Is Your Packaging Recyclable?

“Is your packaging recyclable?” is something we get asked about Hippie Snacks. A lot.

And the truth is, currently it’s not.

New Rules of Recycling

However, if you live in BC, as of June 1^st, 2018 Recycle BC introduced a pilot project to collect ‘Other Flexible Plastic Packaging’. This is part of a research project to determine how to best recycle this type of packaging (flexible plastics that often include multiple layers of plastics, foils or laminates) that’s growing in popularity.

Here are some examples of Other Flexible Plastic Packaging:

• Zipper lock pouches (frozen foods, deli meats, fruits etc)
• Hand soap pouches
• Stand-up pouches (granola, sugar, dish detergent pods, etc)
• Chip bags
• Cellophane from flower bouquets
• Woven plastic rice bags
• Fruit net bags

Is Recyclable Always Better?

According to Packaging Digest, the Flexible Packaging Association estimates that “flexible packaging uses 50% less energy to produce and 60% less plastic than rigid bottles. And in terms of sustainability, when we think of packaging we often forget about another part of the equation: transportation. Because flexible packaging is so light, trucks use less fuel to transport lighter shipments. For example, the ratio of product to packaging is 35x greater for flexible packaging than glass bottles with metal caps.

Sustainability Defined

This brings us to why we at Left Coast aren’t simply using a recyclable solution for our Hippie Snacks and Left Coast Organics products. A while back we had a company-wide environmental analysis done. Turns out that 80% of our eco footprint was concentrated in two areas: how the food we sell is grown, and how it’s transported. Packaging accounted for a very small percentage, and we are tackling the biggest areas of impact first. See our Sustainability efforts for more info.

So in a way, we are doing the best we can by reducing our eco footprint with lighter packaging.

Recycle, Now!

There are 117 depots around BC collecting Other Flexible Plastic Packaging like ours. Click to find the depot nearest you. Tip: all London Drugs locations collect this type of packaging, so after you recycle your pouches you can pick up some more Hippie Snacks!