Fed up with layers and layers of unnecessary plastic shrink wrapping, polystyrene peanuts all secured by half a roll of brown plastic tape, we thought there must be a way of sending our precision components to our suppliers, without the packaging ending up in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or on a beach in Thailand.
We started using non-bleached biodegradable boxes as standard and coupled this with paper tape. The prices are comparable to standard products, for the quantities we use, and they seem to perform more than adequately. And, while working on a project with Jon Plumb, at Cambridge Design Technology, in which environmental packing concerns were an integral factor, Jon kindly pointed us in the direction of maize chips, as a protective layer, to cushion delicate assemblies. We were slightly dubious at first, when told they would dissolve in water, but low and behold, when put under the tap, these peanuts, which look identical to their poly counterparts, disappeared before our very eyes!
So options are out there, we just need to know where to look and keep our eyes open. We at Quadrant Precision will keep looking and constantly evolving, to try and help minimize our impact on the environment, as much as we can.