Bimbo Canada Tests Eco-Friendly Tags At Moncton Bakery
MONCTON – A major bakery has chosen its Moncton location as the first place it will phase out plastic bag tags.
Sylvia Sicuso, director of corporate affairs with Bimbo Canada, confirmed that the bakery will be replacing plastic bread tags with compostable bread bag clips. He said the change is already in place at the company’s Moncton factory-bakery.
“We’re the first North American bread manufacturer to roll out the compostable cardboard clips,” said Sicuso. “The transition will be complete by the end of June, across Canada.”
The cardboard clips are made from 100 percent recycled cardboard and are compostable. They’re being supplied by Quebec-based packaging equipment firm KLR Systems. KLR specializes in bagging machines and mostly works with bakeries, dairies, and vegetable packing companies.
Sicuso said the cardboard that KRL is using to manufacture the tags is recycled material from Cascades, a Quebec company specializing in packaging, hygiene, and recovery products.
When asked why Moncton will be the first of Bimbo’s 16 bakeries across Canada to adopt the new tags, Sicuso said it was the first one to have the machinery needed to make the change.
“They were the first to adopt it,” she said.
This transition will reduce the company’s use of plastic by about 200 tons annually. Sicuso said the company is absorbing the costs of the transition so customers won’t see it reflected in the bakery’s prices.
“To give some perspective, 200 tons is the equivalent of 33 fully-grown elephants,” noted Sicuso. “When you think about how much bread each family eats in a week, it’s a small change that adds up to a big impact.”
Information released by Bimbo says the change will include bread under the company’s Dempster’s, Villaggio, POM, Bon Matin Ben’s, and Stonemill brands.
This step brings Bimbo closer to its 2025 goal of supporting a “circular economy,” with packaging that’s recyclable, biodegradable, or compostable, along with water, electricity, and natural gas use-reduction initiatives.
Bimbo, a member of the Canada Plastics Pact, also signed two virtual power purchase agreements in 2021 to offset the entirety of its electricity consumption.
Sicuso said the new, compostable bread tags decompose within 84 days, which is a significantly shorter time than typical plastic bread tags.
Bimbo bills itself as Canada’s oldest and largest commercial bakery. It’s been in operation for more than a century and is a subsidiary of Mexico-based Grupo Bimbo, the world’s largest baking company.
Bimbo produces fresh, packaged bread and snacks under 18 brands that include Dempster’s, Stonemill, Villaggio, Vachon, and Takis. It operates 16 bakeries, 15 sales centres, and 191 depots across Canada.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].