In New York City, meal delivery service Plated is replacing the plastic insulation liners used to ship its food kits with recycled jute sacks. The jute sacks are made from discarded burlap bags used to ship coffee and cocoa. Jute is a vegetable fiber grown from the jute plant, which is found predominantly in Southeast Asia. Because of its rapid growth rate, jute is affordable to produce and a fast-growing renewable resource.
TemperPack, which produces the jute liners, says that the jute liners emit just 0.23 lb of CO2 per pound of insulation when manufactured versus 4.5 lb CO2 for traditional polyurethane insulated liners. Katie Horgan, who runs Plated’s and logistics unit, told Greener Package that the company made the “conscious decision” to go with the jute liners despite being 10% more expensive than its previous liner material. She added that the company was looking for 100% recycled or 100% recyclable material, and ended up going with recycled because it adds the least amount to the waste change.