If you run a food manufacturing business and are concerned about the negative impact your enterprise may be having on the planet, here are two steps you can take to make it more eco-friendly.
Buy some large water tanks
Water plays a hugely important role in the running of a food manufacturing business; it is needed to wash the fruits and vegetables that are used to make the facility's products, to rinse worktops and floor surfaces, and for poaching, steaming and boiling foods.
However, water is a finite resource and as such, using excessive quantities of it for the day-to-day running of your enterprise is not very eco-friendly.
Whilst it is not possible for a food manufacturing company to completely eliminate the use of water in its facility, it is certainly possible for an enterprise of this kind to drastically reduce its water consumption levels and, in doing so, minimise the negative impact that its operations have on the environment.
If this is something that you want to do in your own facility, you should invest in a few large water tanks. These tanks will serve as storage containers for your water that can be re-used before being sent down your facility's drainage system.
For example, water that was previously used to rinse contaminants off of raw vegetables can be collected in one of the tanks, filtered and then used a second time to mop the facility's floors.
Reach out to a water tank manufacturer to learn more.
Package your finished food products in eco-friendly packaging materials
A large number of food manufacturing businesses package their finished products in plastic packaging which is not biodegradable.
Once this packaging has been discarded by their customers and tossed into a landfill, it can have a devastating impact on the environment. For example, when the chemicals from which the plastic are made leech into the soil and nearby rivers and lakes, they contribute to both soil and water pollution. Plastic packaging can also lead to the death of the wildlife who inadvertently ingest it.
As such, if you want to run a more eco-friendly business, it's worth swapping any plastic packaging that you currently use for 'greener' alternatives (such as cardboard and glass, both of which are easy to recycle, or paper, which is compostable).
This will drastically reduce the quantity of plastic that your business contributes to landfills which will, in turn, lower your carbon footprint.
