Cutting Single-Use Packaging Across Our Facilities

Plastic packaging protects food, supports safe distribution, and helps extend freshness. It can also create unnecessary waste when materials are used once and then discarded. Fresh Del Monte is addressing this challenge by examining packaging choices across our facilities, from agricultural operations and packing houses to distribution centers and offices.

Our approach focuses on prevention first. We look for ways to eliminate avoidable packaging, reduce material use, improve recyclability, and strengthen recovery systems. Each change must also protect product quality, meet food-safety requirements, and work reliably across a global supply chain.

Reducing single-use packaging is part of a broader sustainability strategy that connects resource efficiency with responsible production. The progress we make in facilities can support healthier ecosystems, more efficient operations, and communities that have better tools for managing waste.

Starting With Packaging Prevention

The most effective packaging waste is packaging that is never created. Facility teams review where plastic is essential for hygiene, freshness, transport, or product presentation and where it can be removed without compromising those needs. This assessment helps distinguish between functional packaging and materials added through habit or convenience.

Examples of prevention can include eliminating redundant layers, reducing secondary wrap, replacing disposable protective items with durable alternatives, and adjusting package sizes to use materials more efficiently. Small changes can have a meaningful cumulative effect when they are applied across high-volume operations.

Source reduction also requires close coordination between procurement, engineering, quality assurance, food safety, and operations. A packaging change that appears simple may affect equipment settings, storage conditions, shelf life, or transportation performance. Cross-functional testing helps us identify practical solutions before they are introduced more broadly.

Designing Better Materials

When packaging remains necessary, material selection becomes important. We evaluate options based on their total environmental profile, including the amount of material used, recycled content, recyclability, availability of recovery systems, and compatibility with food-contact requirements.

Flexible films, trays, bags, cartons, labels, and transport materials each present different technical considerations. A material may be recyclable in one market but difficult to recover in another. For this reason, packaging decisions must reflect local infrastructure as well as global design principles.

Our teams also consider how packaging performs throughout the product journey. A lighter package can reduce material consumption and transportation weight, while a stronger design may prevent food loss during handling. The preferred solution is the one that reduces overall impact while maintaining the safety and quality customers expect.

The wider sustainability context is reflected in our progress review, where packaging-related work sits alongside goals for environmental protection, responsible sourcing, and community development.

Replacing Disposable Items In Facilities

Single-use plastic is found in more places than consumer packaging. It may appear in sanitation supplies, employee amenities, shipping materials, pallet protection, produce handling, and maintenance activities. Facility-level reviews help identify these less visible sources of waste.

Where appropriate, disposable items can be replaced with reusable containers, washable equipment, refill systems, returnable transport packaging, or durable storage solutions. These alternatives require clear cleaning procedures, asset tracking, employee training, and reliable return flows. Reuse works best when the operating system around it is designed with the same care as the product itself.

Facilities can also reduce waste by improving inventory controls. Over-ordering, damaged packaging, and outdated materials can create avoidable disposal. Better forecasting, protected storage, and supplier coordination help keep packaging in use and prevent material from becoming waste before it serves its purpose.

Comparing Packaging Pathways

There is no single replacement that works for every product or market. The right choice depends on performance, safety, local collection systems, and the environmental effects of producing and transporting the material. We use a practical evaluation process rather than treating one material as universally preferable.

This comparison supports informed decision-making. Replacing plastic with another material is not automatically a sustainability improvement if the substitute requires more resources, creates new waste challenges, or increases food loss. Each project must be assessed according to its intended use and operating environment.

Improving Waste Recovery And Measurement

Reducing packaging at the source is paired with better waste segregation. Clearly marked collection points, consistent signage, employee education, and partnerships with qualified waste handlers can help keep recyclable materials separate from food waste and general refuse.

Measurement allows teams to understand whether a project is delivering the expected result. Relevant indicators may include packaging weight per unit of product, quantities of single-use items eliminated, recycled content, recovery rates, and waste sent to disposal. Tracking also reveals where local conditions require a different approach.

Data quality matters. Facilities need common definitions, dependable weighing or purchasing records, and procedures that distinguish packaging reduction from changes caused by production volume. Regular reviews can identify successful practices and support their adoption at other sites.

Progress reporting creates accountability for our sustainability work. It also helps us recognize that results may develop at different speeds across regions, depending on infrastructure, regulations, suppliers, and the technical requirements of each operation.

Working With Suppliers And Employees

Packaging improvement extends beyond our facilities. Suppliers influence material specifications, product formats, transport systems, and the availability of recycled or recyclable inputs. Early collaboration helps us identify solutions that are technically sound, commercially viable, and scalable.

We engage suppliers around design efficiency, material transparency, responsible sourcing, and opportunities to reduce unnecessary components. Specifications can encourage lighter formats, improved recyclability, and the use of certified or verified recycled content where appropriate. Supplier performance reviews help keep those expectations active over time.

Employees are equally important. The people operating equipment, receiving materials, preparing shipments, and managing waste often see the best opportunities for improvement. Training and local feedback channels turn sustainability goals into daily practices, while recognition helps reinforce progress.

Practical Priorities For Facility Teams

• Map every major source of single-use plastic, including operational supplies and transport materials.
• Remove redundant packaging layers before evaluating replacement materials.
• Test reusable systems with clear cleaning, return, and tracking procedures.
• Standardize waste-sorting guidance and measure recovery performance consistently.
• Work with suppliers on lighter designs, recycled content, and recyclable formats suited to local infrastructure.

These priorities give facilities a common direction while allowing teams to adapt solutions to their products and communities. A successful program combines technical review with employee participation and transparent measurement.

Scaling Progress Across Our Operations

A packaging initiative becomes more valuable when its lessons can travel. Pilot projects allow teams to test new materials, equipment settings, reuse systems, and collection methods under real operating conditions. Results from these trials can inform facility standards, purchasing requirements, and future capital planning.

Scaling requires attention to regional differences. Agricultural conditions, customer specifications, waste services, regulations, and available suppliers vary around the world. We therefore seek approaches that are consistent in purpose while flexible in implementation.

Our goal is a steady reduction in avoidable single-use packaging and a stronger circular approach to materials. That means designing waste out of processes, keeping useful materials in circulation, and making responsible choices throughout the product life cycle.

We invite employees, suppliers, customers, and communities to follow this work and learn how Fresh Del Monte is advancing practical sustainability across its operations. Visit our sustainability updates to track progress, understand the actions behind our goals, and support the continued movement toward safer, more resource-efficient packaging.