The Problem, We Are.

Overly-used and cliched title, but true. No doubt plastics pollution is a serious on-going actual problem, and we need to be looking at ways to reduce plastics usage. However, vilifying plastics usage isn't the solution because plastics don't grow wings and/or legs and make their way into the ocean themselves. Truth-bomb ahead - We, humans kind of did this to ourselves.

Also, as we are on this topic - We too often get asked by customers "Why are you guys selling biodegradable food containers with PLASTIC cover?" and "Wouldn't that be defeating the purpose of Team Recycler Malaysia?" 

Annoying competitors on social media be like...

When plastics were invented in 1869, they were hailed as revolutionary invention due to their light-weight, transparent, strong and durable properties. As natural resources like metal, glass and wood were dwindling, plastics provided various industries with a new and way cheaper options to go about in their business. Ironically, it is that strength and durable properties that led to them lasting forever in our oceans.

Practicality vs Sustainability

So, why do we have plastics cover options in our products range?

To that, we will tell you - While we prioritize sustainability, we are also thinking of the practical aspects of plastics usage in F&B industry. We are not perfect yet in juggling these two aspects, but hey at least we are doing our part to reduce unnecessary plastics consumption.

The practical aspects for food take-away and delivery

Light-weight; reduced load and burden for logistics and transportation. One pack may not be a lot, but think of catering services which may need to distribute up to 300 packs of food per day.

Transparent; beautiful food deserved to be presented as it is to the customers even before opening the container cover. Aesthetics aside, a clear and transparent cover helps F&B customers to easily identify what food belongs to whom in a group order. It also helps to attract customers to the food being on display without the need to man-handle the food if they are not going to buy in the first place.

Strong & durable; this is easily the most important aspect when it comes to food containers for delivery and take-away. Any F&B would want their food orders to be delivered to customers safely without breakage, damage or spillage. Besides being impact resistant, plastics covers also act as better moisture and air barrier to keep food fresher for longer.

Above points being said, what else are we doing differently to further help F&B reduce plastics pollution and usage?

We made a conscious decision to only offer our plastics cover made from PET material which are 100% recyclable. We are also exploring the possibility to replace PET with PLA - a biopolymer made from cornstarch. All the benefits of plastics cover, but biodegradable and compostable!

We also have a 100% biodegradable clamshell food container series in our products range. Best part of all, we are making this range accessible to all walks of life at a super economical price (up to 50% cheaper than our competitors) suitable for small F&B and home-cooked business. We work closely with our suppliers and business partners to keep the cost low, without compromising on the quality.

We are also working closely with our many suppliers to reduce inner plastics packaging of our cartons. For sake of full transparency, only 27% of our items comes without inner plastics, and we are looking to double this figure by end of 2021.

We are also constantly on a lookout for new biodegradable and compostable food packaging options. If you hear of anything exciting in the market, do let us know too!