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Smithfield’s Switch from Cardboard to Reusable Plastic Totes Pays Off

Smithfield Foods receives first place in the Project Category of ProFood World's Sustainability Excellence in Manufacturing Awards.

A switch away from cardboard to reusable plastic totes and baskets not only saves money for Smithfield’s Sioux City plant, it also reduces cardboard sent to landfill.
A switch away from cardboard to reusable plastic totes and baskets not only saves money for Smithfield’s Sioux City plant, it also reduces cardboard sent to landfill.


Smithfield Foods’ Sioux City, Iowa, facility has made several positive impacts with its landfill reductions and recycling efforts. This winning project’s goal was to reduce cardboard usage at its source and decrease the amount of cardboard either sent to landfill or recycled. 

Previously, 4×4×5-ft triple-wall cardboard boxes on pallets, known as combos, were used to hold raw products for further in-plant processing. The more than 11,000 cardboard combos used annually created 100 tons of waste. In addition, cardboard boxes were used to ship processed products to other Smithfield facilities for further processing, creating another 96 tons of waste.

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