Ifco tray: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Type of reusable packaging}} |
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[[File:Ifco tray.jpg|thumb|An Ifco tray at a farmers market in California]] |
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[[File:Black lift lock.jpg|thumb|IFCO Black Lift Lock RPC - reusable container]] |
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'''IFCO trays''' (also known as '''RPC'''s (the abbreviation for '''reusable packaging containers'''), or '''reusable containers''', or '''reusable crates''') are a type of [[reusable packaging]] for transporting fresh food produce. IFCO SYSTEMS is the name of the company that first developed a [[Pooling (resource management)|pooling]] service for reusable plastic trays for fresh produce in 1992, when the company was founded in [[Pullach]], Germany. IFCO is the acronym for '''International Food Container Organization'''. |
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'''IFCO trays''' (also known as RPCs (the abbreviation for reusable plastic containers), or reusable containers, or reusable crates) (an acronym for '''Internal Fish Container''') are containers developed in France in 1985 which are primarily used in retail to transport fish, also being used to hold [[fruit]] and [[vegetables]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Germany, Garbage, and the Green Dot: Challenging the Throwaway Society |last=Fishbein |first=Bette K.|year=1994 |publisher=Risk Reduction Engineering Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency |location=[[Cincinnati]], [[Ohio]] |isbn= 978-0-7881-3193-6|pages=25–26 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ufjWko3jsfQC&q=%22Ifco+tray%22&pg=PA25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ifco.com/global/com/en/biz_rpc/index.php|title=IFCO RPC Management Services|accessdate=2010-03-29|publisher=IFCO SYSTEMS, Germany|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100412234343/http://www.ifco.com/global/com/en/biz_rpc/index.php|archive-date=2010-04-12|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=US Patent Issued to IFCO Systems on March 5 for "'Fish Crate' Collapsible Container for Transporting Fresh Fish" (German Inventor)|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2910288301.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924204047/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-2910288301.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 September 2015|publisher=US Fed News Service, Including US State News {{Subscription required|via=HighBeam}}|accessdate=13 April 2015|date=5 March 2013}}</ref> |
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They are attractive for environmental reasons due to their ease of reuse, their capability of being stacked when full of produce in many different configurations and that they can be flattened when empty for compact return to producers/shippers/growers or for storage purposes. |
They are attractive for environmental reasons due to their ease of reuse, their capability of being stacked when full of produce in many different configurations and that they can be flattened when empty for compact return to producers/shippers/growers or for storage purposes. |
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== Reusable packaging == |
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They are very popular among supermarket retailers when storing packets of fish, meat, or loose fruit and vegetables |
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The IFCO RPCs and trays are used for transporting perishable products and are available in different designs customized to the requirements of the produce. There are IFCO trays for [[Food#Fresh food|fresh food]], fruit and vegetables, bananas, baked goods, eggs, dairy, convenience foods, meat and fish.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Reusable packaging solutions for food|url=https://www.ifco.com/food-solutions/|access-date=2021-07-23|website=IFCO Systems|language=en}}</ref> |
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== Zero Waste == |
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When the IFCO trays reach the end of their service life and can no longer be repaired, they are granulated and made into new IFCO RPCs. The raw material stream for the IFCO reusable crates is fully traceable. The company uses 100% of the available material from the broken or end-of-use crates. The IFCO trays generally have a life span of more than 10 years, before they are made into new crates. There is no [[packaging waste]] and there is a 100% material reutilization. <ref>{{Cite web|title=IFCO Reusable Plastic Containers (RPC) - European Lift Lock generation {{!}} C2C-Centre|url=http://www.c2c-centre.com/product/packaging-paper/ifco-reusable-plastic-containers-rpc-european-lift-lock-generation|access-date=2021-07-23|website=www.c2c-centre.com}}</ref> |
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== Pooling == |
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IFCO trays are only available through the IFCO pooling service. Customers of the service share the reusable containers in a continuous closed loop. IFCO SYSTEMS refer to this pooling loop as the IFCO SmartCycle.<ref>{{Citation|title=IFCO SmartCycle™ - A circular approach|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBQKxrqxW-o|language=en|access-date=2021-07-23}}</ref> |
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IFCO supplies the reusable containers to farmers and producers of fresh produce and perishable items. Customers that use the SmartCycle are supplied with clean, sanitized IFCO RPCs at harvest or at the end of the production cycle. The produce is shipped or transported in the reusable plastic containers on pallets to the retailers, where the produce generally goes on display at the [[Point of sale|Point of Sale]] in the IFCO trays. This reduces the number of touchpoints with the produce and aims to reduce the potential for produce damage and waste, extending the [[shelf life]] of the fresh food produce in the process. |
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When empty and used, the reusable containers are recovered and returned to the IFCO wash centers, where they are checked, repaired (if necessary), washed, and then supplied to customers and used again. |
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== Circular economy model == |
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The IFCO pooling service of RPCs and material reutilization is based on the [[circular economy]] model, which promotes the [[reuse]], [[Sharing economy|sharing]], repair, refurbishment, [[remanufacturing]] and [[recycling]] within a closed-loop system in order to avoid [[Waste minimisation|waste]] and reduce the environmental impact of industrial designs. |
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== Sustainability == |
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Compared to [[Disposable product#Packaging|disposable products and packaging]], reusable containers help reduce the overall environmental impact of the fresh grocery supply chain. |
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As the IFCO trays can be folded compactly, they require less space in the [[reverse logistics]] as they are mainly the same size and are therefore compatible when folded. More IFCO RPCs can be stacked in trucks and in storage, saving food miles, energy consumption and storage costs. |
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==Controversy== |
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Their adoption has generated controversy between developed countries which are consumers of produce and developing countries which are producers, primarily due to the cost of using the trays as opposed to using locally produced containers. In particular, many developing countries lack the capital-intensive infrastructure to develop and support the hi-technology plastic molding machinery necessary to produce the returnable trays. Analysis continues to compare the relative benefits of reusable trays, which require a full cycle (use, cleaning and return) versus one-time-use disposable containers which do not require return to the shipper, but instead are disposed of after one use. Disposable containers create a waste-disposal burden on recipients, while the returnable containers burden producers who must purchase containers and arrange for a return cycle.<ref>{{cite book | title = Environmental Requirements and Market Access - Chapter 20 | publisher = Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Q_-QwozXLMsC&q=international+fruit+container&pg=PA269 | date = 2005 | pages = 270–274 | isbn =978-92-64-01374-2 }}</ref> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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Latest revision as of 07:49, 28 August 2024
IFCO trays (also known as RPCs (the abbreviation for reusable packaging containers), or reusable containers, or reusable crates) are a type of reusable packaging for transporting fresh food produce. IFCO SYSTEMS is the name of the company that first developed a pooling service for reusable plastic trays for fresh produce in 1992, when the company was founded in Pullach, Germany. IFCO is the acronym for International Food Container Organization.
They are attractive for environmental reasons due to their ease of reuse, their capability of being stacked when full of produce in many different configurations and that they can be flattened when empty for compact return to producers/shippers/growers or for storage purposes.
Reusable packaging
[edit]The IFCO RPCs and trays are used for transporting perishable products and are available in different designs customized to the requirements of the produce. There are IFCO trays for fresh food, fruit and vegetables, bananas, baked goods, eggs, dairy, convenience foods, meat and fish.[1]
Zero Waste
[edit]When the IFCO trays reach the end of their service life and can no longer be repaired, they are granulated and made into new IFCO RPCs. The raw material stream for the IFCO reusable crates is fully traceable. The company uses 100% of the available material from the broken or end-of-use crates. The IFCO trays generally have a life span of more than 10 years, before they are made into new crates. There is no packaging waste and there is a 100% material reutilization. [2]
Pooling
[edit]IFCO trays are only available through the IFCO pooling service. Customers of the service share the reusable containers in a continuous closed loop. IFCO SYSTEMS refer to this pooling loop as the IFCO SmartCycle.[3]
IFCO supplies the reusable containers to farmers and producers of fresh produce and perishable items. Customers that use the SmartCycle are supplied with clean, sanitized IFCO RPCs at harvest or at the end of the production cycle. The produce is shipped or transported in the reusable plastic containers on pallets to the retailers, where the produce generally goes on display at the Point of Sale in the IFCO trays. This reduces the number of touchpoints with the produce and aims to reduce the potential for produce damage and waste, extending the shelf life of the fresh food produce in the process.
When empty and used, the reusable containers are recovered and returned to the IFCO wash centers, where they are checked, repaired (if necessary), washed, and then supplied to customers and used again.
Circular economy model
[edit]The IFCO pooling service of RPCs and material reutilization is based on the circular economy model, which promotes the reuse, sharing, repair, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling within a closed-loop system in order to avoid waste and reduce the environmental impact of industrial designs.
Sustainability
[edit]Compared to disposable products and packaging, reusable containers help reduce the overall environmental impact of the fresh grocery supply chain.
As the IFCO trays can be folded compactly, they require less space in the reverse logistics as they are mainly the same size and are therefore compatible when folded. More IFCO RPCs can be stacked in trucks and in storage, saving food miles, energy consumption and storage costs.
References
[edit]- ^ "Reusable packaging solutions for food". IFCO Systems. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ^ "IFCO Reusable Plastic Containers (RPC) - European Lift Lock generation | C2C-Centre". www.c2c-centre.com. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ^ IFCO SmartCycle™ - A circular approach, retrieved 2021-07-23
External links
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