Earth Day 2015 – Where we are and where we’re goingSometimes keeping green can feel like an uphill battle in our business of delivering produce. We need to make sure that we minimize packaging for the environment, while keeping the fruits of the earth undamaged when they reach the door. We also need to make sure that the materials we do use are packaging recyclable and reusable, and we are continuously working towards better options all the time.

Some of our newest additions to our green commitment include…

 

Box Collection

We currently offer a free recycling service for a majority of our Custom Box customers. Because we deliver Custom Boxes to certain areas on certain days, we can lower our carbon footprint and offer recycling collection at the same time. Please note that this only includes areas that HomeFresh drivers deliver to (please email us if you are unsure). If you simply leave your boxes flattened and in plain sight on your allocated delivery day, we will collect them for you. At this stage, we are only offering pick up on HomeFresh boxes (cardboard and styrofoam) and HomeFresh packaging, please use your council bin for all other materials.

 

Cardboard Shredding & The Carton Warehouse 

Once boxes are returned to HomeFresh, we make sure that it is suitable for reuse, and do so where possible. If we cannot reuse the boxes, we either return the boxes to The Carton Warehouse or shred the cardboard to use for packaging.

The cardboard shredding machine converts scrap cardboard into stretchy, workable packaging material to replace things like bubble wrap (where possible), foam peanuts and spacing. Check out a short video of how it does this by following this link. The Carton Warehouse is what our styrofoam boxes refer to as ‘heaven’. The styrofoam boxes that we cannot reuse are converted into foam blocks used to build houses.

 

Our Plastic Liners

In keeping with our HACCP hygiene standards, all boxes (especially those reused) must be lined with a plastic liner. Please note that if you do not wish to receive a plastic liner in your box, that is okay. However, we will need to use a brand new box for your delivery each time. The plastic liners that we use to line our boxes now use 20-30% less plastic than our old ones! They are also fully recyclable.

Our suppliers have included the below three R adage into their business model, and they currently work with many other Australian companies to assist them in reducing their environmental impact, by ensuring that their plastic waste is recycled and reused.

Reduce the amount of plastic manufactured by utilising the latest technology in plastic resins.
Reuse packaging materials were possible. A policy that HFO also firmly believes in.
Recycle waste plastic and manufacture new products with recycled materials whenever it is possible.

 

Eco Bubble

Oxo-B Eco Bubble is a product made by POLYCELL and is the most environmentally friendly bubble wrap in Australia and New Zealand. This product incorporates ‘Reverte’ Oxo-biodegradable additives into polyethylene resins to ensure that once Eco Bubble’s useful life is over and it has been discarded into a rubbish tip or landfill it will degrade and finally break down into smaller pieces with the aid of UV light, oxygen and/or heat.

Once this has occurred, the smaller pieces are then consumed by microorganisms within the Rubbish heaps or landfill and will finally biodegrade into C02 & H20 plus biomass.

To continue reading about Eco Bubble, please see POLYCELL’s website by following this link.

 

The Future

The future for us if replacing any other existing plastic and foam trays with a suitable eco-friendly alternative, and we are currently discussing this with several different suppliers. At present, the existing foam trays and packaging that we use are the most effective way to keep the fruit and veg safe during transit. If you would like to request minimal packaging, we can certainly do this, as long as you understand that the fruit and veg could possibly arrive slightly bruised.

 

Screen Shot 2015-04-24 at 10.30.16 AMHomeFresh Organics is a labour of love for husband and wife team Johan and Samantha Gelderblom. Together they have spent 25 years in the food industry, with Johan working as a Chef at some of the best restaurants around the world and Samantha, a former Pastry Chef, combining food and travel with work at a number of exclusive hotels and restaurants. Having too frequently been on the receiving end of poor quality produce has instilled in Johan and Samantha a desire to provide top quality goods and first class service to their customers.

HomeFresh Organics began operations in the greater Brisbane area in 2002 as an organic milk run. An increase in customer demand for fresh produce and healthy grocery products saw the business grow into one of Brisbane’s leading home delivery services. HomeFresh Organics’ online ordering system makes quality produce available to everyone no matter where they live or how much shopping time they have available.

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