Dive Quick:
- Kraft Heinz has installed new roofs produced of recycled plastic packaging on manufacturing amenities in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, and Holland, Michigan.
- The food stuff processing huge mounted the recycled roofing boards in late 2020 and will observe the recycled material’s general performance as opposed to traditional constructing products with an eye to standardizing its use if the test goes nicely.
- The recycled roof boards are 4 feet by 8 ft, and 94% of every single board is made from publish-customer plastic and fiber. The business didn’t show how a great deal of its factories’ roofs have been included in the recycled boards, but it can be definitely remaining set to the exam. Beaver Dam saw a foot of snow in February, even though Holland obtained extra than 2 feet, according to facts from the Countrywide Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Dive Insight:
If this check works and the recycled material is as good as the traditional roofing, it could be a recreation changer for Kraft Heinz. It is not crystal clear how substantially adaptable packaging the CPG firm works by using for its goods per year. According to statistics on Kraft Heinz’s site, about 30% of its packaging as of 2019 fell into the non-recyclable classification, including versatile plastic movies or rigid plastic containers.
The corporation has many sustainability aims, which include producing 100% recyclable, reusable or compostable packaging by 2025. To access that aim, the brand name is screening a recyclable and compostable paper cup for Macaroni & Cheese in the U.S., and in Europe designs to make its Heinz Ketchup bottles with recyclable food-grade PET plastic.
As companies are performing to reuse their waste products and solutions — the two as a result of upcycled products and solutions that conserve food items goods from the trash and producing procedures that use squander for vitality — a profitable test end result could set Kraft Heinz in a course of its very own. The organization could most likely renovate its factories with its personal put up-client squander, which would be impactful. According to Kraft Heinz’s once-a-year report, it has 81 production facilities worldwide and owns all but three.
Kraft Heinz’s pilot job will be a long lasting proof of principle for using recycled plastic as roofing materials in industrial structures. It could assist popularize this reuse of plastic packaging, as properly as guide to advancements in the strength, weatherproofing and longevity of this roofing substance. As of 2018, 46% of recycled plastic movie ends up as this variety of lumber, according to a report ready for the American Chemistry Foundation. The largest dilemma still left unsolved could be how to get shoppers to adjust their habits and recycle more adaptable plastic — anything that at this time takes place only at fall-off bins positioned outside vendors.