Food producers represent 21% of food loss and waste in landfills, which emits methane gas that is 25x more harmful than carbon dioxide. Vertical Roots and AmplifiedAg have committed to reduce our company food loss and waste 50% by 2030. At each Vertical Roots farm we are achieving this goal through (1) maximizing harvest utilization (2) donating safe food to local charities, and food byproduct to local animal farms (3) composting with community partners (4) educating our consumers on food loss and waste.
Did you know there are 6 million decommissioned shipping containers on the planet at any given time? AmplifiedAg takes shipping containers that would otherwise be trash and up-cycles them into state-of-the-art hydroponic vertical farms. Compared to traditional farming we use up to 95% less water inside our farms. But with escalating environmental challenges and weather events causing water to become more and more precious — we are innovating with new ways to filter and reuse our water consumption.
We understand our farms consume a lot of energy and we are analyzing our impact daily so we can improve. We are currently testing solar energy and designing custom hardware at our Charleston, SC farm site and continue to look for ways to reduce fossil fuel based energy.
At Jaap, we are focused not only on recycling materials, but also on responsible sourcing and innovation. 75% of our suppliers are regional partners, and we work with them to continuously reduce virgin materials in our packaging to protect the planet’s resources for future generations.
We get this question a lot. We’ve done thorough research and consideration. These types of plastics require commercial facilities to properly break down, and because many recycling facilities don’t have this capability these plastics often end up in the landfill taking years to degrade.
Our focus is on reducing the amount of virgin plastic in our packaging, and using materials with the highest potential of being recycled. We’re proud to say our clamshells are made from 100% post-consumer recycled #1 plastic (rPET), which is the most accepted plastic at recycling facilities in the U.S.
We continue to expand our recycling and composting programs for all materials, and also research alternative packaging options and seek partners that can help us – and the produce industry at large – reduce the use of plastics.