(Credit: Bumble Bee Seafood)The Bumble Bee Seafood Company is eliminating an estimated 23 million pieces of plastic waste per year by changing its multipack can product packaging from shrink wrap to readily recyclable paperboard cartons. The change will apply to all multipacks produced by Bumble Bee.
The paperboard is made from 100% recycled material, with a minimum of 35% post-consumer content, and is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. That means that the multipack can product packaging is fully recyclable – both the box exterior and the cans inside.
In 2020, Bumble Bee launched Seafood Future, a sustainability and social impact program with three areas of focused commitment: Fish, Ocean, and People. The commitments included a goal to ensure that 98% of product packaging would be recyclable by 2025. This change from shrink wrap to paperboard will move the brand from 96% to 98% readily recyclable packaging, surpassing the goal timeline by three years.
The company says that the change will also allow retail customers to benefit from the flexibility the new package design offers on the shelf, including the option to set the product vertically or horizontally to maximize shelf space. The recyclable product packaging also helps retailers move toward their own sustainability goals, including plastic waste reduction.
Bumble Bee partnered with R.A. Jones to develop the custom machine and execution plan, a two-year process. The Meridian XR MPS-300 was installed in Bumble Bee’s Santa Fe Springs factory in December 2021.
Bumble Bee Seafood has made many transitions recently to increase sustainability. In 2020 it announced a $40 million commitment over the next five years toward efforts that will further restore and protect the health of the world’s oceans, while also reducing the use of plastics. The company has created a dedicated “Accelerator Fund” focused on further closing the gap on some of the biggest industry challenges in the sustainability space. Desired outcomes of the initiative include ensuring the abundance of tuna stocks, reducing the impact of fishing on other species and working to remove plastics and other waste from the ocean.
Other seafood suppliers that are reducing plastic use include NAFCO, which is using reusable plastic containers (RPC) that will save up to 50% on packaging costs compared to traditional foam shipping materials, while adding to the sustainability of the company’s supply chain process.
