The World’s Most Sustainable Packaging in Canada

August 1, 2019

If you’ve been keeping up with the news lately, you’ll know that Canada is planning to ban single-use plastics by 2021. This ban will help to combat the massive amount of waste that ends up in our oceans every year. With this new legislation being introduced, many companies are now beginning to work on lessening their impact on the environment.

At NIKU Farms, keeping our ecological footprint as small as possible has been a priority from the start. Finding sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions has been a central goal for us, and we know it’s very important to many of our customers, as well. We’ve always made sure that our packaging has been 100% curbside recyclable for this reason.

From day one, we’ve been looking at ways to make our packaging even more sustainable, and we are so excited to announce that we will be the first company in Canada to ship meat using Green Cell Foam packaging. 

Why we made the switch

Switching to Green Cell Foam was a no-brainer for us. It is the eco-friendliest packaging available, requiring 70% less energy to manufacture, and producing 80% less greenhouse gases than petroleum-based foams. Green Cell Foam is made through a process that uses less than one gallon of water for every 50 cubic feet of material, and only produces small amounts of compostable solid waste.The outer film that protects the inserts from moisture is completely recyclable, but later this year will be replaced by another material, which will make the entire liner biodegradable!

It is also backyard compostable, biodegradable and water soluble! The primary raw material is U.S. grown, non-GMO cornstarch, which is an annually renewable resource, making it an incredibly sustainable option for our packaging. By using Green Cell Foam for our liners, we will be reducing the amount of EPS (expanded polystyrene, like STYROFOAM) from landfills, which will sit for hundreds of years without decomposing. 

But those are simply the facts. We all know that EPS is bad for the environment, and that recycling and biodegradable options are better solutions. But for NIKU Farms, it’s more than that. We believe that sustainability is a way of life, not just a way to get in on the current trend of environmental awareness. As many of us know, it’s not always easy to be environmentally friendly, but we aren’t willing to compromise. We haven’t focused on our environmental impact just to jump on the bandwagon, but because we truly believe in a sustainable future.

About Green Cell Foam

Green Cell Foam is incredibly durable. Check out these videos, to see just how tough this stuff is! As well as being durable, it’s extremely easy (and safe) to dispose of! There are three ways to dispose of your liner:

1. Dissolve it: The foam is the only material on the market that dissolves in water (in just sixty seconds!), and is safe for drains and septic systems.

2. Burn it: The foam burns cleanly and safely, making it great kindling for your fire pit or fireplace.

3. Compost it: Green Cell Foam is 100% at-home compostable, and will biodegrade within 60 days! The foam is certified compostable by BPI and meets ASTM-D6400 testing for biodegradability.

So, are you as excited as we are for our new sustainable liners? We’re so happy to be taking such a big step forward with eco-friendly packaging! Let us know what you think (and maybe share some videos of you checking out your new Green Cell Foam liners!) on Instagram and Facebook!