Since its creation in 2007, the objective of the Casa Mateu de Surp cheese factory, in Pallars Sobirà , has been product quality and respect for the environment. For this reason, they have gone one step further and have introduced reusable and returnable containers for the yogurts they make.
The customer can return to their usual establishment or directly to the cheese factory and will receive a symbolic amount of between 0.10 and 0.40 euro cents for each glass jar. The price varies depending on the size of the container. Clara Ferrando, the person in charge of the cheese factory, explained that with this initiative she intends to minimize waste and reduce the volume of container packaging.
Ferrando has explained that this initiative entails a little more work, but compensates for the savings in packaging. Now, they must be in charge of collecting, cleaning and disinfecting the containers to be able to use them. To make this job easier, the yogurt label is made of cardboard and is hung. In this way, you avoid having to take it off and it is difficult to clean the boat.
It is still too early to assess the response from customers since the Casa Mateu cheese factory started the new system a month ago, but the reception from the establishments has been good. This new packaging system is feasible for a cheese factory like Clara Fernando’s since the yogurts are distributed only in the Pallars Sobirà region.
Ferrando has detailed that this initiative is not innovative and has explained that she remembers as a child having gone to return bottles of milk or other drinks. It is about getting people back into the habit of returning the container when they go shopping, like when they pick up the basket.
In autumn 2022, ten agri-food producers from the Alt Pirineu Natural Park received advice on reducing and improving the sustainability of their packaging. The objective of this initiative was that each of the products can implement small changes using the technical solutions that best suit their business model.
The reduction and improvement of the sustainability of packaging is one of the main objectives set by the Association of Producers and Food Processors of the Natural Park since its foundation. Clara Ferrando, a member of the association, was one of the producers who participated in this training.
