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The perfect antidote to a cold winter afternoon, this hearty Leek and Potato Soup is a welcome new addition to our popular organic and vegan soup range.

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Home » Brand

Love the Bombay Mix – Recycle the packaging

Submitted by Nicolar on May 13, 2010 – 1:16 pm52 Comments

REH-196_22At the beginning of April Suma launched its groundbreaking new packaging film – which contains recycled PET plastic and is also recyclable.   Suma has been able to package LOADS of different food stuffs in this material from dried beans, rice and sugar to dried fruit, nuts and yoghurt peanuts.  These products are creating a demand for recycled plastic as well as being recycleable.  Now its easier to do the green thing.

 Have you heard it crinkle yet?

If you’ve not got your hands on one of our new packets yet we are offering you the  opportunity to try a bag for free.  We’re giving away a bag of Suma Organic Bombay Mix 125g (suitable for vegans but contains nuts) to the first 50 people (before 30th May 2010) who leave us a comment below. 

Needless  to say, what’s inside the bag is just as important as the bag itself and we’re sure you’ll enjoy trying this and other quality products from Suma’s organic, wholefood and Fairtrade ranges of  foods. 

So,  please tell us how important recycled and recyclable packaging is to you when you buy food and also what you think to recycling schemes in your area – is it easy get your PET plastic recycled or not.   We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Popularity: 4% [?]

52 Comments »

  • Tash says:

    I have to say this move towards proper plastic recyclable bags – I hope this is a trend that continues, along with modern versions of cellophane and parchment-paper style bags.

    I do hope that the council who deal with recycling actually notice what these bags are made of, and don’t just put them in the “it’s-not-recyclable” pile anyway, presuming them to be non-recyclable.

    Hooray for Suma :)

  • Liencam
    Twitter:
    says:

    This is great news.

    My partner and I are very keen recyclers, so we will definitely be looking out for the new packaging next time we do our shopping (at Beanies in Sheffield)

    Well done Suma!

  • Ruth says:

    Hooray for PET! But is it better or worse than just bog-standard paper? At my local Asian supermarket I take Bombay Mix out of a big plastic tub and scoop it into a paper bag. It still tastes great, but I’ll happily try some of Suma’s to compare!

  • Susan Royle says:

    I’d love to try some. We used to buy Bombay mix from those “bin” shops where you just scooped it into a paper bag, but none of those shops seem to exisit near us anymore. My children are very keen on recycling too.

  • Katie says:

    I don’t think recycling schemes are clear enough or go far enough, so anything that brands and local councils can do to help is a great help.

    Would love to try the Bombay Mix!

  • Calum Robertson says:

    I think this is a great move. Is quite frustrating when you realise how much packaging is used for foods but also how much of it actually cant be recycled. Love bombay mix!

  • Stephen Wheeler
    Twitter:
    says:

    Yes, it was a bit of a surprise when I grabbed a few of your new bags off of the shelf at our local shop. Funny crackly stuff and delighted to see it was PET plastic! Again (as above), recyclable and minimal packaging is a must, especially for customers in this market.

    Well done Suma!! Now go and tell all of your competitors that they’re dragging their feet (won’t mention them here)! : )

  • Sally says:

    All moves to make packaging more recyclable are good in my books. And Bombay mix is lurvly :)

  • Chris Cant
    Twitter:
    says:

    I love the fact that the new packaging is made of recycled plastic. It’s important to have a place where recycled plastic can be used.

    We have both plastic bottle and bag recycling here. They seem to accept virtually everything in both the bottle and bag recycling. They say it’s not sent off abroad (to Bombay?) for processing. Would you still recommend putting in PET bottles here?

    The government needs to restrict the types of plastic that can be used, and make type clearer, to make it much easier to recycle.

    Looking forward to trying the mix!

  • Amanda says:

    Fantastic news!!! love bombay mix and mad on recycling!!!
    is it one you can compost too? Always get those where possible if not can pop it in with our plastic bottles. Will be checking out your packaging on my next Suma shop.

  • Seema says:

    Good work!

    Great to hear your using recyclable plastic, it is SO important. Plastic recycling is quite poor in my area, only plastic bottles are recycled which is incredibly frustrating but has meant that I have cut out buying plastic as much as possible.

    The more recycled and recyclable plastic available the better.
    Hurray for bombay mix!

  • ellie says:

    i dont understand why everyone isnt doing this!! when there is a way to make plastic recycleable there should be no non recycleable stuff in production!!!!

    but well done for leading the way :D

  • Sandie says:

    Hi there,
    Big fan of your stuff anyway – looking forward to crunching the new recyclable packaging – bring it on….

  • deborah neville says:

    nothing spoils the taste of my food more than the mountains of plastic i end up throwing in the bin AND so few companies are prepared to address this issue!

  • Hooray for recycled and recyclable materials :D

  • Katharina says:

    I am happy to recycle!
    And please, dear organic food shops: rethink your plasticbag culture.

  • Tabatoes says:

    What a great step towards reducing waste packaging. All companies need to follow your lead and start looking at what their products are wrapped in and take action.

  • Well done Suma – yet again!
    Love Organic
    Love Vegan
    Love Recycling
    Love Bombay Mix
    Love Scrunchie Things…..
    Suma is the best!!!

  • Varsha Prabhu says:

    Being a post graduate in environmental science and a vegan by diet , this vegan bombay mix in a recyclable packaging is a perfect combination for me. I recycle most of things at home , I use the recycle bin provided by the council and also use the supermarkets recycling facility. I believe in the 3Rs ( reduce , reuse and recycle).

  • Ruth says:

    I’d love to try this! I just wish there were plastic recycling facilities near me. At least this is made from recycled materials in the first place.

  • Andrew says:

    Fantastic! Well done Suma!

  • Ben Ralston says:

    Yay Suma! Yum Yum!

  • Ian Chamberlain says:

    Excellent new packaging. Well done! Will be telling my friends. :-)

  • Mark says:

    Wow, a free bag of Bombay mix…whoopee!

  • Salla says:

    Yey for more recycled packaging… less guilt whilst munching on this yummy bombay mix!

  • Would love to try the Bombay Mix (Yum!) – but also very interested in the recycled/recyclable packaging. We are searching high and low for packaging which we can freeze (without it going all brittle…) Any ideas?

  • Karen says:

    Well done Suma, guilt free bombay mix :)

    I’m lucky where i live that it is easy to get plastics recycled. We even have tetra pack recycling nearby but not collected by the council yet.

    Packaging that is recyclable is very important to me, as is less secondary packaging.

    Keep up the good work.

  • Jake says:

    Gosh I love Suma and I love bombay mix!

  • Lisa says:

    Hi Suma,
    Love the new packs, they look fab on the shelf!! Noisy, noisy!! You can’t get away with eating them all to yourself – you have to share!

  • treaclemine says:

    It’s not clear about what plastics are recycled here – it’s a combined box for metal and plastic.

    I’d like to be able to to bulk buying, so I don’t have lots of plastic packets, even recyclable ones?

    But this is still a good step :-)

  • Lorna Dyer says:

    A bag I can lick the inside of and recycle as well cool…..

  • Tim Passingham says:

    Now I won’t be able to eat it in secret when spouse is out of the room. Ah well, that’s progress.

    Good to see you are thinking about such things and acting on them.

  • Martin Lowe says:

    I like the idea of recyclable packaging, but unfortunately most councils will only take plastic bottles and not recyclable bags. I will stick to buying my produce in bulk for now.

  • Gina Harshem says:

    Fanatastic! Well Done Suma!!

    This is a really good encouragement to people to show us how important it is to recycle and look after the environment we are living in and look for constant ways to recycle, keep it up!

  • Ian Scott says:

    Hmm that sounds an interesting idea for all the plastic in the world! Maybe you’ll come up with an idea for our Tetra Paks too!

  • Ellie says:

    Hooray for Suma!
    I wish the government would introduce tougher legislation to put pressure on manufacturers of non recyclable packaging, I am so encouraged to see responsible producers are making a difference but it worries me that we’re not changing fast enough :-/
    ‘Be the change you want to see’ !
    Thank you Suma for supporting those of us who want to live a healthier, ethical, less environmentally impacting lifestyle!

    P.S. I haven’t has Bombay Mix for YEARS, it would be lovely to have a nibbble of yours :-)

  • Maggie says:

    Well done Suma – keep up the good work. I’ve not tried the Bombay Mix before – but just love your Spicy Noodles!

  • Patrese says:

    fantastic idea!

  • Nicky says:

    Welll done Suma!

    It’s really important for the packing to be recyclable (especially when what’s is something I can do without)

    xx

  • jo says:

    Genius!

  • emy says:

    As Bombay Mix addicts we are delighted to see we will be able to enjoy Suma’s Bombay Mix guilt free.
    Well done!

  • lidbanger says:

    Great news!
    Proper recyclable packing – and yummy Bombay mix!

  • Naomi says:

    Hi.

    Recycled and recyclable packaging is VERY important to me when I buy anything. It was one of the key reasons I stopped buying from supermarkets in the first place (I have many more reasons now, some years down the line and as a better informed consumer) because all too often organic fresh produce at a supermarket is wrapped in plastic, presumably to keep it distinguishable from the non-organic loose produce.

    It is crucial that more of us buy products (where truly needed) produced using post-consumer recycled waste in order to improve the market for these products and thereby increase the viability (and hopefully systems) of recycling – for instance, I don’t understand the ‘need’ for any toilet paper produced using virgin material. Innocent was one leader on this front in terms of food packaging, and if a small organisation like that can do it (I know they are now linked to Coca Cola) then there is no excuse for larger organisations not to.

    I am moving more and more towards simply going without where excess or plastic packaging exists, which is not only good for the planet but for me too in many instances! Assuming, that is, that using paper packaging is better than using any form of plastic, which is something I have yet to look into. I know that one key argument by producers against its use it that it is more expensive to use than plastic.

    Generally, I would really like to see more organic produce that is currently bagged sold in a pick and mix style so that consumers can re-use bags.

    I have lived in many areas in the UK and, although I understand a little about the reasons, it still seems crazy to me that systems that are in place differ so much around the country – this article puts the case very well: http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/20091027/how-can-we-make-doorstep-recycling-better-in-the-uk. It is no wonder that confusion exists. Much more could be done to clarify to consumers what can be recycled where (e.g. by mandatory labelling to show exactly what grade of plastic or other material(s) the packaging consists of and not just to use the term PET – SUMA, you are guilty of this above), to eradicate the use of that useless phrase ‘where facilities exist’, and to explain why more cannot be recycled via doorstep collections because, frankly, there is very little that truly cannot be recycled.

    Leeds was an early pioneer of doorstep collections and it is easy in most dwellings to get PET grade 1, 2 and 4 plastic recycled, but not other grades of PET, which go to landfill. Whereas in Surrey in 2003, whilst there were no doorstep collections then, all grades of plastic could be taken to a collection point and distributed into different recycling bins for the different grades, although due to the location of the site that was really only viable for consumers with cars.

    Well done SUMA on your packaging progress and I look forward to checking out the new packaging in terms of its user-friendliness and recycling-related clarity of labelling.

    Naomi

  • Felix says:

    As the 45th commenter I am sure I will not say anything original. Nonetheless, well done as I believe a lot of the development of this new enviro packaging came from suma’s own members as well as supportive suppliers.

  • Roger Kent says:

    Good news that Suma is now using new packaging film. Hopefully,this will increase the demand for recycled PET plastic.

  • Charli Alexander-Marsh says:

    This is a fantastic idea! I agree with everything that has already been said. This is the future.

    Well done Suma!

  • Rob Challen says:

    Tremendous News – Let’s hope other companies can follow suit.

  • Logan Payne says:

    I Love Bombay mix!!!
    This new packaging seems like a really good idea and will be helping reduce everyone’s carbon footprint by being able to recycle more.
    We need more companies like you who are trying to make the world a greener place.

  • Gareth Wheeler says:

    I Love Bombay mix!!!

    This new packaging seems like a really good idea and will be helping reduce everyone’s carbon footprint by being able to recycle more.

    As a Bombay Mix addict I am delighted to see I will be able to enjoy Suma’s Bombay Mix guilt free.

    We need more companies like you who are trying to make the world a greener place.

  • Jane Holtom says:

    The packaging looks great which certainly helps! There does seem to be a lot of confusion still on what can and can’t be recycled, so I hope the council will pass it through their systems ok. Although I have to say our council, Cheshire East, are one of the top recyclers in the country so are generally pretty good

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