Officials from packaging thermoformer Jamestown Plastics Inc. said their Clamtainer product can help customers meet sustainability goals, whether that's through using less material, recyclability or reuse.
Clamtainer is a patented locking clamshell that can be opened and closed with one hand. CEO Jay Baker said the Brocton, N.Y., company makes the containers with post-consumer content. The containers are also reusable, or they can be sent back to Jamestown Plastics to be ground up and recycled. "That has been a major benefit in the sustainability initiatives for many, many of our customers around North America and the globe," Baker said.
Jamestown can use up to 50 percent post-consumer content in the packages.
"We're using material that [has] already been recycled from a consumer recycling initiative," Baker said. "We're making new product out of it, and they can go right back into that loop. That's really the beautiful thing."
One customer is using Jamestown Plastics' Clamtainers in an automated vending machine in an industrial setting. The product is holding things like safety glasses and gloves, and the Clamtainers are reused on-site.
"I thought we'd be doing a lot more than we're doing, volume-wise, but our products are too durable," Baker said. "It's got a much longer lifespan than even we ever expected. It's still a great program, but I thought it's going to be a lot bigger, but they last so darn long."
Any trays the customer deems unfit to reuse are returned to Jamestown to be ground back into flake to make new trays.
"Those plastic trays never end up in the landfill," Baker said.
The company can also make containers from post-industrial scrap. Baker said the Clamtainers can help meet source reduction goals because they do away with the need for plastic wrap or labels.
Jamestown hopes to continue more suitability programs in the future and help customers meet their sustainability initiatives.
"A lot of our growth is coming through companies looking for a better way of doing business," Baker said. "We are always up to the challenge of taking a look at what our customer needs, what their goals are and then figuring out how to meet them."