Here's The Long Answer:
Since introducing it about a year ago, we've had lots of great feedback for the 5lt Bag in Box, but not everybody is a fan. The one big problem we have with the Bag in Box is the non recyclable nature of the bag - and believe me this was and remains a BIG issue for us. The good news is that the next incarnation of these will include a fully recyclable bag. Sadly it wasn't possible this time, but you could argue that other factors caused by using tin are equally damaging to the environment. Allow me to elaborate:
We were advised its only possible to make the tin from 100% virgin metal, they cannot use recycled metal. This necessitates mining, which is very bad for the environment and we didn't want to be responsible for unnecessary mining.
The price of the tins shot through the roof, along with everything else, in the wake of Brexit, Covid & the war in Ukraine, whereas the Bag in Box is considerably cheaper.
Before filling, the tins are fully formed as opposed to flat packed. So they take up approximately 10x more storage space on trucks, in containers, on ships and while in storage over in Cyprus. We had to buy a shipping container just to store them! All of this costs more money in fuel and causes more pollution.
We had dozens of emails from customers complaining about damaged tins. The tin is so thin that even the slightest bump in transit left loads of tins bent out of shape. Often, I had to replace the tin, even though it was never punctured, because the customer felt it was unsightly. This meant we suffered as a business and we caused yet more pollution from the extra deliveries.
Many of our customers found it quite a struggle holding a 5lt tin upside down glugging out olive oil over a glass bottle with a funnel balanced in it. The Bag in Box fixes this problem for them - it's far easier to decant.
Last, but not least - no air gets inside the bag at any stage after opening. This means your olive oil stays fresher for much longer because oxygen (e.g. in the tin after opening) will make your olive oil deteriorate far more quickly.
Our regular customers will know that we are absolutely committed to being as sustainable as we possibly can be. We don't use any plastic or polystyrene whatsoever in our packaging, only paper. We re-use boxes where suitable. We use paper tape to seal the boxes. We spend considerably more for compostable bags rather than plastic bags, I could go on! And we're always on the lookout for new ideas in this regard.
We don't make decisions like this on a whim. In fact everything we do is very carefully thought out taking various factors into consideration. I hope I've been able to shed some light on this issue, but if you have any other suggestions that we could consider to be more eco-friendly please email info@oliveolive.co.uk and we'll implement it if it's feasible.
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