Nexus Foodservice Disposables and Environmental Product Guide

Our mission, as manufacturer’s representatives, is to strive to be good stewards to the environment in our marketplaces by educating, training and informing our customers on all of the different packaging materials and substrates that are used to make a wide array of disposable foodservice products. In this publication we also seek to advise our customers on how each packaging substrate should be used in operational applications like microwaves, freezers and ovens as well as which materials can be recycled and or composted in each respective region in the Western United States.

The world of foodservice packaging disposables can be very confusing in today’s ever-changing marketplace. There are so many different packaging materials that are used in a variety of food applications made by hundreds of manufacturers. Materials like PET, CPET, RPET, PLA, CPLA, PP, OPS, EPS, PVC, HDPE, GPPS, LLDPE, Aluminum, Paper, Wood, Paperboard, Corrugated Board, Bamboo, Bagasse, Glass, Molded Fiber and even Wheat Straw Grass. This guide will clarify how to use all of these different packaging substrates in a multitude of foodservice operational applications. In addition to the wide variety of packaging material options, there are cities across the North America that have banned select grades of plastics and have created new waste collection channels that lead away from landfills and to recycling centers as well as to commercial compost facilities. These new municipal changes can be confusing for many foodservice operations and even consumers. As a result this guide is intended to provide a general understanding of the substrates themselves as well as the ever-changing impact that packaging has on our environment. The guide also covers how waste is being managed by the recycling centers and composters and even other countries. Our goal is to provide the right information so that you can make the best decision with your food packaging options for your business and also guide you in how you can help the path of your packaging’s true end of life destination.