For their deli cup packaging sold in retail, both Treasure Cave and Frigo Cheese brands have removed the carton sleeves, moved to direct printing and added instructions on the cups to inform consumers on proper disposal. Both brands have national distribution of their deli cup SKU’s across the dairy and deli aisles. These changes result in a number of positive environmental impacts. For example, removal of the carton sleeves eliminates over 600,000 pounds of paper from the supply chain, reducing consumption of natural resources, pollution, GHG emissions and waste associated with their production, shipping and storage. 

Additionally, these changes should support recycling.  Removing the carton sleeves eliminates the risk of this packaging cross-contaminating the paper and plastic recycling streams, while switching to direct printing reduces recycling contamination in general.  This is important because contamination can reduce the quality of the recycled material and even lead to rejection of the material to landfill or less beneficial uses.  Furthermore, adding instructions for proper disposal should encourage more consumers to recycle and recycle properly, increasing recycling rates and further reducing contamination.