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Useful Steps for Businesses and Sustainability

    During this challenging time, many businesses have helped their hungry customers by donating food. In accordance with this, many of these businesses experienced growth of nearly 135% . As their sales and competition will most likely continue to increase, it's essential to find ways to make smart, economic decisions along the way.   Reuse and Recycle   As those new methods of ordering meals have developed and advanced, so have the packaging techniques. As more companies become aware of sustainability, the more advanced and environmentally friendly our world will become.    Businesses have the choice to reuse and recycle, and a corporation called Vessel is doing precisely that. Users can use and "checkout" stainless steel cups, and when they are finished using them, simply return them to the kiosk. The cups are then washed and reused.    A comparable model has been used by Ozzi , which gives users reusable bins for all sorts of meal types that are allowed to be return

What are the Different Types of Food Packaging?

For a long time, the food industry has used cardboard or plastic packaging for food orders. However, these food packaging materials are not compostable or sustainable. Although cardboard or paper to-go boxes might seem like a great alternative to plastic, molded fiber is a much better option for numerous reasons.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, many restaurants had no choice but to make the shift from dine-in to to-go orders only. This caused a considerable production increase in plastic to-go containers and led to much more trash filling our landfills. Plastic may be the cheaper option than other food packaging types, but is certainly not the best for our planet.  Paper You may be asking yourself, what do you mean by paper to-go boxes? When we refer to paper as a material for food packaging, we are mainly describing the Chinese food basket-shaped containers. While these containers are still better than plastic, they are often treated with chemicals to prevent leaking. Although they are

The Difference Between Molded Pulp and Molded Fiber

  First off, most of the population is most likely aware of the typical take-out containers we all see at restaurants.The packaging that looks like styrofoam but is actually called polystyrene. Polystyrene is horrible for the environment, just like the rest of the petroleum-based containers we so often use. This is where molded pulp and fiber come into play in order to create environmentally friendly and biodegradable packaging.  What is Molded Pulp? Molded pulp is a fiber that comes from materials like bamboo, wheat straw, sorghum, etc. It’s formed to shape to create packaging such as cardboard or paper. Typically known as “pulp,” Zume likes to reference these materials as “molded fiber.” Molded fiber was initially made from wood pulp but has been replaced by these other materials. Ultimately, there is no difference between the two, but there is a massive difference between molded fiber and harmful packaging out there. Plastic, styrofoam, polystyrene are all common materials we see a

Reasons to Compost

  Composting is the natural way of recycling your food or biodegradable packaging. Although recycling may be something most of us do daily, composting is far less common. However, composting is a great way to fertilize crops, making it very beneficial for the environment.  What is the Process of Composting? Composting uses scraps of your food (i.e., orange peels, coffee grounds, eggshells) or packaging (paper, cardboard) and using these scraps to fertilize the soil. Instead of throwing out these scraps, you can save them and use them for a garden. This promotes growth in your garden and keeps you from creating more waste that is being thrown into our landfills.  What Can I Compost? These items are good to compost: Vegetable scraps  Fruit scraps (avocado skins, banana peels, etc.) Coffee grounds Cardboard Paper It’s important to know which food items are compostable to avoid causing any harm to your plants or garden.  Avoid composting these items:  Meat scraps (fish, poultry) Fats  Dair

How Zume Values Its Employees

  At Zume Inc., all employees are valued equally, from executives to our technicians who keep us going. Everyone at Zume has a necessary and high level of important job to fill, and we don’t take that lightly. Our employees are a representation of our company and who we inspire to be every day.  Ethics Doing the right thing is a short sentence with a lot of power. As a sustainable company , it’s not always easy to implement the right decisions, but it’s always a priority. Our team recognizes the importance of choosing the ethical way, no matter which aspect of the company we are developing. Even if making the right decision requires more effort to be made, our employees know that it’s always worth it. Team As a team, we take great pride in respecting one another and continuously learning from our coworkers. We understand that a healthy work environment will reflect the company and its success. Each person will have a voice, and each employee is expected to listen.  Implementing the Bes

Can a Product Really Be Biodegradable?

  The short answer is yes! You may have wondered before, does a packaging product labeled as "biodegradable" actually decompose? It's awesome to say that manufacturing technology has progressed and made products 100% biodegradable, essentially questioning the use of plastic in our society today.  Plastic Use As plastic use has been a normal source of packaging for decades, it's often hard for individuals and businesses to make the switch to biodegradable products. Food packaging especially is a common source of everyday plastic waste that so many don't think twice about. However, plastic does not decompose in landfills and has extremely harsh effects on the environment as a whole.  We Can Eliminate Plastic  Although plastic has been in our lives for years, everyone can make changes in their everyday routine to cut out plastic use. Habits often start at home, so be sure to inform your family and friends about the dangers of plastic. Introducing biodegradable produc

Eliminating Plastic in Your Life

  There are many ways to reduce plastic in your life with the end goal of eliminating it. Working towards a plastic-free life can save the lives of so many species that are in danger and are susceptible to harmful waste products like plastic. Refraining from plastic use doesn't just save animals' lives but can save our planet from poisonous gas and pollution. Follow these steps to contribute to the goal of living in a plastic-free world.  Step 1 - Recognize Your Plastic Use Make yourself aware of all of the products you use throughout your routine on a daily basis. Are you drinking out of plastic water bottles? Are you using plastic for packaging? By becoming knowledgeable of your routine and how much plastic is involved in your life, you can then decide how to make impactful changes one step at a time.  Step 2 - What Plastic Can You Eliminate If you are used to purchasing items that come in plastic containers, find new alternatives so you no longer contribute to plastic waste.