Ben E. Keith Foods has announced a plastic reduction initiative, in conjunction with Markon Cooperative Inc., intended to move the produce industry away from single use plastic.
The companies have been working with strawberry grower-partners and Sambrailo Packaging to introduce Ready-Cycle, corrugated, fully recyclable clamshells for the Markon First Crop (MFC) two-pound strawberry containers that Ben E. Keith Foods distributes. The packaging will be applied to strawberry cartons expected to ship in June 2019.
"The process won't be easy, but this is the direction we need to be moving. By converting the two-pound plastic MFC strawberry clamshells to cardboard, and with plans in the works for the one-pound containers as well, we will save nearly 30 tons of plastic from going into landfills or oceans," says Wes Holcomb, Corporate Category Director for Produce and Dairy at Ben E. Keith Foods. "At the end of the day, it's about doing the right thing. These new goals exemplify our commitment to finding changes that reduce environmental impacts."
