Harrison Catering switches to 100% compostable packaging
Foodservice company Harrison Catering Services has switched its packaging to a 100% compostable brand, across its business.
This has made the company the UK's biggest foodservice firm to "go compostable", it has claimed.
The move is intended to form a central role in the company's commitment to sustainability and eco-friendly practices, which has also included working with its long-term product supplier, Key Catering. Manufactured by Vegware, the new packaging can be recycled with food waste, and breaks down entirely in under three months.
It is also made with renewable, sustainably-sourced recycled materials, using less CO2 than most other kinds. Recycling consultant at Vegware, Eilidh Brunton, estimated that Harrison's initial order of packaging had already saved 10.5 tonnes of embodied carbon within the materials, and 2.7 tonnes of new material with recycled goods.
Vegware also offers an environmental team, called the Food Waste Network, to give advice to all Harrison sites on how to further reduce their waste.
Gareth Harrison, joint managing director, said: "This is a hugely exciting and important milestone for [us]. It will not only benefit the environment, but will support our own sustainability goals as well as those of so many of our clients. We spent a great deal of time investigating how we could make our packaging more environmentally friendly, and Vegware was by far the best solution in terms of the quality of its products and support."
One of Harrison's clients, Gareth Balch, school business and development manager at Archbishop Tenison's CE High School in Croydon, commended the idea.
He said: "The move to completely compostable branded packaging in our dining facility is a significant, positive change that we will be championing to our students and parents. The impact that Harrison has had on the school's catering in the 18 months since they joined us has been very positive, and this important commitment to environmental sustainability is a great example."
Founded in 1994, Harrison Catering Services is a family-owned firm that provides catering to clients across the country. It focuses on on-site preparation, and operates at more than 270 locations UK-wide.
Its most recent projects include a Street Feast bar pop-up idea focusing on street food trends, and a charitable foundation seeking to improve education and learning within UK hospitality, launched by founder and chairman Geoffrey Harrison.
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