A packaging firm has taken a look at how some of the top meal kit providers box up their products, and has ranked the most wasteful.
"The loose packaging of fresh ingredients was something that we thought could easily be done, and wasn't taken advantage of." Instead, Charles Haverfield, Packaging Expert at US Packaging and Wrapping, said some meal kit companies put each individual ingredient in it's own plastic bag.
Haverfield said a better option would be to use more recycled paper.
"There was a couple of companies that would put the vegetables and fruits in a box within a larger box and then they would put a recycled craft paper or a recycled paper on top of that, and then they would put other stuff on top of that to hold the [produce] in place," Haverfield said.
"I understand for pulling orders, and warehousing it might be easier, but it would be a lot less waste by putting them in without a package on each individual item."
US Packaging and Wrapping ordered three meals each from four leading delivery companies: Home Chef, EveryPlate, Hello Fresh, and Blue Apron. They chose three types of dishes as similar as possible with a similar number of ingredients.
They analyzed four categories: the percentage of plastic packets, number of packets per ingredient, empty box space, and percentage of recycled materials.
"Of the four companies analyzed, Home Chef is named the most wasteful for their meal kits, with an overall score of 7/10. It scored poorly in three of the four categories including percentage of plastic packets (90%), number of packets per ingredient (2.38) and percentage of recycled materials (19%)," a release from the company notes.
US Packaging and Wrapping found that across all four companies, the main form of packaging was plastic. The study found that Home Chef uses plastic for 90% of its packaging -- 56 packets across the three meals. Hello Fresh used the least amount of plastic (66%) and separated meals in recyclable kraft bags.