Monterey Mushrooms says it is cultivating more than a meal — it's nurturing a sustainable future. This spring the company is making a significant change to enhance the recyclability of its mushroom packaging by incorporating near-infrared, or NIR, sortable material in its recycled polyethylene terephthalate, or rPET, thermoformed tills, according to a news release.
The company says its rPET tills are produced using 100% post-consumer recycled materials sourced entirely from North America. This means the material used in the tills has already had a prior life, thus reducing plastic waste in landfills and contributing to a circular economy, the release said, adding that the use of NIR sortable colorant ensures that the packaging can be properly sorted and recycled into new products.
PET, also abbreviated as PETE, is the most commonly used plastic among consumers and has the recycling symbol. The "r" in rPET denotes that the material is a recycled version of PET/PETE plastic.
By using rPET, the mushroom industry can give multiple lives to mixed-color recycled PET materials; rPET with NIR sortable colorant can potentially provide long-term cost advantages compared to other colors, including clear rPET, according to the release.
“In the 1980s, Monterey Mushrooms revolutionized the retail industry by introducing pre-packaged mushrooms,” Bruce Knobeloch, vice president of product development and marketing, said in a news release. “Since then, the mushroom industry has been repurposing colored rPET, such as opaque blue, opaque green and black rPET plastics, to give them a new life. We believe using clear rPET is wasteful and a regressive step for our industry.”
The company says it considers its tills with the NIR sortable colorant as a black alternative color. The hue will vary between blue, green, purple, black, etc., as the recycled base material used to manufacture the tills will change.
National recycling problem
The recycling rate in the U.S. is 29%, compared to 37.8% in North America as a whole, according to the release. The company says recycling centers play a vital role in transforming plastic waste into reusable materials, however, the sorting and processing of plastics can be challenging due to variations in composition and color.
There’s some confusion among consumers about what can be recycled, and while all rPET materials can be recycled, the U.S. does not have the infrastructure to do so, the release said.
The amount of plastic waste in the U.S. has increased tenfold since the 1970s, leading to overflowing landfills and ocean pollution, while recycling rates have remained low, the release said.
Monterey Mushrooms said it wants policymakers to consider the following question: What actions can be taken to facilitate a shift towards a more circular economy, including innovation and investment in manufacturing and recycling capabilities?
The company says it invites others to join a commitment to sustainability.
“By choosing black alternative rPET with NIR sortable colorant, we're not just packaging mushrooms; we're packaging a greener future,” Knobeloch said.