We've put a lot of care into designing our packaging and making sure that it's convenient, locks in quality and over time is as sustainable as possible. As a B-Corp this is extremely important to us at Butternut Box. Here's what you can do with our boxes and contents:
Our boxes are made from a mix of recycled and virgin material - FSC-certified sources and are fully recyclable. This means they can be recycled in your household recycling bin along with our toppers which are made with recycled paper.
Our ice packs, as well as all the plastic in our treats and extras range, are made from LDPE soft plastic- the most widely recycled soft plastic. We advise checking with your local council if they can go in your home recycling. If not, you can pop them into a soft plastics recycling bin at your local supermarket. The ice is just water, so feel free to pour it down the sink, give your plants a drink, or perhaps create your own miniature water park. Go wild. We're also working on using fewer ice packs in our boxes. Find out more in our article on sustainability here.
Please note: You may notice, that as part of our commitment to reducing plastic and lowering our carbon footprint, we’re continually reviewing our packaging and meal packing methods to find the best balance between minimising waste and ensuring the safety of our dogs' meals.
Our Pouches: On the Path to Recyclability
At the heart of our mission is the safety and quality of our dogs' meals, and that’s our top priority. Our pouches are carefully designed to be safe for both our cooking process and our dogs.
For our pouches we use a blend of food-grade BPA-free PE (Polyethylene) and PA (Polyamide) plastics, ensuring the highest safety standards. BPA-free products do not contain any traces of Bisphenol-A. As you may already be aware, there are widely known concerns that BPA can contaminate food. The concerns with this are that this accumulates in our tissues and organs and is potentially harmful to human health through different molecular mechanisms. We wouldn’t want this for ourselves just as much as we would not want this for any of our dogs.
With the above in mind, here’s a bit more detail about what is included in our pouches:
Polyethylene (PE): This is one of the most popular thermoplastic materials referred to as LDPE (Low Density Polythene). It is lightweight and durable and one of the most commonly produced plastics. This plastic has high tensile strength, along with high impact and puncture resistance to help ensure our dogs’ meals arrive safely with them.
Polyamide (PA): Polyamide (also commonly referred to as nylon) is a remarkable synthetic polymer known for its versatility and durability. It has excellent flexibility and elasticity.
Currently, our pouches aren't recyclable due to the need to withstand extreme temperature changes during cooking and freezing. We need to ensure that any plastic material used in our process is capable of withstanding temperature changes during cooking and freezing. To enable this to happen, as shown above, our pouches are manufactured from mixed material of PE and PA which can not be separated for recycling.
Our methods of manufacturing minimise waste however we do understand that single-use plastic isn’t ideal. Please be assured that our dedicated team is actively researching sustainable alternatives that maintain the quality and convenience you expect.
We're committed to finding a better solution and won't stop until we do!
We hope you found this peek into our packaging and sustainability efforts helpful. Thanks for helping us make a positive impact. 💚
If you are a UK customer - read more about returning your Woolcool packaging HERE 📦