For more than 60 years, GD Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Supplies a family-owned business, has supported local South Australian growers by supplying fruit and vegetables in their shop at Hawthorndene and wholesaling to the hospitality industry.
For GD Wholesale, it is the relationships with local farmers, suppliers and customers that forms the lifeblood of their business. It is their ethos that has driven their unhinging reputation. Their approach and commitment to taking a more sustainable approach to their plastic use has boasted the same commitment.
In 2018, Trudy and Ben Nankervis, co-owners of GD Wholesale, began researching alternatives to the plastic they used in their business. It wasn’t easy, in fact it proved to be labyrinth of twists and turns on researching alternatives, extensive product testing, storage factors and cost restraints. GD Wholesale discovered that not all compostable or biodegradable plastics are the same and they have varying roles, costs and shelf-life considerations.
A cut above the rest
GD’s retail store at Hawthorndene allows customers to swiftly and conveniently shop for fruit and vegetables which have already been prepacked and costed. Past measures saw GD Wholesale use conventional plastic bags and plastic wrap to display their produce.
Unlike other shops, GD Wholesale keeps produce under constant temperature control for optimal produce. Conventional fruit and vegetable stores unpack and repack their whole shop into cool rooms each day/night. GD packs produce into bags and products are displayed in their refrigeration units thereby allowing customers to shop directly from the fridges.
The GD’s method maintains high quality produce and excellent shelf life due to minimal handling and the savings in labour costs are considerable. The advantage of this system is the huge reduction of food waste due to minimal handling and spoilage thus saving vast amounts of otherwise wasted energy.
The catalyst for change was listening to customers concerned about plastic use, this triggered GD Wholesale to begin researching and ultimately make a significant investment into the future of becoming a more sustainable business.
Biogone to the rescue
GD Wholesale recently joined forces with Biogone, to replace their traditional plastic produce bags and plastic wrap with Biogone’s landfill-biodegradable plastic alternatives. Many of the products GD Wholesale tested during their research began breaking down as soon as it came into contact with moisture. Some research also suggests that the contaminants may be filtering into the very food it is meant to be protecting.
The answer was Biogone
Biogone’s biodegradable plastic is very safe for food packaging film made with the organic additive which is USFDA compliant for food contact applications. Infact, Biogone created two customised products for GD – the 1kg and 2kg fruit and vegetable bag. They are a clear material, have holes in the bag so produce can breathe, and are printed with ‘landfill biodegradable.’
The low down on landfill biodegradable
Biogone’s landfill-biodegradable plastic features an organic additive, which accelerates the rate at which the plastics will biodegrade when in a landfill, allowing naturally occurring microbes in a that environment to consume the plastic, resulting in biogas and humus (natural fertiliser).
As it is a biodegradation process, Biogone plastics also do not fragment into microplastics. Only ‘degradable’ or ‘oxo-degradable’ plastics fragment, which is a concern as it leaves microplastics in the environment. Biogone plastics can also be recycled with other soft plastics (when available).
According to Trudy, it has been an educational journey for not only the business but also for customers to understand and celebrate the value Biogone brings to the table.
“We have seen many of our customers, who have been concerned about our past plastic use, really embrace our decision to using Biogone. We think this is especially important for the plastic to be able to biodegrade in landfill, as many of the soft plastic recycling options are now not available in South Australia. It is also see-through allowing us to check and maintain the quality of our fruit and vegetables unlike many of the other solutions in the market.” Trudy says.
“Biogone plastic bags give our produce a long shelf life and maintains that food security which our customers value.
Biogone plastics also won’t biodegrade until it reaches landfill, which means shelf life won’t be an issue when GD Wholesale store the plastic bags in their warehouse.
GD Wholesale has been so impressed by Biogone, they have also started using Biogone’s range of landfill biodegradable bin liners, biodegradable clear packing tape for their shipping requirements and Biogone’s blue nitrile gloves to handle their fruit and vegetables.
Trudy says, “We are confident that handpicking Biogone has their biodegradable produce bags and plastic wrap business of choice was the best decision in moving forward to be a more sustainably conscious business. You don’t have to be a big business to make mammoth steps!”
Want to learn more? View our produce bags or check out our OEM products.