Interstate Container now delivers a high-graphic pre-print solution to companies that ship and store products in a wet environment, simultaneously meeting their needs to differentiate their brands and to transition to sustainable packaging. Greencoat 100% recyclable and compostable boxes are pre-printed and then coated to protect goods throughout the cold supply chain and to help customers stand out against competitors in wholesale and retail environments. Interstate Container produces and ships over five million Greencoat boxes every month from plants in Columbia, SC, and Cambridge, MD. Coating is performed in-line, rather than outsourced to third parties, which saves time and resources.
“We’ve developed one of the most important innovations in packaging in recent memory, with the ultimate goal to eliminate wax boxes entirely from the marketplace,” explains Pete Bugas, Global Director of Greencoat at Interstate Container. “The potential for Greencoat wax-free coated applications—outside those commonly used for poultry, fresh produce, and seafood—are numerous. We envision, for example, outdoor displays in garden centers that withstand all weather conditions, among other ideas. Being on the cutting edge of new ideas is exciting. We challenge and welcome companies to work Hand-In-Hand with us to improve their packaging – and the planet.”
According to Global Green USA Coalition for Resource Recovery (CoRR), fresh produce, meat, and seafood producers alone generate 1.45 million tons of solid waste from paraffin-coated cardboard. Interstate Container’s team works #Hand-In-Hand with food processors, growers, and packers on one hand and nation-wide supermarkets, food service distributors, and restaurant chains on the other to transition one phase at a time to 100% recyclable and repulpable corrugated packaging.
While heavily used by food processors, Greencoat corrugated board can be developed into a variety of new and innovative water-resistant products for consumer applications. Retailers have played an important role in the current high rate (90%) of corrugated box recovery and old corrugated container recycling. The current consumer demand for sustainable packaging will likely tip a transition away from wax boxes, as well as EPS styrofoam, for foodservice distributors and restaurants as well.
Greencoat packaging replaces wax boxes, which are still widely used. End users in the supply chain must pay to landfill these wax boxes across the country. Transitioning to Greencoat boxes not only removes wax disposal fees of up to $70 per ton but also generates up to $80 per ton when recycled.
From an environmental point of view, recycling 100 tons of Greencoat boxes saves 1,527 million BTUs and reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 312 tons of MTCO2E and 85 tons of MTCE. Compared to landfilling, the cost of 100 Tons of wax boxes is equivalent to energy consumption of 21 million BTUs and emission of 52 tons of MTCO2E and 14 tons of MTCE greenhouse gases. Greencoat pre-printed wax-free boxes, a game changer for companies interested in achieving high-quality branding with sustainable water resistance, will be on display at Booth # S-6456 at Pack Expo 2015 from September 28-30 at Las Vegas Convention Center.
