Sustainability: Packaging

Packaging materials are a significant factor in waste generation at the processing plant, at the distribution center, at the retail store or restaurant, and in the home. Our retail and foodservice customers and end consumers want to know we aren't sending them any unnecessary packaging.

We realize that if we send a customer a box they can't recycle, they have to pay for it twice: once when they receive it as part of their order, and once to throw it away. So we are attacking this problem in two ways: 1) by reducing the amount of waste in our packaging, and 2) by assuring that as much of our packaging as possible is recyclable.

Recycling

While we have opportunities for improvement in this area, we have already realized some significant benefits. We have greatly reduced the quantities of wax-coated boxes that are used to ship finished products to customers, replacing many of them with a new 100% recyclable "fiber shield" box. So far, we have eliminated over 75 percent of our wax-coated boxes, replacing them with fiber shield packaging for several customers, and we continue to convert to these new boxes for additional customers. This conversion has made it possible for our customers to recycle these materials, rather than throwing them away.

We have also replaced the Styrofoam trays on some of our products with recyclable poly bags. This has significantly reduced the amount of landfill space needed for the disposal of non-recyclable trays.

We are often limited in our ability to use recycled material in our product packaging due to food safety regulations, but we continue to make improvements in these areas. For instance, while we are required to use 100% virgin material for the clear film that covers our fresh traypack chicken sold in retail stores, we have reduced the amount of polyethylene we use significantly. This was accomplished by switching to a new film that is a lighter-gauge material, but is just as strong and leak-proof as the original film.

As we continue to look for new and better ways to operate, we anticipate that we will be able to reduce packaging wastes by 5% or more and achieve associated fuel usage and CO2 emission reductions over the next four years.