Thirty percent of landfill waste is created by plastic and paper packaging, estimates The EarthWorks Group. The use of cardboard products and other onetime-use packaging products contribute significantly to this waste. David Madden, President of ContainerExchanger.com, sold used wire containers to the Illinois Food Bank. Madden explained, “The containers were used in a drive-in freezer and were stackable, so they increased the freezer’s storage capacity and reduced the chances that pallets of boxes would topple over once they were stacked. Wire bins also eliminate the need to keep and store pallets…they completely eliminate the need for expendable (cardboard) packaging, depending on how the food distribution system is set up.”
The per piece packaging costs for used bulk containers and totes can be as low as 5 percent of the costs for a comparable expendable solution, depending on shipping volumes. The food containers can go from processors to distributors to retailers efficiently. Hence, returnable containers provide a way to reduce costs and increase productivity in food handling and distribution. They offer flexibility to meet the requirements of users throughout the food supply chain. Depending on the specifications required, some containers are moulded from FDA/USDA-approved materials and some also resist impact, moisture and temperature extremes of –20 to +120 degree Fahrenheit. Nearly a decade ago, Sonja Randall reported in Modern Materials Handling, that, “To a grocery retailer entering a produce cooler first thing in the morning, it is common to see collapsed corrugated cardboard boxes of fruit and vegetables. Hopefully not a lot of the product is damaged and discarded. And hopefully considerable time is not spent cleaning the mess.” Madden noted that Container Exchanger used pallets can take many different forms. “We generally handle several common pallet sizes and styles. Each pallet may be made from different materials and have different structural properties. There are plastic export pallets that are specifically made for the export market. These pallets are made from plastic, and therefore, they meet international shipping guidelines (while wood pallets must be heat treated before they are shipped internationally). Plastic pallets are often more durable than wood pallets, because they are generally all moulded in one piece, while wood pallets require nails to hold all the pieces together.” Size requirements: While size requirements do not exist for product export, certain sizes do work well in intermodal (sea) containers. The most common size for export pallets measures 43” × 43” or 1100 mm × 1100 mm. Pallets of this size can easily fit sideby-side on a sea container, and they are large enough to hold plenty of products. Stacking pallets consist of any pallet with runners. The runners (the strip of material that goes along the bottom of the pallet) go all the way across the bottom of the pallet. These runners serve a couple of purposes. The first purpose is safety. With the runners in place, a loaded forklift can go over rough terrain and not lose the load due to vibration because the runners prevent the plastic pallet from bouncing off the fork tines. The second reason is for stacking purposes. The runners provide a long strip of plastic material, and when the pallet is loaded, the weight from the load can be distributed over the length of the runner. When this pallet is placed on top of another loaded skid, the presence of the runner distributes weight to decrease chances of damage to the lower pallet. An added bonus of stacking pallets is that when the pallets are empty and stacked, the forklift holes are readily accessible, which makes them easy to access by forklift. Nesting pallets do not have runners. Instead, these used plastic pallets resting on pedestal feet. These plastic pallets are often made from thermoformed plastic, and as such, have slightly lower carrying capacity. The deep tray of a nesting pallet, combined with its lightweight properties, make it a good choice for lightweight applications. Many nesting pallets are also used with plastic topcaps for the same skid of product. The topcap prevents any material damage when another pallet is stacked on top, and it helps secure the load when the pedestal feet cross-link together. These plastic pallets are frequently used in circular supply operations between manufacturing plants. The US International Food Container Organization (IFCO) now has hundreds of growers/shippers in North America, and it is predicted that food processing plants will dramatically increase the use of returnable containers. Product handling is reduced with some of these returnable containers because produce is often packed directly into containers where it remains until purchased by the general public. Reduced handling eliminates product damage possibilities. Increasingly, food manufacturers and distributors are changing their entire storage and packaging components to returnable containers. Beyond the public relations benefit of being environmentally conscientious food companies, genuine corporate citizenship is frequently sincere and demonstrated through practice. Since returnable containers enhance safety and quality issues, and are by far the most cost-efficient, it is not a difficult choice for many organisations to shift their packaging and storage approach. Thomas R Cutler is the President and CEO of Florida-based TR Cutler, Inc. He can be contacted at trcutler@trcutlerinc.com. |
