Until recently, most of the thousands of tonnes of disposable plates, cups and cutlery consumed every year in Europe was made from plastics, while only a small number of these products were fully biodegradable. As people have become more conscious of our impact on the environment, we have gradually changed the composition of these products and opted to use more environmentally-friendly materials. This trend is on the increase. We are firmly committed to sustainable materials at García de Pou, and paper/cardboard is the best example of them.
Biodegradable product
Unlike many of the resources we extract from the Earth, cardboard is inherently renewable and recyclable. Did you know that the trees used to make paper are farmed? Most of the virgin cardboard consumed today comes from forest farms created for this purpose, where trees are planted, harvested and replanted specifically for use in packaging and other consumables. This guarantees the conservation of biodiversity and protection for areas of ecological importance. These farms also absorb carbon dioxide, thereby helping to ensure our ecosystem remains in balance.
Plastic products have been popular since the last century due to their excellent physiochemical properties, low weight, transparency, price, etc. However, the downside is a huge contribution to increasing waste, mainly when they are just dumped and not processed. On the other hand, paper/cardboard comes from a naturally renewable resource, can be recycled easily and can be used as a fuel when it can no longer be recycled.
Consumers are increasingly more interested in responsibly buying products with the least possible impact on the environment, including take-away coffee cups, sushi packaging and carrier bags, to give just a few examples. Since it was set up in 1884 as a paper bag manufacturer, García de Pou has been fully focused on manufacturing paper and cardboard products.
Nowadays, we are expanding our range of carton packaging items and streamlining production by adding new machinery to our factories. These investments are enabling more containers for chips and tapas, hamburger boxes and American boxes to be made. Our carton packaging range includes everything from containers and cones for fried food to packaging for noodles, the new triangular boxes for cake portions and the roll-up sandwich wrap.
