Puzzles with packaging

Packaging of products creates conundrums

While we want to provide our products in the best possible way, so customers receive their goods in top rate condition, we also do not want to create waste and this is one of the puzzles with packaging.

When you receive your latest purchase at the front door, the first thing you will do is remove the packaging. After all, what you have bought is what is inside.

There will probably be a second layer of packaging, specific to the product, so that is something else to deal with.

Where possible, don't waste it

You then get the chance to make use of your purchase but the question is, what do you do with the waste?

Of course, this all depends on what it is. At Swizzle and friends, we try to re-use any boxes that we can. 

We send regular consignments to Amazon, so we pack them into a box and send them away.

But not all of the boxes are suitable for this, so they may end up being used for storage, or go to recycling, where they go through a process and probably become new boxes.

There may also be padding within the box to stop your goods rattling around. This is now often paper, as manufacturers move away from bubble wrap, which is fun to pop but is part of the single use plastic problem.

Minimise where possible and recycle the rest

Although, we try to minimise the amount of packaging, as part of our Amazon agreement, we do have to have something to wrap our products in.

Some vendors of beeswax wraps use cardboard sleeves to send out their products, but at Swizzle and friends, we have opted to use cellulose bags, which are fully compostable, even in home compost bins, where the temperatures are lower.

It's from the trees

Our suppliers provide a lot of information about how the bags we use are made, but in essence, they come from trees.

Cellulose makes up cell walls and is drawn from renewable wood pulp and turned into cellulose film. As this substance breaks down, so it produces ‘ecotoxicity free biomass’ -which is also known as compost - carbon dioxide and water.

These substances can all be combined by plants in the process that is known as photosynthesis, which helps the trees to grow, and so more cellulose bags can be created and repeat the process.

This renewable system is sustainable and seems to tick all the right boxes.

Breaking it down

And the fact the bags can break down in a home-composting situation is a real plus point. According to the manufacturer, the bags can start to break down within a few weeks and to meet the standards required, they have to biodegrade to a minimum of 90 per cent within six months.

Of course, not everyone has the facility to compost at home, but if you have your compostable waste collected, the bags can break down within 45 days, due to the higher temperatures involved.

A few useful links  - helping to deal with puzzles with packaging

But if you are really committed to minimising the waste from beeswax wraps made by Swizzle and friends, then you can buy them direct from our website.

Orders that are sent out from Swizzleandfriends.com are sent out with as little packaging as we can get away with, including no cellulose bag.

So why not get shopping. For beeswax wraps, click here for the various pack, here for 30cm packs, and here for 25cm packs.

To see our full range of products, click here.

To read more about the cellulose bags we use, click on this link.