We are working hard to reduce our environmental impact
At Cathedral City, we pride ourselves on delivering packaging solutions that are not only functional, but also ensure our products are as safe as possible, maintain the high quality of our cheese and minimise food waste.
We are working towards making all of our packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable as soon as possible, and have made numerous changes to our packaging to move closer to this goal.
We continue to review opportunities to reduce our packaging usage and introduce recycled content where possible.
Making more of our packaging
Those helping us
achieve more
WRAP is a leading non-governmental organisation that joins companies from across the food industry to make food and drink production and consumption more sustainable. To help their efforts, we’ve pledged to support The Food And Drink Pact which has set a food waste reduction target for all companies involved.
Our packaging journey so far
Grated bags material change and reduction
- 15% reduction in film weight
- Now fully recyclable
80% recycled content in Sliced Cheese tray
- 80% recycled content
Colour change for Snacking trays
- Removal of black plastic which can’t be detected by sensors in recycling centres
Reduced weight of Snacking tray
- Lunch Pack: 21% reduction
- Dip & Go: 34% reduction
80% recycled content in Snacking tray
- 80% recycled content
Reduced weight of Sliced Cheese tray
- 20% reduction
Reduced weight of Sliced Cheese lid film
- 23% reduction
Lunch Pack spatula- moved from plastic to paper
- 0.2g of plastic removed per pack
FAQs
The below packs are suitable to go into recycling bins if your council accepts cheese wrappers (check your local council’s website), or alternatively they can go into collection points with plastic bags at major supermarkets.
- Cathedral City 180g Grated bags
- Cathedral City Nibbles outer bags
- Cathedral City Minis nets (please leave the tag attached as it is also suitable for recycling).
Cathedral City Sliced trays should be placed into plastic recycling with other rigid plastic packs.
All other Cathedral City films should be put in General Waste.The packaging materials we use for our products have a variety of functions. They must be safe to use and keep the cheese protected from contaminants. The packaging also needs to maintain the quality of the cheese until it reaches our consumers and minimise food waste at home.
We are getting closer to finding a packaging material which is recyclable but can still perform all these functions. Our Research & Development team will continue to work hard until we find the solution.
We use 80% recycled content in the base tray of our Sliced and Snacking packs.
We are working on introducing recycled content into more of our packaging formats, however we are restricted by the food safety rules in the UK which mean that there are currently very limited recycled materials that are accredited as food safe.
The zip is made from a recyclable material and can be taken back to in-store flexible recycling points (with plastic bags). However, it needs to be separated from the rest of the pack.
We would recommend placing the zip inside any carrier bags you are taking back to store for recycling to ensure it goes through the recycling process.
For Grated packs, the zip does not need to be separated from the rest of the pack for recycling.
Using plastic packaging enables us to ensure the food safety and quality of our products and helps minimise food waste. We continue to investigate alternatives; however, we need to ensure all safety measures are matched.
Cathedral City packaging uses a mixed plastic film for the majority of our products. This is to ensure the safety and quality of our products and helps minimise food waste.
Exceptions to the mixed plastic film are:
- Cathedral City 180g Grated products use a Polyethylene film that can be recycled in front of store collection points (with plastic bags).
- Cathedral City Nibbles outer bags use a Polyethylene film that can be recycled in front of store collection points (with plastic bags)
- Cathedral City Minis nets and tags are made from Polyethylene and can be recycled in front of store collection points (with plastic bags). Please leave the net and tag attached.
There’s nothing worse than wasted cheese
To help put a stop to it once and for all, we’ve made a couple of changes and have a few recommendations.
Flick through to see.
Packaging
The ‘once open use within’ labelling that used to be on our cheese block has now been removed and replaced with new, better storage information.
As well, there’s now more messaging encouraging the freezing of cheese if you don’t think you’ll get through it in time before it goes off, and recipe suggestions to help make the most of it.
Storage
We recommend resealing our packs and refrigerating them below 5°c to keep your cheese at its very best.
Given that 1/3 of food produced worldwide each year is never eaten, we’ve begun putting more focus on freezing cheese, with messaging on pack suggesting different ways it can be consumed at a later date.
We recommend melting it down for cheese sauces or grating it before freezing and having it ready to sprinkle.
Recipes
We’ve designed our recipes to inspire you use every last crumb of our cheese in delicious meals, snacks and sides.
Alternatively, if you find you are unable to consume any unopened packs we suggest donating to local food banks to prevent food waste whilst also helping a worthwhile cause.
