Canada’s oldest and largest commercial bakery, Bimbo Canada, is transitioning plastic bread bag tags to compostable, cardboard bread bag clips on all bread products including Dempster’s®, Villaggio®, POM®, Bon Matin®, Ben’s®, and Stonemill®. The change will begin immediately and is anticipated to be complete by June, 2022. Once complete, Bimbo Canada will reduce its single-use plastic by approximately 200 metric tonnes annually.
To make the change, Bimbo Canada partnered with KLR Systems, a Canadian company based in Quebec that is a leader in bakery manufacturing. The company received the Food Innovation Award from the Quebec Food Processing Council last year for the cardboard bread tag innovation.
The cardboard bread tags are made from 100% recycled cardboard and are compostable in municipal systems across Canada with curbside organics pickup or local drop-off. They have been tested over repeated use cycles at room, refrigerator and freezer temperatures to ensure the clips keep products fresh until the last bite. They biodegrade in 84-days. The clips have been certified by the Compost Manufacturing Alliance and have also been certified compostable in municipal settings by BNQ (Bureau de normalisation du Québec), a member of the National Standards System (NSS). The cardboard clips can be composted in municipal composting programs with curbside organics pickup or local drop-off.
“It’s important we lead change and be responsible stewards of the environment and the communities that we live and work in, by delivering results,” said Joe McCarthy, President of Bimbo Canada. “This announcement helps us fulfill our commitment to Nourish A Better World through sustainable business practices and helps us to inspire others to do the same. All changes, big or small, make an impact.”
“We developed this product knowing some small plastics, like bread tags, cannot always be recycled,” explained Audrey Gagnon, General Manager of KLR Systems. “Our goal for this innovation was to leverage local renewable resources that benefit the environment while also creating a product that consumers were familiar with using. We are excited to work with Bimbo Canada on this initiative to bring more sustainable options to people across the country.”
Bimbo Canada’s 2025 sustainability goal is to have 100% of its packaging support a circular economy by being recyclable, biodegradable or compostable. Last year, the company joined the Canada Plastics Pact and signed two Virtual Power Purchase agreements to offset 100% of its electricity consumption once fully operational in December 2022.
Photo: Bimbo Canada
