World Environment Day: In this digital age, most solutions are driven with the intent of end-user comfort. Packaging is no different. Disposable products have eased their way into becoming a way of life. A consequence of this trend is the increased usage of plastic and paper by millions of consumers and businesses across the world.

Contrarily, however, the masses usually look at plastic waste as a major cause of environmental degradation. Also, the use of disposable products, although convenient is often frowned upon. On this World Environment Day today, there have been discussions going on all over regarding the possible ways to minimize the use of plastic as packaging material.

Looking at the current state of affairs, the only way to improve the situation and break this paradoxical cycle is to reduce, reuse, and replace packaging across the value chain.

Bizongo, is driven by a new age leadership, vehemently committed towards a sustainable future. As an extension of this ideology, we do our best to reduce, reuse, and replace packaging with innovative packaging solutions. Here’s a lowdown on a few of our sustainability initiatives across the value chain.

Solutions to Replace Existing Packaging

Biodegradable Meal Tray

India uses over 800,000 disposable plastic meal trays per day. 99% of these trays end up in landfills. These trays are made up of a mixture of polymers, the main component being Polypropylene (PP), which makes it non-recyclable.

Bizongo has over 550 restaurants as clients across India which use plastic disposable meal trays on a regular basis. With the recent surge of plastic ban across Indian states, a spill-proof biodegradable meal tray became the need of the hour. We eventually built a product that was biodegradable as well as cost-effective to enable efficient large-scale production. A composition of cornstarch and PP was used to make the product eco-friendly and the trays were manufactured using thermoforming. This product was internationally recognized at the extremely prestigious DieLine Awards 2018 in their sustainable packaging category. This only goes to show how India is moving towards sustainable solutions.

Biodegradable Films and Bags

With over 400 million Indian buyers purchasing on e-commerce websites, Bizongo has developed courier bags that are biodegradable in nature. Also, instead of charging extra for a plastic carry bag, we believe retail industries instead should replace the root cause by biodegradable carry bags.

Recyclable Laminates

We have also been working on developing laminates, or pouches, that are recyclable. The only way to recycle them is by delaminating the laminates and then recycling individual polymer. In recyclable laminates, all the layers in the laminate belong to the same polymer family. For example, BOPP/CPP belong to the same polymer family- PP. Even though it is a tedious task, it is not at all cost-effective. Promoting recyclable laminates is a subtle way of moving the market towards choosing more eco-friendly options.

Compostable Packaging

While the plastic ban is certainly a step towards a sustainable environment, restaurants have been caught off guard without the availability of authorized products. Given this problem statement, we have developed products like compostable bags, pouches, and molded items frequently used in the restaurant and hospitality industry to ensure that restaurants are able to start the transition towards sustainable packaging.

Solutions to Reduce and Replace Packaging

Besides our initiatives towards innovating with the packaging material, we’re also continuously looking to optimize across the value chain.

Foldable Crates

Keeping in mind the thought process to reduce, reuse, and replace, we often suggest the use of foldable crates to clients wherever applicable. As a result of this change, resources invested in transportation can be optimized.

Polypropylene Corrugated Box

In many instances, PP corrugated boxes are suggested as a replacement for disposable cartons to reduce the packaging waste generated.

Sustainability Inside Bizongo

While our commitment towards sustainability is focussed at an industry level, it’s not restricted to that. Every now and again we look for ways in which we can make our contribution towards the environment at an organizational level.

Some of the initiatives to get the ball rolling in this direction are

1. Replace and Reuse – Replacing the consumption of packaged water which comes in plastic bottles with reusable bottles in all meeting rooms. Along the same lines replace disposable cups in pantries with reusable ceramic cups.

2. Separate Your Waste – Segregating dry and wet waste to endorse improved and efficient waste management

3. Each One Use One – We have given every employee a jute bags to promote the use of reusable packaging, with the company as a starting point.

4. Wait or Walk – We’re encouraging employees to avoid calling multiple lifts at a time and take the stairs when possible.

Lastly, of course, we encourage all employees to adopt a zero-waste way of life and share their stories with the rest. After all, it’s the small things that cumulatively make a big difference.

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