Published: 12/07/2021, 11:00
Sweet Success: Brammer Buck & Hickman dramatically reduce plastic packaging by swapping to sugar cane picking bags
Brammer Buck & Hickman is accredited with ISO 14001 Environmental Management and, as a company, we strive to reduce our impact on our environment. As a distributor, we understandably use large amounts of packaging, but we have invested considerable time and resource to reduce this packaging wherever we can. This is especially so when it comes to plastic packaging where the focus has been on replacing plastics altogether.
At our National Distribution Centre (NDC) in Wolverhampton, we have successfully swapped out a large quantity of plastic. We have changed, for example, from using plastic jiffy bags to 100% paper/pulp jiffy bags, and bubble wrap and air bags have been replaced with craft paper via crinkle machine or hand roll void.
Even seemingly small items of plastic can mount up, such as plastic sellotape, which we have changed to 100% paper tape. We have even changed our soft drink containers, with our vending machine only supplying tin can soft drinks and our canteen using cardboard milk cartons, which saves on 2,200 plastic milk containers heading for recycling each year.
Where a suitable alternative to plastic is not yet available, we have aimed to reduce its usage. Our standard plastic pallet wrap has been changed for a pre-stretched pallet wrap which has enabled us to reduce its usage by 40%.
Our latest effort to ditch the plastic will see our picking bags being replaced with sugar cane bags, which look like plastic bags and are as strong, but are 100% degradable. By swapping to sugar cane bags, we are taking over 1.2 million plastic bags out of our downstream supply chain, which equates to 2.54 tons of plastic!
Sugar cane bags are carbon neutral. They are made from waste sugar cane, created from the leftovers of sugar cane extraction. From sugar cane waste a polymer is created that’s bio-based rather than oil-based. Sugar cane polymers are a renewable resource and don’t deplete fossil fuels, unlike their oil-based counterparts, which is of enormous environmental benefit.
Terry Bailey, our Quality Manager, has been investigating alternatives to plastic picking bags and has undertaken several trials, including craft paper bags and bags made from potato starch, neither of which proved suitable. However, the new sugar cane bags have passed his strict test and will be put to use in our NDC and all UK Brammer Buck & Hickman branches with immediate effect. And just to be sure that all of our staff and customers know, these new bags will be clearly printed with the words ‘This bag is made from sugar cane material’.
We have also taken the further step of swapping to an environmentally-friendly ‘document enclosed’ wallet. These adhesive-backed wallets are made from oxo-degradable polypropylene and with a kraft paper backing, and do not contain any PVC or any organic solvent-based inks or adhesives. It’s one more step in our war on plastic!
Quality Manager Terry Bailey comments on this latest development: “the biggest part of my job is ensuring we are staying ethical and efficient when it comes to our environmental footprint. As a company, we strive to ensure all single-use plastics are discontinued throughout our business. By implementing the new sugar cane picking bags, we are ensuring best practice when it comes to our environmental efforts.”
Read more about our environmental efforts and accreditations here:
