Deardorff Family Farms Announces First Ever Recyclable Celery Container
February 12, 2007, Oxnard, CA – Deardorff Family Farms announced today that it is shipping celery in the first of its kind recyclable box. The company’s slogan is - Sustainable Farming for a Healthier Life – and the introduction of a recyclable celery container is just another step in their efforts to reach true sustainability.
The box provides all the benefits of traditional wax-saturated boxes with the added advantage of recyclability. In addition to the environmental benefit of recyclability, Deardorff’s customers will also receive a financial benefit because they will be able to sell the boxes into recyclable container recovery systems rather than paying to dispose of them.
“The celery industry is overly dependent on petroleum based wax-saturated boxes that can not be recycled” says Tom Deardorff, II, president of Deardorff Family Farms. “Thanks to an innovative design and our own solid customer support, we hope to lead the industry toward using more sustainable packaging solutions.”
Deardorff Family Farms is also using returnable plastic containers at an increasing rate year in and year out in an effort to reduce waste. In the California vine-ripe tomato industry, the company is the leading user of RPCs.
Mr. Deardorff adds “the use of recyclable containers and RPCs is an important part of our business as we strive to be good environmental stewards while at the same time ensuring quality and food safety”. The company plans to use wax-saturated boxes, RPCs and the new recyclable boxes throughout this celery season.
Deardorff Family Farms is a grower, packer and shipper of fresh fruits and vegetables located in Oxnard, California. The company has been in business for 70 years and has consistently been at the forefront of innovation in farming, packaging and post harvest handling.
Internally, the company has been focusing aggressively on adopting new practices that have a lighter impact on the environment while still generating consistent, great-tasting and safe produce.
