It’s clear that society is becoming increasingly aware and that sustainability is playing an ever greater role. At Coolpack, innovation and sustainability are high on the agenda. We are always looking for new opportunities in the market. Recently, we have put our energy into a new issue: how do we ensure that in 2023, for all our products where it is possible, a more sustainable variant will be available? We are now proud to offer environmentally friendly gel packs. We would be happy to tell you more about this.
The applications of gel packs
Gel packs are used for the refrigerated and conditioned transport of goods. Examples are fresh fish, meat, cut flowers and medical products. Gel packs are also used for sending other foodstuffs that must remain chilled or conditioned. Gel packs are suitable for cooling at 0 to 8 degrees and are usually used for transports of up to 48 hours, without a return procedure. If products must be transported below freezing point or above 8 degrees, the gel packs can be filled with Phase Change Material (PCM).
Environmentally conscious alternatives
There are many ways to make environmentally conscious choices when it comes to the transport of goods. For example, you can choose to switch from PA-PE gel packs to the Original Gel packs or Kraft Gel packs. This ensures that the foil consists of fewer layers, so that less polyethylene has to be used for a gel pack. In order to give you even more freedom of choice to achieve more environmentally friendly transport, we now also offer various alternatives for the foil and refrigerant fillings of gel packs. You can combine these two elements as desired to achieve the ideal environmentally friendly gel pack for your application.
Alternative foils for gel packs
For the foil of your gel packs, we offer you, besides the regular foil, also a choice between a sugarcane-based foil and a foil based on 35-40% recycled material.
Sugar cane based foil
- Gel packs with green (BIO) white PE foil
- Sugar cane (instead of oil) as raw material for the foil
- Can be combined with any chilled filling
Foil based on 35-40% recycled material
- Gel packs containing 35-40% recycled material
- 60-65% virgin material based on polyethylene
- Can be combined with any chilled filling
Please note that the gel pack loses its food safe certificate if you choose foil based on 35-40% recycled material. This makes a gel pack with this foil unsuitable for the transport of foodstuffs. If you opt for foil made from sugar cane, however, the food safe certificate will be maintained. This makes this foil a suitable alternative.
Alternative fillings for the gel packs
We also offer various alternatives for filling gel packs. You can choose from a cellulose-based cooling pad, a UV-treated water-based cooling pad and PCM free of microplastics.
Cellulose-based cooling filling
- Base material is CMC (carboxymethylcellulose)
- Contains no polymers
- The thick structure prevents the cooling gel from running out of the gel pack
Cooling filling of UV-treated water
- Refill cooling completely on the basis of UV-treated water
- The receiver can rinse the filling down in the sink
- The cooling filling runs out of the gel pack relatively quickly in case of leakage
PCM free from microplastics
- Contains no polymers
- Suitable for transport from -23 °C to +21 °C
- Due to the thick structure, the cooling gel does not run out of the gel pack easily
With the cellulose-based cooling pad and the UV-treated water cooling pad, you can transport goods from 0 to 8 °C. Do you transport your goods at a different temperature? Then PCM free of microplastics is a good alternative for filling the gel packs. PCM is suitable for transport at a temperature of -23 °C to +21 °C.
The EcoCoolBox: sustainable packaging for your transport
If you want to transport in an environmentally friendly way, we do not only offer you the possibility to customise the gel packs, but you can also choose a sustainable packaging. The EcoCoolBox consists mainly of cardboard (fibres). The cardboard fibres are packed in a flexible and air-permeable paper packaging. The cardboard fibres are completely safe: they comply with the European directives for contact with food. This makes the EcoCoolBox ideal for use in transporting fruit and vegetables, fish and complete meal packages.
Are you opting for a more environmentally conscious alternative?
Today, our focus is on finding and offering more environmentally-conscious alternatives to our current products. Are you interested in one of our new alternatives, or would you like personal advice? Then feel free to contact us. Our experts will be happy to help you!
