Cheese Cuts in Less Plastic

The SalzburgMilch dairy is using more sustainable packaging for cheese slices, which are sold in Spar supermarkets throughout Austria. This should reduce the consumption of plastics at SalzburgMilch by around 40 tons per year compared to the packaging previously used.

Two Salzburg-based companies are saving plastics thanks to new packaging: The 175-gramme packs of cheese slices of the “SalzburgMilch Premium” brand and the Spar own brand “Natur*pur Bio-Käsescheiben” are now available in flat paper trays. “We have already saved over 100 tons of plastic in the past three years through numerous measures and we are not resting on our laurels, which is why we have further improved our new paper trays,” says Andreas Gasteiger, Managing Director of SalzburgMilch. Packaging and paper manufacturer Mondi, in cooperation with SalzburgMilch, is launching a fully recyclable packaging for cold cuts and cheese made of 80 percent paper.

Recyclable throughout Europe

The trays are part of Mondi’s “PerFORMing removable assortment”. They are made of paper and completely removable plastic, which according to the manufacturer’s instructions can be easily removed from the paper tray. “As both components can be easily separated and the paper can be fully recycled throughout Europe, this is a big step for us, as the waste streams vary greatly from region to region”, says Marko Schuster, COO Mondi Functional Paper & Films.

The packaging for SalzburgMilch is produced locally in Austria. This means that transport is also kept to a minimum. The base paper for the tray is called “Advantage Formable”: It is made of mainly Austrian wood and produced by packaging specialist Mondi in Frantschach. The trays are then processed and coated at Mondi in Zeltweg.