How to recycle packaging and tackle food waste

June 05, 2019

At Bakedin, we’re working hard to reduce our impact on the environment. We’re by no means perfect, but we’re trying! Read on to find out all about the materials we use, what we're doing to reduce food waste and some all-important information on how to recycle the packaging from your favourite Bakedin products.

Tackling Food Waste

Did you know that food waste is the third-largest source of greenhouse gas emissions? Or that we throw away over a third of all the food we produce every year - worth over $1 trillion each year? These are shocking statistics that we all must do more to improve.

Combating food waste is one of the main reasons we started the business. Have you ever bought ingredients for a bake you had no intention of baking again, but needed to buy way more than you need? We’ve been there!

That’s why we only provide you with the exact amount of ingredients you’ll need to make your bake, so you won’t need to throw any ingredients away during or after the bake.

Before your Baking Club box is dispatched, we send you details of the ingredients you’ll need to buy for the bake including exact weights and measurements. This helps you to only buy the exact amount you’ll need, therefore minimising any excess. So when we ask for fresh ingredients to be added, these are nearly always kitchen essentials (butter and eggs, for example) that you’re likely to have in your cupboards at home. Any additional ingredients, such as fresh fruit, are also easy to find and we try to use the whole fruit in the bake (think lemon juice and zest!)

Bakedin How to recycle your Bakedin packaging Shopping List

From April 2019, we have also included storage instructions on our Baking Club boxes to make sure you can keep your bakes fresher for longer. They’re therefore less likely to be wasted.

When we buy the dry ingredients to make our Baking Club boxes, we have a cut-off date of the 1st of the month. This helps us to accurately measure the exact amount of ingredients we’ll need to make for that month and minimise waste. Any excess ingredients, such as flour and sugar, can be used in future boxes.

Tackling Packaging Waste

When we package our products, we have a tough balance to strike between food safety and our commitment to the environment.

To give you the ‘baking from scratch’ experience at home, the dry ingredients need to be packaged separately in food-safe packaging, which isn’t always easy to recycle. That said, the vast majority of our packaging is recyclable (including the single-use plastic sachets), but our local councils aren’t doing a very good job of recycling them yet. Mixed plastic recycling is expected to be more widely available in the next few years, we just need to keep the pressure on our local councils to make sure this happens.

Bakedin How to recycle your Bakedin packaging Baking Club box

The table below shows the materials we use as well as all the details you need to recycle them, where possible.

Item	Purpose	Material	Recyclable
Aluminium Tray	Disposable baking trays included in Iced Cinnamon Bun, Rainbow Cake, Chocolate Layer Cake and Strawberry & Prosecco Cake Kits	Aluminium	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes
Box (Green Baking Club Box)	Outer packaging for Baking Club boxes	Cardboard	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes
Box (Brown Baking & Cake Kit Boxes)	Outer packaging for the Choc Mallow Melt, Double Chocolate Brownie and Iced Cinnamon Bun Baking Kits as well as the Sticky Toffee, Rainbow, Chocolate Layer, Prosecco & Strawberry Cake Kits and Gin & Tonic Cupcake Kit	Cardboard	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes
Box (Brown Dispatch Boxes)	Double-walled boxes used for orders dispatched from bakedin.co.uk	Cardboard	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes
Box (Mug Baking 3 packs)	Outer packaging for all flavours of Mug Baking 3 packs	Cardboard	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes
Box (Mug Gift Sets)	Outer packaging for all flavours of Mug Gift Sets	Laminated card	Not currently recyclable through kerbside programmes due to the lamination
Box (Pink Mug Baking Sample Boxes)	Mug Baking Sample Box	Cardboard	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes
Butter Measure	Handy extra included in Baking Club boxes as well as Choc Mallow Melt, Double Chocolate Brownie and Iced Cinnamon Bun Baking Kits, Sticky Toffee, Rainbow, Chocolate Layer and Prosecco & Strawberry Cake Kits and the Gin & Tonic Cupcake Kit	Responsibly sourced paper with plant-based inks	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes
Cake Board	Handy extra included in Rainbow, Chocolate Layer and Prosecco & Strawberry Cake Kits	Card	Recyclable where facilities exist
Cake Card Packaging	Outer packaging on all flavours of cake kit	Card	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes
Cupcake Cases	Handy extra included in Gin & Tonic Cupcake Kit	Responsibly sourced paper	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes before use. Once the cupcake cases have been used in baking, they will no longer be recyclable due to fatty residue
Filler Cushions	Protective packaging material used for orders dispatched from bakedin.co.uk	High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) Grade 2, filled with air	Pop filler cushion & fully recyclable through kerbside programs
Glass Bottles	Miniature alcohol bottles included in Prosecco & Strawberry Cake Kit and Gin & Tonic Cupcake Kit	Glass	Recyclable where facilities exist
Invoice Paper	Printed information included in orders dispatched from bakedin.co.uk	Responsibly sourced paper	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes
Nozzle	Handy extra included in Gin & Tonic Cupcake Kit	Metal	No need to recycle - it’s yours to keep forever!
Packing Peanuts	Protective packaging material used for orders dispatched from bakedin.co.uk	Sam is checking...	Re-use for future packing needs!
Padded Envelopes	Protective packaging used in small orders dispatched from bakedin.co.uk	Mixed materials, including responsibly sourced paper	Not currently recyclable due to being made of mixed materials. They’re very easy to re-use though!
Plastic Ingredient Sachet	Packaging dry ingredients in all Bakedin products	Heat-sealed Polypropylene (PP) Grade 5	Recyclable where facilities exist
Plastic Pot	Mug baking single pots	Polypropylene (PP) Grade 5	Recyclable where facilities exist, but we love reusing our plastic pots all around the kitchen!
Piping Bag	Baking Club boxes, Gin & Tonic Cupcake Kit	Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) Grade 4	Recyclable where facilities exist
Promotional Leaflets	Orders dispatched from bakedin.co.uk	Responsibly sourced paper with plant-based inks	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes
Recipe Cards	Baking Club boxes, All baking kits and cake kits	Responsibly sourced paper with plant-based inks	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes
Siliconised Baking Paper	Baking Club boxes	Silicone coated paper	Not currently recyclable due to being made from mixed materials
Sleeve (Cake & Baking kits)	Decorative packaging for Choc Mallow Melt, Double Chocolate Brownie and Iced Cinnamon Bun Baking Kits, Sticky Toffee, Rainbow, Chocolate Layer and Prosecco & Strawberry Cake Kits as well as Gin & Tonic Cupcake Kit	Responsibly sourced paper with plant-based inks	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes
Testing Skewer	Handy extra included in Baking Club boxes, Double Chocolate Brownie Baking Kit, Sticky Toffee, Rainbow, Chocolate Layer and Prosecco & Strawberry Cake Kits and Gin & Tonic Cupcake Kit	Bamboo	Biodegradable
Tissue Paper	Internal packaging in Prosecco & Strawberry Cake Kit and Gin & Tonic Cupcake Kit	Acid-free tissue paper	Fully recyclable through kerbside programmes

We’ll continue to update this page as we update our packaging or have any information on more sustainable alternatives.

Thanks for reading!

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