Cascades, Vegpro develop 100 percent recycled PET salad containers

Cascades, a packaging provider based in Kingsey Falls, Quebec, has partnered with VegPro, a fresh baby lettuces producer based in Canada, to replace all Fresh Attitude salad containers, traditionally made from virgin plastics, with 100 percent recycled and recyclable plastic containers. Custom-designed for VegPro by Cascades, the new containers are manufactured at the Cascades Inopak plant in Drummondville, Quebec.

The new container has a smaller environmental footprint that also helps to extend the shelf life of salads, Cascades says in a press release about the new containers. The containers improve airflow and prolong conservation time by limiting the build-up of excess humidity. 

Groupe AGÉCO, an independent specialist, performed a life cycle analysis on similar Cascades packaging, which demonstrated that using 100 percent recycled polyethylene terephthalate (PET) reduces greenhouse gas emissions and the consumption of nonrenewable resources required to manufacture packaging compared with virgin PET.

“We are pleased to support VegPro in achieving its sustainable development objectives. This new packaging will give tons of plastic a second life, integrating them into the circular economy,” says Luc Langevin, president and chief operating officer of Cascades Specialty Products Group.

According to Cascades, the new partnership with VegPro has created 30 new jobs at the Cascades Inopak plant in Drummondville. The production of this new packaging has begun and will transition gradually until early 2021, when all Fresh Attitude containers will be made from 100 percent recycled plastic.