Eco-friendly packaging
We want the packaging we use to "tread lightly" on the environment. We've found solutions that we're excited about, although it is hard to find a single packaging product that does everything we want. The good news is that there's a ton of innovation in the packaging industry right now and we'll try out new solutions as they come to market.
For all of our dried mealworm and frass products, we use 100% Compostable packaging materials from Elevate Packaging. These “Bio-Based Compostable” stand up pouches come from plants (e.g., wood cellulose, cassava or eucalyptus leaves, etc.) are not made with Polylactic acid (PLA - the most common bioplastic). The bags have been certified compostable according to the ASTM
D6400 standard. They do not contain harmful chemicals such as bisphenol (including BPA and over a dozen other derivatives), PFAS, or phthalates. While some home composters will have success, most PLA bags decompose best at industrial facilities that have the right temperature, moisture, and other conditions to ensure proper breakdown within a 90 day window. However, we encourage you to compost our bags at your home, farm, or ranch and share your experience with us.
We ship our products inside of cardboard boxes. Why? Carboard can be both made from recycled materials AND recycled. In fact, it actually has a really good recycling and recapture rate (~80% in the US). Some people use cardboard for weed control in habitat restoration projects - it blocks the sunlight and then turns into a natural mulch and compost for growing plants.
We use boxes which contain 98% recycled content and meets either the Sustainable Forestry Initiative or the Forestry Stewardship Council certifications. Please reuse or recycle the boxes your products came in.
We know that some cardboard is not 100% paper as it can sometimes be lined with wax or plastic making it non-biodegradable.